Synopsis:
In Warriors, Witches, Women meet mythology’s fifty fiercest females. This is a modern retelling of the world’s greatest legends.
From feminist fairies to bloodsucking temptresses, half-human harpies and protective Vodou goddesses, these are women who go beyond long-haired, smiling stereotypes. Their stories are so powerful, so entrancing, that they have survived for millennia. Lovingly retold and updated, Kate Hodges places each heroine, rebel and provocateur fimly at the centre of their own narrative. Players include:
Bewitching, banished Circe, an introvert famed and feared for her transfigurative powers.
The righteous Furies, defiantly unrepentant about their dedication to justice.
Fun-loving Ame-no-Uzume who makes quarrelling friends laugh and terrifies monsters by flashing at them.
The fateful Morai sisters who spin a complex web of birth, life and death.
Find your tribe, fire your imagination and be empowered by this essential anthology of notorious, demonised and overlooked women.
Edition:
PDF (Net Galley)
My Thoughts:
Warriors, Witches, Women is full of information on a wide variety of mythical women ranging from goddesses to monsters, fairies and spirits from all over the world.
You’ll find such women/agender/gender fluid (I guess I could have just as easily said non-male) folk as Hecate (Greek goddess), Baba Yaga (Slavic witch), Ame-No-Uzume (Japanese goddess), and Pontianak (Malay ghost) just to name a few. They are divided into categories: Witches, Warriors, Bringers of Misfortune, Elemental Spirits, and Munificent Spirits.
Each entry has a fairly dense block of text to accompany it (at least a full page, which is kind of unusual for this kind of book – they’re usually fairly information-lite). Unfortunately the extra information causes there to be less room for entries. I wish the book had twice as many entries, at least – but, for that, I guess I’ll always have The Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. But you know what that book lacks? Harriet Lee Merrion’s gorgeous illustrations. I really love them – they’re simple, but beautiful.
Rating:
This is a cool book for anyone interested in learning more about mythical women, or who appreciates quality artistic interpretations of said women. Like I said, it covers global territory, which is really great. The only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars is that I just wish it were longer. I wish that more figures had been covered.
Warriors, Witches, Women By Kate Hodges Illustrated by: Harriet Lee Merrion Quarto Publishing Group, White Lion Publishing History, Non Fiction ISBN: 9781781319260 Expected Publication: February 4, 2020 Hardcover 224 pages
Sounds like an interesting book. I’ve forgotten so much about the mythological women I studied in school. Would make a great resource for Halloween or a costume party!