In this month’s Kickass Women in History, we take a trip to the Ashanti Empire, where reigned Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother during the War of the Golden Stool. Born around 1840, she was instrumental in the fight against British Colonialism. The Asante Confederacy (also referred to as the Ashanti Empire) was located in what is now Ghana. It lasted from approximately 1670 to 1902 (when it officially became a British protectorate). Today it is recognized … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Yaa Asantewaa →
One of the best books I read in 2018 was Little, Edward Carey’s fictional book based on the early life of Anna Maria Grosholtz, who was later known as Madame Tussaud. This book details the life of Tussaud as a child through the French Revolution. I had no idea who Tussaud was other than the fact that her name is on wax museum signs. I was thrilled to find out what a kickass woman she … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Madame Tussaud →
This month’s Kickass Women is brought to you by Hilda Matheson, a woman who essentially invented talk radio. Hilda was a charismatic British woman who is best known for her work with the then-brand new British Broadcasting Company (BBC). As the Director of Talks, she developed the BBC’s first news section and increased radio’s style and prestige. Matheson was born in 1888. Like many women, Matheson’s employment prospects rose with the start of WWI. She … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Hilda Matheson →
Pamela Colman Smith was an amazing artist, and her illustrations of the Rider-Waite tarot deck are not only iconic but also transformed the ways people thought about the cards. She may or may not have been multiracial, and may or may not have been a lesbian. She was an ardent suffragette. She never had children. She started her own press. And few of her contemppraries knew what to make of her. Smith was born in … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Pamela Colman Smith →
This month’s Kickass Woman in History is Ada Blackjack, an Inupiat woman who survived two years on Wrangel Island, much of it completely on her own with the notable exception of a cat. Her story exemplifies the brutal choices that impoverished mothers have had to make throughout history in order to care for their children. It’s also a story about resilience and resourcefulness on the part of a woman who would have greatly preferred to … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Ada Blackjack →
A Perilous Undertaking is book 2 in the Veronica Speedwell series. I advise that you start with book one, A Curious Beginning, to get a better sense of the world, and the characters. I read the two books one after the other, so my impressions are influenced by their proximity in my brain, but looking solely at book two and skipping book one leaves a wealth of motivation and development behind, and readers would miss out on … Continue reading A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn →
This month in Kickass Women, we’re talking about Mata Hari, infamous spy…or not. Mata Hari became a famous symbol of the dangers of a sexually liberated woman, but all she seems to have really done is have a lot of fun and some really great sex, with an unfortunately huge dollop of appropriation along the way. Mata Hari was born Margarethe Geertruida Zelle, in Holland in 1876. Her father, a businessman, spoiled her rotten right … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Mata Hari →
If there’s anything I love about the Internet, it’s the assurance that I won’t be disappointed if I Google “Chinese Pirate Queen.” This month’s Kickass Women is Ching Shih, also known as Madame Ching, also known as Cheng I Sao. She ruled the seas with an iron hand and retired so she could spend her golden years perched on big bags of money. She was a badass, and while of course her story is embellished … Continue reading Kickass Women: Ching Shih, Pirate Queen →
The Immortals (Olympus Bound) is an urban fantasy with tons of action and mythology and a very ass-kicking heroine. Selene DiSilva is actually the goddess Artemis, and she and the other gods from Olympus are living semi-human lives. They age slowly, and some are losing their powers bit by bit as they are no longer worshiped on earth. When a woman is murdered in a ritual that is connected to Artemis, Selene investigates. She has to … Continue reading The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky →
Halloween has come and gone, but here in California we didn’t get anything remotely like Fall until the week of Halloween, so I’m hereby declaring that we can celebrate Halloween right up until Thanksgiving and then segue promptly into various Winter Solstice festivities. With this in mind, this month’s kickass woman is Maria Louise Ramé, or, as she preferred to be called, Marie Louise de la Ramée, an author who used the pseudonym ‘Ouida’. If … Continue reading Kickass Women: Marie Louise de la Ramée, AKA Ouida →
We at the Pink Palace are curious about Suffragette (link warning – music and video autoplay), the upcoming movie in which white British women kick ass for the right to vote, though recent promotional efforts have been less than stellar, and some early reviews indicate that the film depicts a stunning lack of women of color in the suffragette movement. In the United States, many women of color fought for suffrage, often facing discrimination from the … Continue reading Kickass Women: Mary Church Terrell →
