{"product_id":"regina-a-new-history-of-women-and-power-9781399646635","title":"Regina: A New History of Women and Power","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, this is an epic new history of royal women from the celebrated historian and author\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images created by men.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed historian Kate Williams leads us deep into a world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and courtiers, uncovering how their ambitions were shaped, celebrated and often thwarted, exposing a tangled web of women and power that spans thousands of years. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRanging from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of the pre-modern world and the last days of colonialism, Williams delves into the lives of these remarkable women, revealing both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacri?ces.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom Hatshepsut and Boudica, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, to Queen Victoria's contemporaries Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of queens and royal woman, of female power through the ages that unlocks how we understand women, politics and power today.\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781399646635\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 14 Jul 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Orion Publishing Co\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eProfessor Kate Williams is a historian and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of over ten works of history and historical non-fiction which include \u003ci\u003eRival Queens\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Royal Palaces\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEdge of the Fall\u003c\/i\u003e. She has presented various TV shows on the BBC, Channel 5 and PBS, including \u003ci\u003eRestoration Home\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eYoung Victoria\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eInside Versailles\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSecrets of the Royal Palaces\u003c\/i\u003e. She is CNN's royal historian and covers all royal events for CNN (including the funeral of Elizabeth II) and also discusses royals on the BBC and Sky News. She studied for her BA and DPhil at Oxford and is Professor in Public Engagement with History at the University of Reading, and lectures all over the world. She has appeared on shows from the \u003ci\u003eGreat British Bake Off\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eGardener's World\u003c\/i\u003e and has won UK quiz shows including \u003ci\u003eMastermind\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePointless\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAntiques Road Trip\u003c\/i\u003e. Her greatest love is a dusty document.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ci\u003eRegina \u003c\/i\u003eis the crowning achievement of a lifetime of telling women's stories . . . Kate Williams is a woman of great power herself * Lucy Worsley, author of Jane Austen at Home *\u003cbr\u003eTerrific . . . absolutely compelling * Antonia Fraser, author of Marie Antoinette: The Journey *\u003cbr\u003eLyrical, rich . . . Williams enlarges our past, transforming our understanding of power. Williams has shown me that our appreciation of the past is incomplete. She writes so eloquently about female power, not to detract from traditional notions of kingship but adding vastly to them to provide a richer, more comprehensive history. Kate Williams is a queen of narrative history * Dan Snow, author of The History of England *\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating and excellent chronicle of female rulers - some wildly famous, some much neglected - that is effectively a world history told through regal biographies and a guide how to be a queen, wonderfully told by a consummate historian who combines authoritative scholarship with compelling storytelling * Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World: A Family History of Humanity *\u003cbr\u003eThis is so much more than a history of female rulers: it shines a dazzling, often unflattering light on how women in power have been viewed by the societies in which they lived. Brilliantly-written, thought-provoking and utterly compelling throughout, it provokes admiration and anger in equal measure. A stunning achievement * Tracy Borman, author of The House of Boleyn *\u003cbr\u003eThese really are Great Lives. Brilliant, fascinating portraits, told with scholarship and wry humour. I've learned the origin of 'Pharoah' and why no one knows Boudica's real name. This is my historical happy place * Conn Iggulden, author of Nero *\u003cbr\u003eErudite, clever, brilliant, this is a beguiling analysis of the world through the lives of 3000 years of female rulers. Essential reading for all who care about how history is made, and whose story gets to be told. \u003ci\u003eRegina \u003c\/i\u003eis a triumph * Kate Mosse, author of The Map of Bones *\u003cbr\u003eTheir stories have been told through the centuries - but all too often filtered through the words of men. In \u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e, Kate Williams restores what was lost in a landmark history of royal women, power and the enduring myths we were never meant to question * Lindsey Fitzharris, NY Times Bestselling Author of The Facemaker *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant. Yet again, Williams brings history to life in the most sizzling, scintillating way, combining meticulous research with dynamo storytelling. This book is a triumph! * Alice Loxton, author of Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen *\u003cbr\u003eA royal smash. Kate Williams is at the top of her game. She tells the story of queenship with the glitz of a royal ball and the precision of the executioner's axe. If you think you know the history of queens, think again. Kate Williams really is the queen of royal history. * Kate Lister, author of Flick, The Story of Female Pleasure *\u003cbr\u003eOne of Britain's most cherished public historians and leading expert of European Elite women strikes again. From the she-king Hatshepsut, the guillotined Marie-Antoinette to the beloved Princess Diana, Williams's magnificent new book \u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e takes us on an exhilarating expedition across 3000 years of women's history. Williams's exquisite signature plume confronts inherited and pervasive misogyny across continents while celebrating female monarchs and power broker's ruling methods and unique achievements. \u003ci\u003eRegina \u003c\/i\u003eis a compelling invitation to embed Women's history more strongly into World and Colonial Histories * Olivette Otele, author of African Europeans: An Untold History *\u003cbr\u003eKate Williams tells the lives of women who ruled with both empathy and rigour. this is a tour de force book that will make you rethink everything you know about gender and power * Helen Carr, author of Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century *\u003cbr\u003eIn a rich and incisive reimagining of the past, Kate Williams cuts through familiar cliches to offer us a dazzling, globe-spanning procession of queens to show how deeply our histories of female power have been shaped by bias. \u003ci\u003eRegina \u003c\/i\u003eis as engaging and unsettling - and as indomitable - as the remarkable women it brings to life * Nandini Das, author of This Little World: A New History of Tudor and Stuart England *\u003cbr\u003eSeductress, maniac, tyrant: just some of the labels attached to queens across the centuries. In \u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e, Professor Kate WIlliams cuts through centuries of spin to reveal the often surprising realities of female rule. The result is a vivid, humane and deeply compelling history. A must-read * Anthony Delaney, author of Queer Georgians *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the invisible dynamics behind the careers of history's most visible women. In a grand, ambitious sweep through 3000 years of female power, Kate Williams incisively proves that our understanding of the queens of the past remains a vital element in defining the boundaries which still confine all women today.  Forceful and urgent, \u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e is also a profound work of scholarship, providing intimate, poignant portraits of both queens we think we know and many whose stories and strategies have been neglected. Kate Williams pulverises the notion that the history of men is about fact, whilst that of women concerns personality. Ruthless, brilliant, scheming, violent, treacherous, noble, these queens are not heroines but something more important: individual rulers whose impact on world history is still overlooked * Lisa Hilton, author of The Scandal of the Century *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRegina\u003c\/i\u003e is a thoroughly engrossing work - full to the brim with fascinating research and impassioned prose. Through an extraordinary variety of artefacts and archival material, Kate Williams demonstrates how images of queenship have been weaponised globally for time immemorial. Rich in detail and depth, vibrant and full of life * Rebecca Rideal, author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire *\u003cbr\u003eAn enthralling study - and long-overdue appraisal - of many of history's most intriguing and misunderstood rulers. Though perhaps not the \u003ci\u003emot juste \u003c\/i\u003efor a book entirely about Queens by one of our foremost (female) historians, it applies non the less: masterly * Robert Hardman *\u003cbr\u003eAn energetic, in-depth and thought-provoking account of female rulers across space and time. In a style at once entertaining, empathetic and scholarly, Williams untangles the lives of some of history's most extraordinary women from those of the men around them who often tried to control their actions and their legacies. In doing so, she restores the humanity to a host of warrior-queens, queens regnant and female kings. I devoured it * Luke Pepera, author of Motherland: A Journey Through African History, Culture and Identity *","brand":"Kate Williams","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50735557378265,"sku":"9781399646635","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781399646635.jpg?v=1792168698","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/regina-a-new-history-of-women-and-power-9781399646635","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}