My copy of my dear friend Lisa Graves’ third book, Her Majesty – An Illustrated Guide to the Women Who Ruled the World, came in the mail yesterday!
This is Lisa’s third book. First was History’s Witches, and the second, Trail Blazers: An Illustrated Guide to the Women Who Explored the World, came out last year.
Lisa’s books are targeted at tweens/teens, but history enthusiasts of all ages will enjoy them. Lisa does her homework; she has her facts right about every woman in her books. Because Lisa’s books spotlight women, there are a lot of things that many adults will read and say, “wow, I didn’t know that…”
Here’s the entry in Her Majesty for Isabella of Castile. Everybody’s heard of Ferdinand and Isabella, from the story of Christopher of Columbus, if nothing else, but do you really know who she was? Lisa tells you. Each bio is short enough to entice tweens/teens into reading further on the ones that catch their eyes. The book isn’t meant to be a definitive source on those profiled. Well, a fourth grader could use it, I guess, but that’s not what these books are about. They’re designed to spark the imagination. Look at that dress! Read that story! And that heraldic achievement! The arms of Ferdinand and Isabella as a married couple. Brilliant! Lisa painted that, and its detail will certainly encourage kids with an interest in heraldry to learn more about the subject.
Here’s Queen Victoria. HM Queen Victoria lived such a long life, we usually see the photographs from when she was an old woman. Here she is in 1837, when she first assumed the throne. When Lisa first posted a working version of this portrait for her friends, I knew this would be my favorite in the book. One of my favorite historical fiction series is George Macdonald Fraser’s “Flashman” novels. In the first of the series, Flashman, young Harry Flashman is a British cavalry officer who goes off to India and gets caught up in the Afghan Wars. At the end of the novel, he meets this Queen Victoria. Wonderful!
There’s much more in Her Majesty, as well as Lisa’s other books. Check them out.
Don’t forget that Ms. Graves is also an illustrator-for-hire! Be sure to check out her website, if you need professional artwork. I did–she did the cover for my forthcoming novel, “Dragon’s Danger”.
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