Erasing Misbehaving Women from History
All of the women I’ve written novels about have been victims of serious historical revisionism, simply because they were bold, courageous, and willing to defy every societal rule about what women should or should not do.
Hatshepsut dared to become pharaoh and thus, her monuments and images were almost chiseled into oblivion.
Theodora was a prostitute who captured the emperor’s heart and saved his throne, but later historians decried her as a demon-whore.
In my latest novel, The Tiger Queens, I made the crazy decision to try to shed light on not just one, but four of Genghis Khan’s women. Why was this crazy? Because the Mongols only wrote one source about the Golden Family, The Secret History of the Mongols. And guess what? The names and deeds of Genghis’ wives and daughters have literally been cut out of the manuscript.
Recent scholarship has succeeded in piecing together fragments of what these women did, but there’s still controversy over what each woman accomplished. Which daughter actually ordered the slaughter at Nishapur and left behind pyramids of rotting skulls? What happened to Genghis’ daughters after he died? Did they really save his empire?
We do know that Genghis charged his daughters with governing vast swaths of his kingdom during his lifetime, mostly while he was away campaigning and his sons were drinking themselves into oblivion. (Who knew that fermented mare’s milk was so addicting or so tasty that you’d want to drink vats of it every night?) And we know that at least one of Genghis’ daughters-in-law was responsible for holding the empire together and ensuring the transfer of power to her sons, ushering in China’s Yuan Dynasty. Sadly, because these weren’t men doing the conquering and maneuvering for power, they were victims of a concerted effort to wipe them from the pages of history.
But you know what the great thing is about strong women in history? Somehow, enough fragments of their stories survive that we can fill in the gaps and show that even in the darkest of times, these ill-behaved women changed the course of history.
Giveaway:
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Follow the Rest of the Tour:
Saturday, November 1
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Sunday, November 2
Review at Let Them Read Books
Monday, November 3
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book
Tuesday, November 4
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Wednesday, November 5
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Thursday, November 6
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Friday, November 7
Review at Scandalous Women
Monday, November 10
Review at Reading the Past
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection
Tuesday, November 11
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Review & Giveaway at Book Lovers Paradise
Wednesday, November 12
Review at A Bookish Affair
Thursday, November 13
Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Friday, November 14
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Monday, November 17
Review at Turning the Pages
Tuesday, November 18
Review & Giveaway at Historical Tapestry
Review & Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Wednesday, November 19
Review & Giveaway at The Lit Bitch
Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Thursday, November 20
Review at Layered Pages
Friday, November 21
Review at Just One More Chapter
Monday, November 24
Spotlight & Giveaway at Reading Lark
Tuesday, November 25
Review & Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court
Wednesday, November 26
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Friday, November 28
Review at Book Babe
Through historical fiction novels, I have met so many women I would otherwise have never been aware of - sometimes it's the main character, sometimes a supporting character that I later learn was a real person - that is always so exciting. I love it when an author includes extra info in an "author's notes" at the end.
ReplyDeleteI am always on the lookout for historical fiction about periods in history little written about. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHistorical fiction is so fascinating...I found some very Interesting facts about four of Genghis Khan’s women..
ReplyDeleteSound like a difficult, but interesting, project to research. I look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThis historical would be fascinating and memorable. Thanks for this feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteGenghis Khan! A man you'd not think of having a personal life at all. Seems the author did her homework, in depth! Please enter me in the giveaway. I'm dying to read it. annfesATyahooDOTcom Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad this book is written about the women in Genghis Khan's life, I would love to get the whole story on what happened. I can't wait to read this book. Thanks for having the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking forward to this book's release for a few months now; this exploration of the fascinating lives of women of Genghis Khan's empire is a whole new world for me. I am eager to imagine the experiences of people who history typically silences (women, non-white people, and historical experience of people who lived outside the reach of Western civilization, as it's known. I'm sure this will be an exciting story! Thanks for featuring this book and for offering this opportunity! Cheers, Kara S
ReplyDeleteI have never read any books about this time period and look forward to learning more about Ghengis Khan and his empire. I am always looking for new time periods in historical fiction to read about. Can't wait to read this one.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that women are not well represented in a lot of history.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I know the Tudor women inside and out but here - hurray! - are Genghis Khan's wives, who I know nothing about. Looking forward to reading all about these women!
ReplyDeleteI've HEARD of Genghis Khan, but I really don't know much about him at all, so this should be an interesting book.
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