Bestselling novelist Margaret George brings to life the glittering kingdom of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, in this lush, sweeping, and richly detailed saga, the basis for the Cleopatra TV mini-series. Told in Cleopatra's own voice, The Memoirs of Cleopatra is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayal in the ancient Egyptian world, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome. Most of all, in its richness and authenticity, it is an irresistible story that reveals why Margaret George's work has been widely acclaimed as "the best kind of historical novel, one the reader can't wait to get lost in." (San Francisco Chronicle).

This collection of essays focuses on how women born before the nineteenth century have claimed a place in history and how they have been represented in the collective memory from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century.

Description: The feminine spirit soars in Power of a Woman as Eleanor of Aquitaine, toughest of medieval women, relates her memoirs: of caring and loyalties, triumphs and trials; of her marriages to two warring kings, Louis VII of France, then Henry II of England. She speaks intimately, emotionally of her too many quarreling sons, including Richard the Lionheart and John, of Magna Carta fame. A patron of troubadours, Eleanor commissions poetry as propaganda. She regales her readers with intrigues, crusades and tales of ruthless diplomacy against barons, kings, popes and Thomas Becket, while confessing her loves, her hopes for her many children, and their fates. In midlife her sense of community leads her to set up her Court of Ladies to balance male-dominated worlds of Church and state. Her mission: to empower women with the Grace she enjoyed as the femme fatale of her day. Eleanor's power of a woman lets her pluck triumph from her defeats as well as her victories. Reviews: Those of you who know me know that for me to give a work of historical fiction a high rating, it has to offer something extraordinary. This Robert Fripp has done in Power of a Woman. In this highly unusual fictional autobiography, Mr. Fripp tells Eleanor of Aquitaine's story in her own words, as if she is dictating to a young lady in her household. Power of a Woman: review by Melissa Snell, Your Guide to Medieval History at About.com, which posts her full review at: http: //historymedren.about.com/od/ewho/fr/fripp_eleanor.htm -Melissa Snell, Your Guide to Medieval History at About.com Finally! Power of a Woman brings us an autobiography of Eleanor of Aquitaine that is accessibleand entertaining. Telling her story in Eleanor's voice, Robert Fripp brings us medieval Europe through her eyes. At eighty-one, she hasn't much time. We feel her urgency, the chill in her bones. Impeccable research and storytelling combine to make this a must for all who want to know more about this fascinating woman. Her definition of love survives to this day! What a great read. This is so gripping. I got so totally caught up in this story one night that I woke up with images of Eleanor in my mind, and Kate Hepburn's voice in my ear. I love this tale. -Veronica Prior, Round Rock, TX Power of a Woman is gripping in its wealth of detail. It makes me feel like I am in the midst of the action. Of all books I have read, this is the only one that makes me experience what it must have felt like to have lived through those troublesome, exciting times. Such a wonderful, exciting book! -Lady Shirley Cassidy, Dublin, Ireland Author Bio: British-born Robert Fripp gained a medieval outlook from five years on a choral scholarship in the choir of Salisbury Cathedral, the model for Lord of the Flies. He went on to study earth sciences before producing current affairs television for CBC in Toronto. He also: created IBM Visions magazine about high-performance computing; worked for Japan's public broadcaster; and wrote a book with great reviews, Let There Be Life, about cosmic and organic origins. Power of a Woman tells the memoirs of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Robert Fripp is hard to typecast; RobertFripp.ca may help.

This innovative volume explores a wide range of artistic, critical, and cultural productions by women scholars, critics, and artists between 1790 and 1900, many of whom are little known. The essays question the concepts of “scholarship,” “criticism,” and “artist” across different disciplines, focusing on the gendered associations and exclusions and on structures of sexual difference. Women discussed include Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Sydney Morgan, and Anna Jameson; actresses such as Elizabeth Siddons, Dorothy Jordan, and Mary Robinson; critics such as Margaret Oliphant and Mary Cowden Clarke; historians such as Agnes Strickland, Lucy Aikin, Mary Anne Everett Green, Elizabeth Cooper, and Lucy Toulmin Smith; the writers and readers of women's magazines; educationalists such as the Shirreff sisters, and translators such as Anna Swanwick, as well as many others.