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Ten Queens: Portraits of Women of Power
Powerful female rulers interpreted in striking words and paintingsFrom the courage and beauty of Esther to the reforming spirit of Catherine the Great. here are essays about ten queens by an author who has been called "arguably the best writer of social history for children and adolescents ever". Meltzer, by his own description, is accustomed to presenting history "from the bottom up", but he takes a "top down" approach for these monarchs, revealing the personal and political natures of women who commanded power not because "they happened to marry a king" but because they "ruled in their own right, by themselves. Or if they sat on thrones beside kings, they had as much or more to say about governing than their husbands".
Most were, by today's standards, astonishingly young. Many were physically powerful, accomplished women. Some were schooled to rule, others not. But all were ambitious, passionate, and determined to hold power. All were subject to suspicion and envy. And all, in their successes and failures, ideals and compromises, assumptions and privileges, present interesting contrasts with the lives of women today.
Most were, by today's standards, astonishingly young. Many were physically powerful, accomplished women. Some were schooled to rule, others not. But all were ambitious, passionate, and determined to hold power. All were subject to suspicion and envy. And all, in their successes and failures, ideals and compromises, assumptions and privileges, present interesting contrasts with the lives of women today.
134 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1998
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84 people want to read
About the author
Milton Meltzer
178 books25 followersMilton Meltzer wrote 110 books, five of which were nominated for the National Book Award. With Langston Hughes, he co-authored A Pictorial History of Black Americans, now in its sixth edition. He received the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to children's literature, the 1986 Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award, and the 2000 Regina Medal. He died in New York City of esophageal cancer at age 94.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 4, 2018
Milton Meltzer's Ten Queens: Portraits of Women of Power takes us where few juvenile nonfiction books do, ranging in history from the fifth century B.C. to the eighteenth century A.D. to bring us true stories of women who defied the odds and expectations in building their monarchies. We begin with Esther of Ancient Persia, whose story is told in the Bible. Esther rose to prominence when her people, the Jews, were in exile under King Xerxes I. The Jews were in danger of extermination after royal advisor Haman tricked the king into rearranging the law so it became legal to murder Jews, but Esther exerted her influence over Xerxes to give her people a chance to defend themselves. It's a dramatic story, though the Bible's telling is more exciting than the version in this book. Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.) is next, renowned in history despite little being known about her. She influenced leading men of her time, including Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and reigned over Egypt until her political double-dealing caught up to her. Cleopatra is a glamorous figure, but limited sourcing makes it hard to accurately bring her story to life. We move ahead one century to Boudicca, a red-haired giant who led the Briton rebellion against their Roman overlords. Boudicca's army defeated Roman legions better equipped than they, but the empire wasn't primed to fall yet, and Boudicca met a violent end. She set an example for bold future queens, though.
Zenobia of the third century is next, Syrian queen of Palmyra who led her own revolution against Rome. Gorgeous, intelligent, and courageous, Zenobia was captured and paraded through the streets of Rome in a cage, but history regards her with fascination. We jump to the twelfth century for Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of two kings (Richard and John) and tireless advocate of education and philosophy during the Middle Ages. Eleanor retained power a long time, influencing her royal sons after she was no longer queen. She lived to age eighty-two at a time when life expectancy was only thirty or forty. We shift to the fifteenth century for Isabel, who with her husband King Ferdinand guided Spain's ascension to be the premier power of its day. Isabel's record on human rights was dubious, but few queens ruled so powerfully as she. Perhaps the millennium's greatest queen is next, Elizabeth the I of England (1533-1603). Spain had surpassed England as an empire, but British culture rebounded under Elizabeth. Sir Walter Ralegh and others established colonies in the New World while England's music, literature, and philosophy flourished. In her twilight years, Elizabeth's charisma saved her from being violently deposed like many monarchs, and her four and a half decades on the throne would be remembered fondly. "Old age came upon me as a surprise, like a frost," she wrote. But in the people's hearts, Elizabeth remained eternally young.
Christina is next, ruler of Sweden in the seventeenth century. At age twenty-eight she chose to abdicate to her cousin, Charles X, but she had already increased the quality of Swedish culture. Her reputation after leaving the throne was damaged when she converted to Catholicism, angering her Protestant population, but controversy couldn't keep Christina from historical fame. We move on to Maria Theresa, empress of Austria in the eighteenth century. She led Austria out of feudalism and into the modern era, enacting tax and education reform. Her ties to Mozart's family are notable, and the ebullient child composer first played for her at age six. Our final portrait is of Russia's Catherine the Great (1729-1796), who inherited a backward country and began transforming it into a global power. Aspiring to the legacy of Peter the Great, Catherine concentrated on improving education and liberating the serfs, but creating real change was slow and frustrating. It's easier to cast an inspiring vision than to implement it. Her reign had mixed results, but Catherine certainly shaped Russia.
The essays that comprise Ten Queens fall short of compelling, but I give Milton Meltzer credit for attempting a difficult book. As he admits in his Note on Sources, "Researching the lives of people who lived thousands or even a few hundred years ago has many problems. The farther back in time you go, the fewer are the sources." He had little to go on in particular for Esther, Cleopatra, Boudicca, and Zenobia, but he gave it a try anyway. I appreciate ambitious nonfiction about the ancient world for kids, because there isn't much of it. Ten Queens isn't a gripping read, but there are parts I liked, and I'd probably rate it one and a half stars. You'll undoubtedly learn something from it.
Zenobia of the third century is next, Syrian queen of Palmyra who led her own revolution against Rome. Gorgeous, intelligent, and courageous, Zenobia was captured and paraded through the streets of Rome in a cage, but history regards her with fascination. We jump to the twelfth century for Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of two kings (Richard and John) and tireless advocate of education and philosophy during the Middle Ages. Eleanor retained power a long time, influencing her royal sons after she was no longer queen. She lived to age eighty-two at a time when life expectancy was only thirty or forty. We shift to the fifteenth century for Isabel, who with her husband King Ferdinand guided Spain's ascension to be the premier power of its day. Isabel's record on human rights was dubious, but few queens ruled so powerfully as she. Perhaps the millennium's greatest queen is next, Elizabeth the I of England (1533-1603). Spain had surpassed England as an empire, but British culture rebounded under Elizabeth. Sir Walter Ralegh and others established colonies in the New World while England's music, literature, and philosophy flourished. In her twilight years, Elizabeth's charisma saved her from being violently deposed like many monarchs, and her four and a half decades on the throne would be remembered fondly. "Old age came upon me as a surprise, like a frost," she wrote. But in the people's hearts, Elizabeth remained eternally young.
Christina is next, ruler of Sweden in the seventeenth century. At age twenty-eight she chose to abdicate to her cousin, Charles X, but she had already increased the quality of Swedish culture. Her reputation after leaving the throne was damaged when she converted to Catholicism, angering her Protestant population, but controversy couldn't keep Christina from historical fame. We move on to Maria Theresa, empress of Austria in the eighteenth century. She led Austria out of feudalism and into the modern era, enacting tax and education reform. Her ties to Mozart's family are notable, and the ebullient child composer first played for her at age six. Our final portrait is of Russia's Catherine the Great (1729-1796), who inherited a backward country and began transforming it into a global power. Aspiring to the legacy of Peter the Great, Catherine concentrated on improving education and liberating the serfs, but creating real change was slow and frustrating. It's easier to cast an inspiring vision than to implement it. Her reign had mixed results, but Catherine certainly shaped Russia.
The essays that comprise Ten Queens fall short of compelling, but I give Milton Meltzer credit for attempting a difficult book. As he admits in his Note on Sources, "Researching the lives of people who lived thousands or even a few hundred years ago has many problems. The farther back in time you go, the fewer are the sources." He had little to go on in particular for Esther, Cleopatra, Boudicca, and Zenobia, but he gave it a try anyway. I appreciate ambitious nonfiction about the ancient world for kids, because there isn't much of it. Ten Queens isn't a gripping read, but there are parts I liked, and I'd probably rate it one and a half stars. You'll undoubtedly learn something from it.
May 4, 2016
Love that this focused specifically on women who wielded political power in their own right. Also love that the author, in several cases, pointed out the influence of wealth and class, so that even queens who were "reformers" mostly reformed things for the aristocracy. I think the author hit a good balance of narrative and fact-- the book never struck me as dry, even though I learned quite a bit from it. So overall, really good, and a great resource for girls to read about women being both powerful and human. I was hoping to get it for my 8-year-old niece, but I think it might be a bit too violent for her right now. There are some references to rape and domestic violence. I'd recommend it for kids maybe ten and up? (I just checked; Amazon says 12 and up.)
My reservations are that it was mostly focused on Europe, and that I have some ambivalence about the "exceptional woman" trope in some of the sections. By that I mean that many queens are described approvingly as being raised more as boys than girls, or talking only with men rather than women, which still devalues girls and women, even when it's being used as a form of praise. I would have liked to see more about the influence of mothers, female friends, or court ladies in the queens' lives. I would have liked even more if this had been published with a companion volume about women with less traditionally-masculine forms of power-- artists, philosophers, etc.
My reservations are that it was mostly focused on Europe, and that I have some ambivalence about the "exceptional woman" trope in some of the sections. By that I mean that many queens are described approvingly as being raised more as boys than girls, or talking only with men rather than women, which still devalues girls and women, even when it's being used as a form of praise. I would have liked to see more about the influence of mothers, female friends, or court ladies in the queens' lives. I would have liked even more if this had been published with a companion volume about women with less traditionally-masculine forms of power-- artists, philosophers, etc.
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January 12, 2017I really enjoyed the first vignette. Then the second one seemed a little mature for my daughter's age, and then next one even more. Instead of portraits of power, it should be sub-titled portraits of how savagely women have had to behave to hold their own for most of human history.
July 10, 2017
i liked it
February 17, 2018
Historian and writer Milton Meltzer’s Ten Queens are ten short “portraits” of ten queens that had “a throne in a time when all power was vested in the monarch.” The Queens in the Ten Queens range in time from Esther of Persia of the Book of Esther from around the 5th Century B.C.E. to Catherine the Great of Russia who died in 1796 C.E. Some of the queens in Ten Queens such as Catherine the Great and Cleopatra of Egypt are very well known queens. Some of the queens in Ten Queens such as Zenobia of Palmyra (a city that is in modern-day Syria) and Christina of Sweden, I have never heard before I read this book. Ten Queens is a good introduction to lives of these Ten Queens. Illustrator Bethanne Andersen's colorful pictures add to Meltzer's texts and her wonderful maps add to Meltzer's texts. Hopefully, Ten Queens will inspire readers to research more into the biographies of these Ten Queens. For example, Meltzer’s version of Queen Elizabeth I of England is different from how she appears in Bill Bryson’s biography of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare: The World as a Stage. Meltzer is interested in how the people at the time responded to the queens. Meltzer does a decent job of reminding readers that the Ten Queens he chose for the book are people of their time and maybe are not heroes for modern times. For example, Meltzer writes that Queen “Maria Theresa of Austria was neither a freethinker nor a democrat. Like most monarchs, she wished to strengthen and centralize her power.”
January 4, 2013
I read the section about Eleanor of Aquitaine to my kids. It was a little long for a read-aloud, but they followed it fairly well. My daughter seemed excited to learn about Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland's mom. Reading the section made me want to see "The Lion in Winter" again.
It's due back at the library soon, but I'm going to try to read another couple of sections before we return it.
It's due back at the library soon, but I'm going to try to read another couple of sections before we return it.
January 14, 2010
Very interesting book - amazing how these women stepped far beyond the culture of their times to improve the life of their domains. Quite informative.
January 25, 2010
The subjects were interesting, but the writing had too obvious a bias for me.
October 18, 2010
It was a great overview of different women throughout history that have made a difference. It would be more appropriate for 2nd or 3rd graders
November 29, 2010
Great biography, I think it could even be deemed as a multicultural book! Inspiring story of women.
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November 7, 2014A solid set of famous queens throughout history, but it is both fairly white and cuts off history before we come to many great queens.
January 23, 2016
Learn a lot. The author does glorify some not so good queenly actions though.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews