Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women

by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Throughout history women have caused wars, defied the rules, and brought men to their knees. The famous and the infamous, queens, divorcées, actresses, and outlaws have created a ruckus during their lifetimes-turning heads while making waves. Scandalous Women tells the stories of the risk takers who have flouted convention, beaten the odds, and determined the course of world events.

*When Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC) wasn't bathing in asses' milk, the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt and forged an important political alliance with Rome against her enemies-until her dalliance with Marc Antony turned the empire against her.

*Emilie du Châtelet (1706-1748), a mathematician, physicist, author, and paramour of one of the greatest minds in France, Voltaire, shocked society with her unorthodox lifestyle and intellectual prowess-and became a leader in the study of theoretical physics in France at a time when the sciences were ruled by men.

*Long before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1928) fought to end discrimination and the terrible crime of lynching and helped found the NAACP, but became known as a difficult woman for her refusal to compromise and was largely lost in the annals of history.

*Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) had a passion for archaeology and languages, and left her privileged world behind to become one of the foremost chroniclers of British imperialism in the Middle East, and one of the architects of the modern nation of Iraq.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Feminism, Historical, Womens, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2011

About the author

I'm a native New Yorker, amateur historian, ardent Anglophile, and ballroom dancer. For over 15 years I was a professional actress, played virgins and vixens in everything from Shaw to Shakespeare. Although I didn’t start writing seriously until ten years ago, I’ve always been a voracious reader. I think I came out of the womb clutching a book. While other kids were writing 500 word essays in English class, I was writing first chapters. I even submitted my first manuscript to Grosset & Dunlap (publishers of the Nancy Drew mysteries) at the tender of age of 10. Since I started writing, I have about 5 completed manuscripts underneath my bed. One of them, a YA novel MUCH ADO ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel award. So it was surprising that when I finally sold, it would be not a novel, but non-fiction.

I’d always been fascinated by history, particularly women’s history. So in 2007, I launched the blog Scandalous Women (http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com). Since its inception, Scandalous Women has averaged over twenty thousand hits a month, and was named one of the 50 Top History Blogs by Zen College Life. My first book, SCANDALOUS WOMEN, was released in March 2011. Since the book’s release, it has been sold to Thailand, Poland and Korea, and was a best-seller in Singapore. The book has also been featured in the DAILY CANDY weekend section, and it was an RT Book Review Non-Fiction Pick of the Month for April 2011.

I am also a member of the Historical Novel Society, Sisters in Crime, RWA and RWA NYC, where she served for four years as President.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scandalous Women is a fun quick read. Its not very detail heavy but its not suppose to be. This book just gives a quick glimpse at each woman, I especially enjoyed the sections on women I had never heard of like Grace O'Malley, Barbara Palmer, and Elizabeth "Baby Doe" Tabor.

Most of these women shared certain things in common like terrible taste in men, an inability to handle money, and the determination to live life on their own terms.

Recommended for people who like to impress people with useless trivia.

[Margitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLURB
" Throughout history women have caused wars, defied the rules, and brought men to their knees. The famous and the infamous, queens, divorcées, actresses, and outlaws have created a ruckus during their lifetimes-turning heads while making waves. Scandalous Women tells the stories of the risk takers who have flouted convention, beaten the odds, and determined the course of world events.

*When Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC) wasn't bathing in asses' milk, the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt and forged an important political alliance with Rome against her enemies-until her dalliance with Marc Antony turned the empire against her.

*Emilie du Châtelet (1706-1748), a mathematician, physicist, author, and paramour of one of the greatest minds in France, Voltaire, shocked society with her unorthodox lifestyle and intellectual prowess-and became a leader in the study of theoretical physics in France at a time when the sciences were ruled by men.

*Long before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1928) fought to end discrimination and the terrible crime of lynching and helped found the NAACP, but became known as a difficult woman for her refusal to compromise and was largely lost in the annals of history.

*Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) had a passion for archaeology and languages, and left her privileged world behind to become one of the foremost chroniclers of British imperialism in the Middle East, and one of the architects of the modern nation of Iraq. "

COMMENTS
My interest in these kind of books does not originate in the glorification of women's lib, but rather from a curiosity for unknown and unique history. The rewriting of history(in some sense), only happens when new perspectives and new approaches are considered. This book is just one of those books celebrating famous and less famous women in a refreshing new language.

Audrey Hepburn(not included in the book) was the granddaughter of a baron, the daughter of a Nazi sympathizer, spent her childhood and teens doing ballet to secretly raise money for the dutch resistance against the Nazis, and spent her post film career as a good will ambassador of UNICEF, winning the presidential medal for freedom for her efforts...And history remembers her as pretty.

Yet, the picture we have, changes when we take the time to read more about her. The key to understanding is READING.

Thirty five women is highlighted in this book and quite a few are new to me. Entertaining it is, and good for the soul to read it? even more so. What was regarded as scandalous a few centuries ago, has been rewritten and redefined by courage and determination through the last few decades. That's why I like to read the modern versions of their stories :-)

I wanted to read this book after finishing "Almost Famous Women" by Megan Mayhew Bergman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

These women challenged the odds. All of them. And it makes me smile. Big time. Sometimes we need to read these kind of books, right?

One of my favorite characters in the book is Grace O'Malley. "She wasn't just any Irish woman. For over forty years, she had ruled the sea in Connacht, plundering ships and causing trouble for the English in Ireland."

Warrior queens; wayward wives; scintillating seductresses; crusading ladies; wild woman of the West; amorous artists and amazing adventuresses, fill up the pages with their stories.

Highly entertaining, tongue-in-cheek, but with a serious underlying moral to their stories, these women need to be remembered and celebrated from time to time.

This book was an introduction to many of them, for me at least. I would love to read each one's story in more detail. They are worth it. And deserve it.

In the meantime, I will clink a champs on them today in my rose garden. Come join me!

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of Medieval England last year and very much enjoyed the introduction to some notorious queens, I decided to try Scandalous women to get a quick overview of other books I may be interested in. Although I already knew some of these stories, I enjoyed reading about such diverse people as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Frida Kahlo and Amelia Earhart, but I wasn't as interested in some of the wayward wives and scintillating seductresses, as it felt like they were famous for sleeping around.

[Sheena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read like a compilation of high school book reports. I was a bit dissapointed at the lack of depth and the overly casual tone of the author.

[Sonja Arlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

When most people think of scandalous or outrageous females the usual suspects like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and Anne Boleyn come to mind and yes although they are in this book there are also some who just seem to be famous for their slutty behavior (I am talking to you Jane Digby and Lady Caroline Lamb and a host of others) and I found them utterly tedious.

But thankfully this book also contained some delightful discoveries for me and I will definitely want to read more about:

1) Calamity Jane (Wild West Woman)
2) Mary Ellen Pleasant (Voodoo queen, murderess and business savant)
3) Mata Hari (WW1 Spy)
4) Grace o Malley (female pirate!!! Need I say more)
5) Amelia Earheart (everyone knows her story but would love to read a good book about her life)

With any book of this nature I understand and accept that it’s the author’s prerogative who they include or leave out. The majority of women in this book are from the same time period (roughly between 1820 to 1920), with only a few exceptions. It also seems that no women of science made the cut. Believe it or not Marie Curie caused quite a few scandals with her habit of pulling male colleagues into dark cupboards to show them her glow in the dark experiments ☺

So while this is a fun in-between read, it is by no means a comprehensive list of females challenging society’s view of how females should behave.

[Gaga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disappointed with this one. A great idea, but I hated how ethnocentric it was. I would have liked to read more about people from outside the US and England. I also found the focus on the Victorian Era (as much as I love them Victorians) to be quite boring. The writing was also quite juvenile -- I don't care for Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt references in my historical nonfiction.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall very interesting. I knew about some of the women featured, but not most of them. My only quibble is that sometimes the author would refer to someone or something and not give any information about it; don't mention a thing if you can't tell us why it's being mentioned.

[Cait Lieneck]

I would start off by saying that I adore the premise behind this book. It provides insight into the lives of history's most, well, scandalous women. Some of them are more well known than others, but all of the stories are inspirational and humbling. The book will make you think about how much you could accomplish if you only had the nerve.

I enjoyed Mahon's laid-back style. The book is written like a blog; which is fitting since it is based on entries in her blog "Scandalous Women" on blogspot.com. That being said, while I read this book it was clear at times that Mahon is a bit of an amateur writer.

There were several open-ended references to historical events, such as the Restoration in the story of Barbra Palmer or the Act of Succession in the story of Anne Boleyn. I also didn't feel for the slang terms and some of the cultural references Mahon makes. For example, she compares Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald to Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Another example is in her description of Anne Boleyn's first pregnancy. "To Henry's great joy, she was soon knocked up" (83). Although I understand Mahon's attempt to maintain an easy-going tone to the book in order to attract an audience of modern young women, I felt she could have easily done so without certain off-putting terms and references.

Overall this quick read was worth the short time it took to read it. If for nothing else, for the incredible subject-matter. I will definitely continue to read Mahon's blog!

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am going to hunt and peck from this point forward reading about women who I'm interested in or who I've never heard of before. This could be a book that one could pick up and read about a new woman from history, for a "quickie", but I think it's going to be a long time before I can't put this down soon enough. What was fun and interesting at first, isn't anymore. I thought the section about Cleopatra was interesting and the writing grabbed me. It's been downhill since there though. I thought the author must have found some heretofore unknown or simply unrevealed info., or even some interesting gossip, based on the many professional and customer reviews I read, and after visiting the author's blog/website. I'm not bamboozled easily. The title of this book is: "Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women". I was game for scandal and notoriety. I looked for scandalous and I looked for notorious, but the closest things I found were melba toast tidbits and facts that were neither new nor entertaining, let alone compelling. Finding Eleanor of Aquitane & the word "sucks" in the same sentence finally did me in.
I know that I'll pick this up again sometime. For now though I'm going to focus on and finish the scandalous and notorious "Pope Joan"...
Ms. Mahon seems to have more than pleased quite a large number of women. I'm happy for her and for them. What did I miss that they "got"? Don't know, and don't care much about that now. So, READ THIS BOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK...

[Suwitcha Chandhorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

หนังสือรวบรวมประวัติย่อของเหล่าหญิงผู้มีความทะเยอทะยานและชื่อเสียง ใช้ชีวิตตามที่ใจปรารถนา โดยไม่ยอมให้ยุคสมัยและสังคมมากีดกั้น ซึ่งบางคนก็ต้องจบชีวิตอย่างยากลำบาก เพราะผลจากการใช้ชีวิตสุดเหวี่ยง หนังสืออ่านไม่ยาก มีเกร็ดเล็กเกร็ดน้อยน่าสนใจให้ติดตาม แต่ควรจะค่อย ๆ อ่าน เพราะการอ่านประวัติบุคคลจำนวนมากในเวลาสั้น ๆ อาจจะทำให้เอียนและเบื่อได้ อย่างไรก็ดีหนังสือเล่มนี้เขียนได้สนุก และมีสำนวนแปลที��ดี ควรค่าแก่การใช้เวลาค่อย ๆ ละเมียด ค่อย ๆ ย่อยมันไป

[CC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written like your Women’s Studies Major college friend is telling you about their work, and I love it! There are familiar and unfamiliar names, with surprising stories abounding. This book works as both education and inspiration; I highly recommend it!

[Yj · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief look into the lives of various women however the author has a lot of biases and the writing is average at best.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scan­dalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Noto­ri­ous Women" by Eliz­a­beth Kerri Mahon is a non-fiction book ded­i­cated to... scan­dalous women. Each woman is fea­tured in a short bio­graph­i­cal chap­ter.

The book is divided into seven sec­tions. Each sec­tion is fur­ther divided into short chap­ters fea­tur­ing a short biog­ra­phy of a scan­dalous woman.

Sec­tion 1: War­rior Queens
Cleopa­tra, Boudica, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Grace O'Malley

Sec­tion 2: Way­ward Wives
Émilie du Châtelet, Lady Car­o­line Lamb, Jane Digby, Vio­let Tre­fu­sis, Zelda Fitzgerald

Sec­tion 3: Scin­til­lat­ing Seduc­tresses
Anne Boleyn, Bar­bara Palmer, Emma Hamil­ton, Lola Mon­tez, Mata hari

Sec­tion 4: Cru­sad­ing Ladies
Anne Hutchin­son, Mary Woll­stonecraft, Rose O'Neal Green­how, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Carry Nation

Sec­tion 5: Wild Women of the West
Mary Ellen Pleas­ant, Sarah Win­nemucca, Calamity Jane, Eliz­a­beth "Baby Doe" Tabor, Mar­garet Tobin Brown

Sec­tion 6: Amorous Artists
Camille Claudel, Isadora Dun­can, Josephine Baker, Bil­lie Hol­i­day, Frida Kahlo

Sec­tion 7: Amaz­ing Adven­turesses
Anne Bon­ney and Mary Read, Lady Hes­ter Stan­hope, Anna Leonowens, Gertrude Bell, Amelia Earhart

So you're think­ing :"what is a book­ish blog run by a man doing with this book"?
I'll tell you: it is knowl­edge not uncom­mon that scan­dalous women (most of them any­way) are a favorite sub­ject among men of many cul­tures and intel­lects - that's what!

"Scan­dalous Women" by Eliz­a­beth Kerri Mahon is the kind of book I loved as a young boy. No, not because of the scan­dalous women, that would come later, but because I always found this for­mat of books fas­ci­nat­ing and inter­est­ing. These type of short biogra­phies allow me to know about each per­son and if I want, to research more about them.

Even though I read through this book, it is a book you can just pick up and read, then put down and pick up again a few days later since the chap­ters are short and are not related to one another. The book is also a must if you ever want to be on "Jeopardy".

Ms. Mahon's writ­ing is suc­cinct and she con­cen­trates on the aspect of what made her sub­ject so scan­dalous. Just keep in mind that the word "scan­dalous" is in con­text of the time those women lived in. while in today's stan­dards they might seem tame, in their life­time they cer­tainly weren't.

Each chap­ter is easy to read and high­lights the achieve­ments and promi­nence of each woman. While the book is by no means a com­pre­hen­sive biog­ra­phy of its sub­jects, nor does it claim to be, it is a won­der­ful intro­duc­tion to many his­tor­i­cal figures.

A spe­cial note to the won­der­ful sec­tion head­ings (Scin­til­lat­ing Seduc­tresses, Amorous Artists, etc.) - that's some­thing I used to do on my col­lege papers and I appre­ci­ate the work, pun, word play and styl­ized humor wher­ever I go.

For more book reviews and bookish posts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Angelc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book proves that truth is stranger than fiction! I loved reading about women's side of history, and not just the boxed-in views of women that history books teach us. These women are real, flaws and all.

There is a broad range of historical eras represented here. Some of the women are ones that I've gobbled up stories about for years, like Cleopatra. Some women I thought I knew, like Joan of Arc, but she's turned out to be even more fascinating and inspiring than I thought. Others, I knew nothing about until reading his book, but I'm glad I know them now.

The book doesn't just focus on the positive side of scandalous women's stories either. Some stories are sad, and some are even cringe-worthy, and you'll be glad the scandals didn't happen to you. But these stories can be inspiring too, just by knowing that we aren't alone in our struggles and that we too can overcome obstacles like these women did.

I liked the conversational style of writing, but some of the comparisons and slang may be outdated in a few years. There is so much information packed into this book, I may have enjoyed it more if I had just read small bits at a time. Each woman's story is only a few pages long, and complete in itself, so maybe I should have spread out reading them to be able to enjoy each story more.

This book is an eye-opening look at 'herstory' and has a spot on my keeper shelf!


book sent by author and publisher in exchange for honest review

reviewed for http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Scandalous Women is packed full of information and little known historical tidbits on the some of the most notorious and famous women in the world. Some of the women I recognized and some I didn't. My favorites ,of course, were Anne Boleyn, who I feel has been wrongly portrayed as a whore because one man said so and Grace O'Malley because I love the thought that there were lady pirates, I don't imagine that it was a life that most women would want in that era or any era, but I love the thought of a woman being strong and capable when most of the women of any era in history were dependent on the men in their lives, whether it was their father, brother, or spouse for their livelihood. I also am fascinated with Boudica, can you imagine being a woman warrior and leading your tribe to fight the Romans in Britian? Then there is Mata Hari, the lady executed for espionage in 1917. Turns out that in 2000 some of the files of her arrest and trial proved her innocence.

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon tells these mini histories with knowledge, humor and compassion. The book is divided into different chapters, Warrior Queens ,Wayward Wives, Scintillating Seductresses ,Crusading Ladies,Wild Women of the West, Amorous Artists, and Amazing Adventuresses . This book is a must for all you history buffs out there. To quote Laurel Thatcher Ulrich..Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History..after reading this book I totally agree!!!

[Craig Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this books quite fascinating. I would have to say about half of the women presented in this book I had already heard of and the associated fame (or perhaps infamy) each one had however; the 50% that I knew nothing about was the most interesting, entertaining, and educational part of the book.

As a male reading this book, I did not judge nor did I question the methods many of these women employed to gain the notoriety, power, and prestige they sought after. I was more amazed at how men of power and influence were so easily swayed and willing to give into the demands and whims of many of these women just for a "piece of tail". One would have to question who was REALLY the inferior sex.

I very much enjoyed the way the book is separated into separate parts each filled with women who fit within said category, this way the reader is free to compare and contrast how each woman within the various categories.

While I would have hoped for either a more extended biography of each woman or at least the inclusion of more women to illustrate the fascinating lives of these and other women, I still walked away satisfied and better educated where these women were concerned and the role(s) they played in shaping the history of the world albeit by unconventional methods and means.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a moment to become accustomed to the writer's style, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It houses the stories of well know and not so well known women who were all special in one way or another. It is by no means a complete compilation of such women, but seems to focus on some of those who would have otherwise been lost in history's shuffle. You have everything from Journalists, Dancers, Scientists, Courtesans, Lesbians, Artists, Alcoholics, Pirates, and fanatical Hatchet wielding Grannies and more in this book. There is certainly something for everyone!

An obvious labor of love, this is a great book for anyone interested in history, or women's studies. It would be a fabulous addition to any AP/High School or College Classroom, as along the lines of K. Waldher's Doomed Queens it makes learning enjoyable. What are you waiting for? Get your paws on this book!

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve finally, finally finished this. The reason it took me three months? It wasn’t that engaging.

The fact is, while the book is quite funny and educational, it’s not very deep, and the writing is just so so. Mahon scratches the surface of all these incredible women’s lives, but never really pursues it further. Basically, it feels more like gossip than it does an historical retelling of the world’s most famous and daring women.

However, I did enjoy this book, and I would recommend it to people who want to learn more about women’s history, or for someone who wants a laugh. If you’re looking for a more in depth view of the women listed, though, you’re better off with an actual biography.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a book about women who are forgotten by history, it covers mostly ones that we hear about on a regular basis. The opening lady is even Cleopatra. Which is fine, its not made to be an encyclopedia. It gets its one star rating for being one long stream of sl*t shaming, not handling mental illness with the slightest bit of tact, and most of their stories revolved around the men in their lives with very few deviations from that. I was not here to read about the men or what a bad marriage looked like in the old days.

Spare yourself the time and go read Rejected Princesses instead.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing, eye0pening, unveiling of some fascinating women who gave society the middle finger and moved forward with their own desires. Learned a thing or two about Cleopatra, Frida Kahlo, and Mata Hari. While that was fabulous, the real thrill was learning about the bold women whose names are not on everyone's lips...well, not anymore. Though they certainly were the talk of their communities in their day.

Totally loved this book. Surely, there must be a sequel. There are far too many bold, take-that-world women in addition to the fierce ladies in this volume. Give us Madam C.J. Walker, Helena Rubinstein, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Chanel, and the thousands of others whose names I should know but don't. Great read.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scandalous Women studies women over 2000 years. These are women who have made history one way or another. From the warrior queens, to Wayward wives, crusading ladies, or wild women of the west to artists. Each lady has made history with their stories. Anywhere in time from Cleopatra up to Amelia Earhart. I found this book to be a fun and interesting one to read. Some of the women I have already heard of and others I got to learn something about them. Glad I got the chance to learn more about these women who have made their mark in history.

[Regina Rolando · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book on a whim at Barnes&Nobel since it was in the bargain book section and offered stories about interesting women. I loved it. I enjoy short stories where I can read a chapter and put it down only to pick it up later and read about something completely different. This book stuck to the older stories of women from many years ago. It included a couple women, I personally felt were monsters and held disgusting beliefs but Elizabeth makes some points that helped me to continue.

It reminded me of Lady Killers, a book by Tori Tefler, another one of my five star books. This book was an interesting read about woman I had known about for years while also introducing me to fascinating women who were never mentioned in history class.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

It was interesting, but I felt like the author really hand-picked the information she wanted to include. Not a book to read in one sitting. Pick it up and peruse an entry when you're bored.

[Kathryn Currier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book. The collections of stories of different women from history were fascinating!

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but lacks any depth, not unexpectedly. Best read as a jumping off point to delve deeper into these fascinating women. Reads very much like a collection of blog posts, unsurprisingly.

[Marcela Cintra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun to read, easy to follow, interesting. I just expected it to have a stronger feminist appeal and some of the stories felt like the opposite for me…

[Lex Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read with multiple short biographies of different women throughout history. I liked that I could pick it up and read as little or as much as I wanted.

[Anjana]

Learnt about a lot of historical women whom l have never heard of

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh man. First, the basics: Not edited. Tons of mistakes/mistyping. It makes me insane, because sure, maybe the book is "indie" but you as an author have a responsibility to, at the very least, go over your work with a fine-toothed comb.

Second, the writing is terrible. It's either as dry as a Wikipedia article, or the author is making these weird snide asides about her subject. There's this obnoxious Cool Girl tone to the writing when it has any personality at all. None of the women featured were written about in a respectful or admiring way, regardless of their accomplishments or lack thereof. It was as if the author wanted to make sure readers knew she was super, like, funny and aren't these historical women crazy??!! I mean, whaaa?? It REALLY irritated me because she'd do it even with women who were incredibly prolific and, in general, were on the good side of history.

When the writing is dry, it has absolutely no arc whatsoever. I had no idea what exactly was major in a subject's life and minor. There were a few times when, in describing a subject's multiple loves, she'd call more than one "the love of her life." There's also little to no timeline consistency. Sometimes she'd start a piece about a particular woman at the end of her life, as if she wanted to set the tone, but then she'd never go back to that specific moment. Overall, the book was choppy and boring, with absolutely NO insight into the woman whatsoever. There wasn't even an attempt at understanding or even thoughtfulness. Just "blah blah this happened then that HAHAHA what a slut amirite?!" The sections the "types" of women were divided into were sort of blurry lines to be drawn. It was just a mess.

Third and last, regarding the subjects: Extremely white, extremely British royalty, extremely well-known. I get that you have to draw people in with some familiar faces, but good lord, most of the women featured are answers in Trivial Pursuit questions for multiple game topics. There were a few I hadn't heard of, but it didn't really matter because they were written about so poorly, I was either bored enough to forget about them or also felt like I had to take the descriptions of their lives with a huge grain of a salt - the author gives little credibility to what she's saying.

I would've just given this three stars, calling it average and been done with it, except by the end the snottiness was just too much. Clearly the author has little respect for the women she talks about except to largely mock them (especially ones that were known as having a lot of men around) for her own image of Cool, so hard pass.

[Mirella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scandalous Women (The Lives and Loves of History 19s Most Notorious Women)
Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Scandalous Women is a delightful book containing the biographies of some of the most fascinating women of history. Keeping true to the title and subtitle, the stories within this book 19s pages kept me entertained for hours.

As soon as I flipped open the book and read the table of contents, I was immediately intrigued. The book is divided into seven categories:

Warrior Queens
Wayward Wives
Scintillating Seductresses
Crusading Ladies
Wild Women of the West
Amorous Artists
Amazing Adventuresses

The chapter titles alone beckoned me to read further. And I was not disappointed. Within each of these chapters, the bios of 35 different women were beautifully written - full of detail, not too long, and told in a quippy voice that kept me entertained from start to finish. Her use of humour is what made these bios stand out from the realm of other similar books on the market. Some women, like Cleopatra and Eleanor of Aquitaine, I was well acquainted with. But there were numerous others, lesser known female heroines in the annals of history, whose lives were revealed to me for the very first time like Lady Caroline Lamb, Rose Greenhow, and Frida Kahlo.

Each biography gave a full and detailed accounting of their lives without being tedious or boring to read. In fact, the opposite is true. The more I read, the more I wanted to learn about the next woman, and the next woman, and the woman after that. It is evident that Elizabeth Kerri Mahon knows her topic well and spent a great deal of time researching each life. In this way, she was able to bring lesser known details about their lives to the forefront.

For those of you who are avid bloggers and blog followers, you might be already well familiar with Elizabeth 19s work. She is the owner of the blog: http://scandalouswomen.blogspot.com. Her blog has delighted me for years now and I 19m an avid reader, as I know she is of my blog too.

This book is one I highly recommend. Present it as a gift to a fascinating woman in your life for Mother 19s Day, an upcoming birthday, or Christmas.