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Famous Biographies Books - Women in History

Biographies books are written and published to inform as well as entertain. Many biographies can

be written so as to give the reader information on the individual or they may be written as a

biographical novel. These are often easier to transform into movies or serials to be shown on film

& TV.

Many biographies books of famous people have been published over the years and they give us away to explore deeper into their lives and to find out why such people were the role models of their

day. Over the course of history there have been many female role models, or pioneers if you like,

that have more than made their mark on history and who are still read about and studied today.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra was perhaps one of the first women to make their own mark in history and was viewed

as a most charismatic and exceptional woman. She was born around 69 BC into ancient Egypts

royal family, despite the fact her family originated from Macedonia. Upon her fathers death

Cleopatra succeeded to the throne of Egypt where she ruled alongside her brother. Cleopatra was

the only ruler that took the time to learn the Egyptian language.

She was pressured to get out of Egypt due to conflicts with her brother, who wanted to rule alone

and also with outside forces, one of these forces being Rome. She embarked upon a relationship

with Julius Caesar who made Cleopatra the queen and sole ruler of Egypt. Following his death

she then became fascinated by Marc Antony. Caesar and Antony were two of the most powerful

men in the Roman Empire.

Historians say that Cleopatra was poisoned around 30 BC, however legend has it that she induced

a cobra to bite her, thus taking her own life. It is this legend that movie makers preferred to believe

when they made the Hollywood blockbuster film, Cleopatra, with screen actress Elizabeth Taylor

in the starring role.

Joan of Arc

The Hundred Years War was a period of ongoing battles between England and France. It's during

this period in 1412 that Joan of Arc was born to a peasant farmer in France. Joan was very

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religious and thought fervently that she was guided by the voices of French saints. When only

sixteen years of age, these voices commanded her to join the fight against the British. The military

men dismissed her at first however when shed proved herself in battle achieved their respect. She

played a vital part in the siege of Orleans which more than established her as a hero of France.

Eventually she was caught by the British and burned at the stake. Joan of Arc was canonized over

five centuries later and is now one of the patron saints of France.

Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I is maybe the most famous female ruler of England. As the daughter of Henry VIII and

Anne Boleyn, she experienced a most difficult childhood. While she was only a toddler her father

had her mother beheaded. For whatever motive she was given the sort of schooling that was

strange for females of that time and she was renowned for being a very intelligent girl.

Though not succeeding to the throne forthwith upon her fathers death, Elizabeth made it through

all the political plotting and rivals for the throne until finally becoming Queen of England from the

age of 25. Throughout her rule England asserted itself as a dominant force in Europe,

distinguishing itself in military might, the arts and trade. She was known as the Virgin Queen given

that she never married. Elizabeths glorious reign lasted until her death in 1603 and this period is

termed as the Elizabethan Age. Aspects of her life have fascinated us for hundreds of years.

Anne Frank

Anne Frank is probably one of the youngest and most heartbreaking modern-day heroes. Frank

was a 13-year-old Austrian Jewish girl whose family went into hiding in the Netherlands throughout

the Holocaust. She kept a journal while in hiding, describing boring details of her life as well as

news about the world outside. Her family spent two years in hiding, but were discovered by

German soldiers in August 1944. Anne, her sister and her mother all died in Nazi concentration

camps the following year. Anne Frank left the world with probably the greatest records of everyday

life at the time of the Holocaust and whose courage will not be forgotten.

Happily we've come a long way from the times when women's successes were not celebrated,

and women were discouraged from standing out from the crowd. The 1 thing all these famous

women have in common is that they achieved truly extraordinary things before they were twenty-

five and it's the likes of these people that famous biographies books were intended!

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