Amazons, gladiators, martial nuns, maenads, warrior queens, pirates, guerrillas, furies, and avenging goddesses -- the fighting women who populate the pages of this fabulous encyclopedia marched boldly through the ages armed with swords, axes, bows, and most importantly, their uniquely feminine fortitude.
Here is the first work to gather and detail these tales of womanly valor and derring-do. Drawing from a cross-cultural perspective, the book ranges through mythology, religion, history, and literature, from ancient to modern times. Contains more than 1,000 entries!
I love books like this - dredging up the lost heroines of history is a pretty nifty thing to do. The book was released 15 years ago but this is the first I've seen of it. The author, Jessica Salmonson, has frequently worked with this topic area.
A history buff who can make events and characters come alive. The entries in that book are very succinct, but often contains intriguing trivia. For example, under "Valkyries", she mentions
Battle maidens and demigoddesses of Norse legend who, meeting in council in Valhalla, decided the outcome of battles... They were very likely corrupt remembrances of actual women, priestesses of Freya. In "The Shield Maiden" (1928 ), a story by Nobel Prize author Vernor von Heidenstam, a woman warrior becomes a Valkyrie by dying in battle (for historical equivalents, see Wisna and Risla).
There's a bit more to the entry, but just to give an idea.
At her website are some short essays she has written on her topics of interest, including fictions based on amazons, and about heroic fiction. Some of the authors here may be interested, as she is an engaging writer, but little known perhaps because the topics she touches upon are often non-mainstream.
, on Amazon.com, and it looks pretty cool.
