Women Who Ruled

by Guida M. Jackson

Guida M. Jackson spent seven years researching this first-ever biographical dictionary of all women rulers from the dawn of history to the present day. Alphabetically arranged, this book features more than 360 of these women, from famous historical figures such as Catherine the Great to contemporary leaders like Corazon Aquino. Meet Anne of England, who was both the first constitutional monarch of the United Kingdom and a faith healer to her people. Or learn the details of the brilliant careers of Goldie Mabovich and Hilda Roberts, better known today as Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher. Like their male counterparts, the female rulers’ stories are not always exemplary, and Jackson reveals the tyrannical alongside the good.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Womens Studies

190 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1990

Reviews

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women Who Ruled contains about 350 biographical entries on women rulers, organized alphabetically and ranging from ancient through modern times, and includes Asian, African, European and American subjects: this book is an outstanding contribution to historical literature. Documentation is meticulous and thorough, and there are fine notes and bibliography sections for further research.

Although the biographies are brief, with some being only the name and approximate dates of various rulers, I highly recommend Women Who Ruled to anyone, but especially to parents and librarians, with an emphasis on school libraries (should such things still exist.) Prior to the women's movement and internet it was damn near impossible to find information on historically significant women and it's still a tough slog, even with access to Wikipedia. Jackson's book goes a long way to filling that hole in history where you'll find people in skirts, and will inspire many readers to seek out more information on some of the women profiled.

This book deserves a lot more attention than it has gotten.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of notable women rulers from around the world. Going in alphabetical order, the author gives a brief detailed description of each individual woman who left their mark in history as being a Queen, Empress, regent, president, or some status as a ruling political power player. The descriptions vary, as the more notable figures have more to say and those less documented are only given a small portion. But every kingdom and country is given some recognition on what their history was like during where a woman took control of the realm.

There are a lot of women featured in this encyclopedia, including some more recent ones, as this book was published back in 1990. I applaud the author for the effort in trying to give record of every documented female figure in this book, even the ones that are virtually unknown outside of their realm, or less documented. It is nice to hear of female rulers from less talked areas like Portugal, Italy, Vietnam, China, and smaller kingdoms. However, some of the individuals I have some familiarity with, I noticed some small errors here and there in their description. Considering this book was made before the Internet became a major source of info, it is likely the author would get a little messy when trying to find recorded documentation of these figures and get a little mixed up in the process. Though a little dry, it is a decent book to introduce the reader on what women rulers have done to their realm when given the chance of power and how women of the past impacted the ways current society has for women to play a role in government.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of women who've held power over countries, city/states, etc. across the world and throughout recorded history