Few people can name more than a handful of women who have ruled their people. Fewer still know what they did or how they looked. Woman Ruler: Woman Rule brings forth twenty-seven women rulers from Sumerian times up until the first half of the twentieth century. Women such as Jingu of Japan, Nzinga of Angola, Dido of Carthage, Ungu of Patani in Malaya, and the Queen of Sheba as well as the more familiar Elizabeth I of England, Isabel I of Spain, and Catherine II of Russia. Each woman is portrayed in two original illustrations and accompanying text. The artwork is lush, opulent, intricate--reminiscent of an illuminated manuscript, a mandala, or a Tibetan thangka. Each pair of pictures is an invitation into the world of the woman it portrays and so is entirely different from every other pair. To help create the feeling of the woman's time the illustrations are done in a variety of media: gouache, watercolor, colored pencil, colored ink.
The first part of each presentation is given in the voice of the woman portrayed, based almost entirely on original sources--her own words whenever possible, or those of her contemporaries, or those of ancient historians and legends. (A certain amount of explanatory material is interpolated where necessary.) I think of these as each woman's song of self.
The second part presents facets of the woman's culture. This part is long when the woman's presentation of herself is short; considerably more abbreviated when the woman's presentation is extensive. Part three--a notes section--follows, identifying the sources used for the `song,' and offering a partial bibliography and further reading.
Each ensemble is designed to pull readers into the world of the woman speaking, to open their eyes to the woman's individuality: and the book as a whole, to the tremendous diversity of women who have ruled. Fifteen years of research inform the chapters. In these fifteen years, Proteus-like, the book's form has shifted and changed many times. In its final version chapters range from 4500 to 9000 words, with most chapters being about 5500 words in length. The `song' is lively and bright, very personal and easy to read: a suitable accompaniment to the pictures. The background material is presented in more standard scholarly fashion for those who wish to know more.
I have written this book for a woman who earns her living cutting glass and for a lady lawyer who is passionate for history; for a young man who writes tales for children and a retired elevator repairman who loves to read; for a book seller, for a hairdresser, for you and for myself. I have written it for those looking for inspiration and imagery from the past in order to create the future; for those reconsidering women's place in the world, particularly as leaders of their people; for those in quest of self, wanting to dream, play, create with the many varied images of the feminine.
This book has grown out of my own life. It draws on my love of art, of poetic writing, of travel, of history, of womanhood. Years ago I graduated in history from Berkeley. Later I lived many years in India, England, and Japan, among other countries. In France I translated works by the noted Zen Master and poet Thich Nhat Hanh. Wherever I have lived I have drawn and written, studied and observed. Everywhere the stories of our foremothers have been lost in the shadows. I have sought to bring these twenty-seven women into the limelight and give them voice.
