What Would Boudicca do? By E. Foley and B. Coates

With Boudicca on the front page, what kind of book can this really be other than a feminist celebration? This book is made up of the lives of fifty wonderful ladies from all over the world, in all different eras and also different backgrounds. From the most popular like Queen Victoria, Frida Kahlo and Rosa Parks, to lesser known icons like Josephine Baker, Hypatia and Empress Cixi. The aim of the book is to highlight all these inspirational women and with each chapter, try and extract something from their lives that we should also incorporate into our own. Each woman has their own unique story; however, Foley and Coates manage to find a way for us to relate to these women and learn from their lives so we know what we should do in all sorts of situations. Some of the situations include: how to love your boobs, how to get over grief, how to get over FOMO and how to kill it at work. I really enjoyed the stories of these incredible women and how they managed to succeed in their own way, however there were moments that the lessons to be learned were a bit far-fetched. Although I loved the idea, I felt like in some occasions the lesson to be learnt from certain people did not really match with the woman they were talking about. For example, how to get over grief with Queen Victoria was slightly odd seeing as it took her ten years to be able to be seen in public again after Albert’s death…is this really someone we should be following to get past grievance? I, personally, would disagree.

I must admit that my favourite part was going back through time, learning about all the different types of women that have existed before me. Many of the women were new to me, which made it even more exciting! I also appreciated this book because it did not only shed light on the women that would be deemed as perfect role models, but they highlighted women that did not lead perfect lives, however they fought for what they believed was right and that in itself is a valiant way to live your life. One of my favourite examples of the women like this was that of a poor, rural Indian girl called Phoolan Devi. As a young girl, she was always a bit rebellious, not wanting to follow the footsteps of many other poor Indian girls and their typical journey of becoming a woman. Her rebelliousness landed her in a marriage as a child and meant that her husband brutally abused her until she was able to escape. From that moment onwards, her life was a constant vindication of all the people that had abused her previously. She became a part of a gang and killed many people; not exactly a prime example to follow. Nevertheless, this woman is an icon for feminists all over because she did not let anyone take advantage of her and knew where she stood. Of course, we should not take this story as a literal way to live our lives, but it does highlight that we should not let anyone disrespect us, even if it may seem like a minor action.

Another important aspect is that all the chapters/stories are only about four to five pages long! This book is therefore fantastic for busy people who feel as though they do not have enough time to read. You can easily read a chapter a night and not feel lost the next time you open the book as each chapter is a new and totally different story!

I would highly recommend this to any feminist, any reader and anybody who is stressed out with their busy schedule but still wants to find the time to read a book that is worthwhile (and also educational).