Page 87 - All About History - Issue 26-15

Reviews

WOMEN WHO RULED Balancingthehistorybooks

Author Claudia Gold Publisher Quercus Books Price £9.99 Released Out now
romtheEgyptianQueenHatshepsutliving to arrive at some more genuine version of what In 1988, Benazir Bhutto
in 15th century BCE to the prime minister of actually happened. So, in these few points where became the first woman
Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in the last century, Women Who Ruled does not maintain – or, indeed, elected to lead an Islamic
country’s government
Women Who Ruled provides 50 profiles of evenattempttomaintain–aclinical,objective
F women who have risen to political and social viewpoint, there is something about it that is
power.Whileitwaspreviouslyprintedas‘Queen, forgivable. Perhaps that it sits in the overwhelming
Empress, Concubine’, if we’re honest, we much companyoftextsthatglorifyandcelebratethe
preferthecurrenttitle.It’scertainlynotabook often-exaggerated achievements of individual men,
forthosewithmoreknowledgeonthesubject, perhapsitissimplythepassionandenthusiasm
withitslackofnotations,bibliography,andfurther that Gold shows for the subject and the compelling
reading (there is a short list, but it’s limited). Instead, andengagingargumentsshemakes
Women Who Ruled seemstobemoreofan So Women Who Rul
engaging, dip in/dip out kind of reassurance that textbook with as many
yes, women have been involved throughout every footnotesasthereare
ageofhumanhistory. paragraphs, but it is af
Thedocumentedhistoryofhumankindhas insight into the many a
been poorly balanced in its representation of the varied ways that wome
sexes,andwhilethereareafewentriesherethat risen to rule. It is an ex
seem as though they’re a little too open-minded, jumping-off point for m
theinterpretationofhistoricaleventsisbeing individual research, an
givenabalancingweight.WasBathshebaraped also something of a ref
by King David, or was she manipulating him for reminderthatnotallh
power? Was Catherine de Médici a pagan, poisoner ancient historians espe
orsocialmastermind?Inagreatdealofhistory, were so poor in their re
we simply do not have the truest version of keeping as to exclude t
events,andbycastingawidenetoftheoriesand agency of half of societ
provokingdiscussion,wearemuchmorelikely Rebecca Richards

PABLO GetpersonalwithPicasso

Author JulieBirmant,ClémentOubrerie(trans.EdwardGauvin)
Publisher SelfMadeHero Price £16.99 Released Out now
icasso’s life is notorious – from his art to his tofindinotherbiographies.Whatisultimatelya
lifestyle, history tells us that his life was that short illustrated story still takes as long to read as
of a true creative – and this illustrated graphic awordynovelofequallength;withsuchdetailed
novel presents a unique perspective on the illustrations, you spend as long exploring each page
P defining moment of Picasso’s life. as you would reading written words. Each box
Pablo’s narrative is told from the point of view is filled with quirky details, from expressions on
of his long-time lover and muse Fernande Olivier. characters’ faces to breath-taking depictions of the
She begins by Sacré-Cœur,re-creationsofPicasso’spaintings,and
explaining her life, thesubtleshadingonanude’sfigure.Everytime
from escaping an youglancebacktoapage,moredetailsappear,
abusive husband drawing you back in.
to her newfound Perhaps one disappointing element of Pablo,
independence as a however, is the fact that Birmant and Oubrerie’s
model in Paris, where illustrative style is more reminiscent of Picasso’s
she meets Picasso. Rose period rather than his infamous Cubist
From here, their lives art.Itmakessense,ofcourse–afterall,we’re Picasso’s1941piece Woman
are intertwined – his looking at Picasso’s life with Fernande, which was SittingInAnArmchair
misery, frustrations predominantlybeforeheapproachedmodernart.
and mania are By the end of the graphic novel, however, Picasso wrong tree with Pablo – what you’ve got here is
all seen through has embraced Cubism. But it would have been a a romantic, personal perspective of an artist that
Fernande’s eyes, nice touch for the artistic style of the novel to echo truly shook the foundations of art history. Frankly,
providing a reasoning Picasso’s development. nothing less than personal could truly explain the
and personal voice If you’re looking for something neutral and genius of Picasso.
that you’d struggle objective about Picasso, you’re barking up the Philippa Grafton
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