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Short stories by
Marian Powell
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| | | | | | PWP Member Book Reviews
 Uppity Women of the (take your pick) series
by Vicki Leon
Review by Marian Powell
"Take Your Pick" really isn't part of the title. Uppity Women is a series of books: Uppity Women of Ancient Times, Uppity Women of Medieval Times, Uppity Women of Shakespearean Times and Uppity Women of The New World.
What is an "uppity woman" of ancient or medieval times? It was a woman who made it into the historical record by doing something other than being a wife or a mother. For example, who was the world's first author known by name? The answer is Enheduana, the daughter of King Sargo of Akkad, who wrote 42 popular hymns that still survive.
While interesting, that's the sort of fact that makes a book sound dull. In reality, most of the stories are about women who led very lively lives. Vicki Leon is clearly most fond of power mad murderesses. Perhaps she is redressing an imbalance since history tends to be about power mad murderers. She also only devotes one or two pages to each women and writes in a sassy, in your face style. The amount of research she had manage to find references for these women is staggering. The stories read like fiction, for she imaginatively fleshes out the gaps in real-life stories. I couldn't help feeling that there are dozens of full-blown novels just waiting to be written about these obscure women. 
Marian Powell has served as PWP Membership Chair since 2004. A versatile writer, she has published online book reviews, "Days Past" features in the Prescott Daily Courier and on the Sharlot Hall Museum website, and short sci-fi in anthologies. She has stories in a number of anthologies, including Categorical Imperative in Sci-Fi Waxes Philosophical (ZC Books, 2008, edited by Ahmed Khan.)
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