Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

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, show more 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!!! show less

#19-Scandalous Women by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon is a quick read but chock full of detail, the kind that makes you want to go back for more. I think every one of the women in this book probably has a delightful biography somewhere for an interested reader to find more in-depth information. Some of the women I was less familiar with so it was nice to get a snippet of information on them. She spent equal time on most of the women in the book, but often there was more information historically show more speaking for research purposes. I think the book does justice to each woman and the research seems to have been carefully done. I especially liked reading about Joan of Arc and the mistresses of important men that I had not known even existed. Strange that the men would get involved with such brazen women who were sure to be careless with their privacy. Anyway, there are more than enough stories to choose from and each one reflecting the tenor of the times in which the woman lived and and loved. You can pick it up at your local library as I did. show less

I collect these "exceptional women in history" books because there are always a few women I haven't heard about. The genre is marked by a breezy modern-day voice looking back at women through history that have been excluded from the history books for whatever reason. Mahon's collection is a cut above the average for this type. There is a nice mix of well-known and not-so-well-known women. She spends several pages on each and does a competent job on the mini-bios. It's fun!

This is a great selection of biographical sketches. I consider myself well-read, particularly in the historical area, but many of these women I had never heard of. The stories of every woman profiled were brief but thorough, and there was a bibliography for those interested in further reading.