Women Who Ruled the World
04 September 2025Imprint: Footnote Press
Synopsis
'A breath-taking history of female sovereignty' -- Alison Weir
'Gripping and beautifully crafted' -- Tracy Borman
'Filled with fascinating figures from history' - Gareth Russell
These are the stories of the female kings: women who risked everything, sometimes unwillingly, to find their place in a man's world.
Female kings have always been a rarity, an oddity, or an undesirable outcome. In almost all places throughout the world a male ruler was preferred to a woman, with female inheritance vanishingly rare and frequently disputed. In spite of this, women have secured crowns - or fought for them - over several millennia.
From the lush oases of Ancient Egypt to the cherry blossomed lands of Japan, the machinations of the Tudor court to the far reaches of Pacific Island kingdoms, Women Who Ruled the World is an expansive and comprehensive history of female royal power.
Covering five millennia of global history, renowned historian Elizabeth Norton weaves together the stories of women rulers throughout the ages. Establishing beloved and already celebrated figures amongst those who have been left in the margins of history, Norton peels away the layers of time, geography and culture to reveal what it was to be a woman who ruled.
'Gripping and beautifully crafted' -- Tracy Borman
'Filled with fascinating figures from history' - Gareth Russell
These are the stories of the female kings: women who risked everything, sometimes unwillingly, to find their place in a man's world.
Female kings have always been a rarity, an oddity, or an undesirable outcome. In almost all places throughout the world a male ruler was preferred to a woman, with female inheritance vanishingly rare and frequently disputed. In spite of this, women have secured crowns - or fought for them - over several millennia.
From the lush oases of Ancient Egypt to the cherry blossomed lands of Japan, the machinations of the Tudor court to the far reaches of Pacific Island kingdoms, Women Who Ruled the World is an expansive and comprehensive history of female royal power.
Covering five millennia of global history, renowned historian Elizabeth Norton weaves together the stories of women rulers throughout the ages. Establishing beloved and already celebrated figures amongst those who have been left in the margins of history, Norton peels away the layers of time, geography and culture to reveal what it was to be a woman who ruled.
Details
04 September 2025352 pages
9781804441138Imprint: Footnote Press
Reviews
A gripping and beautifully crafted book that skilfully interweaves the stories of female rulers who on the face of it have little but their sex in common. As well as introducing the reader to lesser-known characters from history, it brings a fresh perspective on famous figures such as Cleopatra and Elizabeth I. There is a striking contemporary resonance throughout, making even the long distant past seem within touching distance. An astonishing achievement.Tracy Borman, historian and author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I
This book is a tour de force, an engaging and indeed breath-taking history of female sovereignty. For a history book based on impressive academic research, it's a compelling page-turner packed with fascinating detail and shrewd analysis - a must for anyone interested in queens and queenship. The international perspective works brilliantly, as do the comparisons between female rulers who were worlds apart. Thought-provoking and elegantly written, this book places Elizabeth Norton deservedly among our finest female historians. Highly recommended!Alison Weir, author of The Six Tudor Queens
An epic history of female monarchy across the globe, filled with fascinating figures from history. I loved it.Gareth Russell, author of Queen James
Women Who Ruled the World is a much-needed book which demonstrates that female rule is a phenomenon which spans all periods of history and regions of the globe. The ruling women featured in this book offer the reader an understanding of the challenges that female rulers faced and the ways in which they triumphed over them through the engaging examples of their lives and reigns.Elena Woodacre Reader in Renaissance History at the University of Winchester and author of The Queens Regnant of Navarre