Clark structures the book as a travelogue: starting in Egypt and eventually moving around the African continent as she also moves forward in time. Each chapter opened with a description of the geography, climate and culture of the area the ancient queen ruled. This included the religion of the time she ruled in. This helps set the context of each queen’s power, but it also sometimes felt as if it were padding a chapter out. For example, four and half pages of the ten pages about Al-Kahina (a Berber warrior queen of the seventh century) were describing the landscape and religion of Algeria.

As we travelled through time, I also started to wonder how some of the women could be considered of the ancient world. Once we reach a queen, Ranavalona I (1828 to 1861), whose reign overlaps with the British Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901), I felt I needed to double-check my understanding of historical time periods. I’m used to ‘late antiquity’ as the period that ends in roughly 750 CE. That’s in line with the US Library of Congress definition and the Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity’s description. So my assumption is the ‘ancient world’ would be before that cutoff point. By that definition, three of these nine queens are not of the ancient world at all.

Elements of the travelogue descriptions also snagged at me for their use of ‘exotic’ and ‘exciting’ to describe commonplace plants and animals. It made me think of Edward Said’s definition of ‘orientalism’ as the exaggeration of difference and the presumption of Western superiority. A camel may be ‘exotic’ in London or America, but it very much not in Africa. Exotic is an adjective that makes something Other.

And then I reached the chapter on Njinga (1583 to 1663). This queen ruled in a period when European powers such as the Portuguese Empire were increasing the export slave trade. Clark writes clearly on the nightmare of the trans Atlantic slave trade, and is evidently appalled by it. She is clear in her condemnation. Yet at times the language is a little careless. For example, “an additional 2,000,000 slaves died before they made it to their destined ports” (page 118) is just one of several times when the word ‘slaves’ is used rather than ‘enslaved people’. Why does this matter? P. Gabrielle Foreman et al, in their community-sourced guide to writing about slavery, suggests that "Using enslaved (as an adjective) rather than “slave” (as a noun) disaggregates the condition of being enslaved with the status of “being” a slave. People weren’t slaves; they were enslaved." (P. Gabrielle Foreman, et al. “Writing about Slavery/Teaching About Slavery: This Might Help”).

Clark normally specialises in Colonial American history so these stylistic choices seem odd: the need to write with care and deliberation about the history of enslavement are surely part of that specialism. One of the recommended sources for the guide above, Daina Ramey Berry’s 'Enslaved Women in America', was published in 2012 so this is not a novel idea about how to write about enslaved people.

There are 88 pages of notes and sources. I obviously turned to the sources to see if there are books and articles I wanted to follow up on. In this instance, a surprising number are from online encyclopedias. Fair enough: this is a pop history exploration of nine African queens, but the book is advertised as ” drawing from excellent sources”.

With this book, I was hoping to discover perhaps one or two women of antiquity and some leads for in-depth sources on them which we could then explore. Instead I finished it feeling I had learnt not enough about the women featured and more than I ever wanted to about how online sources write about Africa from a tourist perspective.

I enjoyed this book! It's a good introduction to amazing women in Africa's History. I enjoyed learning more information about the ladies I was familiar with and also being introduced to some I had little knowledge about.

From Madagascar, Nubia, Egypt, Algeria, and beyond, this isn’t history wrapped in dry academia—it pulses with life, with setting, and with complexity.

The women portrayed here are not polished icons—they’re leaders. Some inspire awe, others provoke horror. I found myself deeply disturbed by the portrayal of the queen of Madagascar (Ranavalona I), whose reign was soaked in blood and torture, particularly in her persecution of Christians. Yet the narrative hesitates, offering lines like “whether she was right or wrong,” as if such barbarity lives in a grey zone. It doesn’t. And moral flexibility in the face of religious slaughter is something I find impossible to accept. You know, that moral flexibility that appears only when Christians are persecuted and slaughtered.

In contrast, Dahia al-Kahina, the Jewish queen of Algeria, stood out as a revelation. Her strength, intelligence, and resistance against Arab conquest stayed with me long after I finished the book. I could easily imagine her as the centre of a sweeping historical novel—and someone should definitely write it. It just shows how fierce Jewish women are when faced with the horror of Muslim barbarians.

Above all, I appreciated that Clark, for the most part, avoided the trend of turning these women into modern ideological symbols. She presents their triumphs, flaws, and legacies with elegance and restraint, allowing readers to think, react, and—importantly—judge.

A challenging, often powerful read that doesn’t always get it right—but never stops being compelling.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword History and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really informative and interesting, I loved how in-depth it was on the women covered, I was expecting just snapshots but it’s really helpful going over back story and I loved how it is shades of grey, no painting the women as hero or villains , brilliant

When I saw the name of the book, I knew I had to read it. The Ancient African world is filled with fierce woman leaders and warriors, so I was disappointed that only the first few women are actually from Antiquity (which, for me personally, was misleading). I liked that each of them has their own around 20 page exposé, which makes it super easy to read, even if you don't really have any free time. Some of the reviews mentioned that it has some extra information, but I actually enjoyed it, maybe it is the historian in me, but context, relevance, and heritage make it feel more complete to me. That being said, I did notice a few historical unaccuracies, not only in the title of book, but I think tgat for a broader market, it is OK, as I don't think people will notice or remember them, but they will find out more about these amazing women, which let's be honest is way important than a few samll facts.

Overall, I think for the general population it will be a pretty good read, but if you know more about the subject, you may be left a bit disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read the ARC copy of the book.

I appreciated learning about African women that I had not heard about or hadn't heard a lot about. Get this book as a resource to inform oneself about the ancient world and the influencers and leaders in it. I could see this as an essential resource for scholars, writers, historians and more.

This is a very readable history of 9 African women leaders of the ancient--and not so ancient--world, some of which you may probably have heard of and others that you may not. Each one is only about 15 to 20 pages in language which anyone can understand; you do not have to be a history scholar to read this.

I really appreciate that these women are depicted in a complex manner. They are neither saints nor sinners. Some of the actions of some of these women would be considered deplorable by our modern sensibilities, i.e. killing children, but you could not be a leader if your could not be ruthless at times. And the men were no better.

Clark gives a description of the landscape of each area that the women ruled which gives an idea of the diverse societies and environment of Africa. At times, though, they did seem to go on a bit long and I would have preferred a bit more analysis. I also found the discussion of the location of Sheba a bit confusing and I'm not sure where the author lands on that issue.

But those are small things. I think it is a good introduction to some of the amazing women in Africa's history and there is a lot more we can all learn.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I loved this book! It's a fascinating look at the often-overlooked stories of powerful African queens. The author does a great job of making the history accessible and engaging – it's easy to read and understand, even if you're not a history buff. It also makes you rethink what you know about powerful women in ancient Egypt. Thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the ARC to read and Review.

This book unveils the untold stories of powerful African queens—such as Amanirenas, who defied Rome, and Nzinga Mbande, who resisted the slave trade. The book highlights the queens’ military prowess, political acumen, and lasting impact on history, bringing their often-overlooked legacies to light.

This book does a great job of revealing how women wielded power in African cultures, from ancient to modern times. The author uses an engaging storytelling style and presents the material in a way that’s easy to understand. The book reflects how our view of Hatshepsut and Nefertiti continues to evolve, revealing how women’s influence in Egypt may have been greater than previously thought.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that I love learning about women history from antiquity to more recent times. Seeing that my family is originally from Egypt, when I saw that this book is about African women of the Ancient World, I was immediately intrigued. Now I admit that I thought it'd cover more about everyday women from the time, but I will always be excited to meet more epic queens. Especially lesser-known ones.

The book covers nine different queens and female leaders from different countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and others. Each chapter is around twenty or so pages which allows for relatively quick reads.

While I enjoyed learning about some of the less familiar figures, I admit that the flow of the book didn't quite work for me. While it does cover epic women, the book often went into detailed tangents that in my opinion made it difficult to focus on the figure being discussed. While I will always appreciate background context especially about topics that are new to me, in this case, the extra context was often about secondary topics that ultimately weren't particularly important or related. Significant time was often spent on the tangents making me feel like I've only learned the basics about the titular woman in the end.

I was also surprised that the book had figures from the 16th century and even the 19th century as I thought, per the book’s title, the focus would be on antiquity. I do wonder if perhaps a shorter time period could've given more focus allowing for more details and cohesion across the book.

There were unfortunately two incorrect facts stated in the book that I've since then shared with the awesome people at Pen and Sword, who were not only supportive but immediately took action to see them corrected. While I didn't appreciate that the author didn't do due diligence for the topics, the publisher as always went above and beyond for the readers and that's why despite my many problems with this one book, I cannot wait to read more books by the publisher.

Wow, just wow! This was a really good book. It was informative but also easy to read and understand. I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested!!

A fascinating look into a world that deserves more literature out there: African women who made their mark in the Ancient World. This goes beyond that of the Egyptian women, who usually hog the spotlight in the history shelves, and brings to light those we hear little about.

A bold non fiction title which highlights African queens both known and unknown. It was detailed and full of new facts. The research was well done and it is evident that the author is very up to date with the topic. The writing was uncomplicated and easy to grasp. It was not unnecessarily dry on did not drag. A perfect book to binge read for any history lover. (Full rating; 4.5 out of 5 stars).

This is a comprehensive, well-researched and thought out book. It gives a lot of information about forgotten African Women in a way that keeps readers engaged. I enjoy history and reading about these phenomenal women is right up my alley. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history.