Hello, hello, friends! Let’s kick off 2022 with a recap of recent reads. Be sure to share what’s been on your bookshelf!
Massacre on the Merrimack: Hannah Duston’s Captivity and Revenge in Colonial America – Jay Atkinson
Massacre on the Merrimack recounts the tale of Hannah Duston, a homesteader in New England who was captured during a raid on her village. She and several fellow captives were then moved into the interior on their way to be sold in Canada. Along her journey, she and two other captives kill their captors and escape back to their home in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It’s a well-written narrative based on the survivors’ accounts and explore the right and wrong of raids by English settlers and Native Americans in early Massachusetts.
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life – Alison Weir
Another one of Alison Weir’s great biographies on early English queens. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a duchess in her own right, wife to two kings, and mother to three kings. She lived a fascinating life that saw her divorce a husband who loved her to marry a man she loved. Their marriage collapsed, and she spent years in exile. This is a solid option if you also enjoy the lives of early Medieval queens.
First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role – Jeanne E. Abrams
As advertised in the rather long subtitle, this book explores the roles of the first three First Ladies in the early United States. Thomas Jefferson’s wife died long before his term, so his daughter served as hostess when needed. The book definitely focuses on Abigail Adams and compares and contrasts Martha Washington and Dolley Madison with her. Overall, an interesting read about the Federalist period.
Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth Century Europe – Sarah Gristwood
Fun story: I bought this book when it came out and apparently lost it. So I finally bought a new copy and read it. Sarah Gristwood dives into the lives of the many queens who ruled and reigned in sixteenth century Europe. She also makes a compelling correlation to their lives and times to the ultimate power of the queen in the game of chess. I enjoyed this and would recommend it for readers looking to learn more about this era.
Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey, and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown – Jill Armitage
This book recounts the lives of the Tudor Queens, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Bess of Hardwick. Bess serves as a bit of a central character, since most of the book considers the queens in relation to her. The “four” queens also misleads a bit as Lady Jane Grey is around for 10 or so pages. If you read a lot about the important Tudor women, you won’t find tons of new information. But it does offer a different perspective on their relationships.
Defiance: The Extraordinary Life of Lady Anne Barnard – Stephen Taylor
Defiance explores the life of Lady Anne Barnard, the daughter of minor Scottish nobility who rose to the highest levels of Georgian society. She spurned dozens of marriage proposals and struck out on her own as a writer. She really did lead an extraordinary life with lots of twists and turns. This is a good read about a woman who could have been a real-life Austen heroine.
What have you read lately?
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