Tag Archives: Smithsonian Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month Guest Post: Morgan Elektra on The Mysterious Mrs. Radcliffe

Hi friends! We’re back with a WHM post! As you know I welcome any and everyone fro Smithsonian [Heritage] Month posts, and Morgan was someone who stepped up. Thank you, Morgan! I have to say – I didn’t know much about Mrs. Radcliffe. Of course I knew she was a very popular author. It seemed for a while you couldn’t read a historical romance that didn’t snark about her in some way – so I appreciated Morgan providing her take and more information. I also desperately need to know more about ~what happened to her … but that seems like something we’ll never know. Anyway – read on!

The Mysterious Mrs. Radcliffe
by Morgan Elektra

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe book coverMost of you don’t know the name Ann Radcliffe, despite the fact that, in her heyday (1789-1797), she was the most popular novelist in perhaps all of Europe. However, this sad oversight is hardly your fault. Unlike names like Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and the Brontë sisters, Radcliffe’s name is hardly ever uttered in a classroom setting. Prior to college and any specialization classes taken at that time, there is very little attention paid to the Gothic novel at all, despite how those authors, like Radcliffe, helped shape the world of both horror and romance.

So, who is Ann Radcliffe and why should you know her name? Born Ann Ward in Holborn, London on July 9, 1764, she moved with her mother and father to Bath as a small girl, where her father managed a china shop for the Wedgewoods. She married William Radcliffe, a lawyer who would go on to edit The English Chronicle newspaper. The two lived in seclusion in London and had no children. Little more is known of her life, aside from a few quotes about her shyness.  Continue reading

WHM: Cynthia Sax on Trailblazing Women In Science Fiction Romance

Hi friends! We have Cynthia Sax back with us today, and I’m thrilled to have our first official Smithsonian Heritage post of 2019, for Women’s History Month, and such a great topic. I’m out of it so you’ll have to forgive me on timing and mistakes etc – especially when we’ve got such a wonderful guest and post!

Trailblazing Women In Science Fiction Romance By Cynthia Sax

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley book coverWhen Limecello suggested this topic, I immediately agreed to cover it, thinking it would be an easy post to write. I’d search on Google, read a couple of posts on the history of Science Fiction Romance, add my own experience in this wonderful subgenre and bam, my post would be done.

Except when I searched on this topic, very few posts were mentioned. Wikipedia’s coverage of Science Fiction Romance was sparse and mentioned only one book, a book I knew couldn’t have been the first Science Fiction Romance.

This can’t be right, I thought. There must be more articles. My mad Google skillz must be failing me. So I put out a call in a SciFi Romance group for reference articles. A couple more resources were mentioned (including Heather Massey’s A Brief History Of Science Fiction Romance) but it was clear much of the history of this female writer dominated subgenre hasn’t be recorded and, if it isn’t recorded soon, it might never be noted. It would be lost. Forever. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Katharine Ashe on Disguise or Truth

Hi friends! March has come to a close, so we say goodbye to another Women’s History Month. I’m very excited to welcome back Katharine Ashe, with this wonderful post.

Disguise or Truth?
By Katharine Ashe

The Prince by Katharine Ashe Cover I just wrote a historical romance in which the female protagonist, Libby, dresses as a youth to achieve her dream of becoming a surgeon, a profession prohibited to women in early nineteenth-century Britain. I based Libby’s story on a historical person.

Heroines disguised as boys are a staple in popular historical romance fiction. From the early days of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Ashes in the Wind (1979) and Johanna Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue (1990), romance readers have adored heroines who are not only comfortable in breeches but revel in the liberty the costume allows.

Why do readers love these heroines? I think it is because they serve our fantasies about history. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Eileen Dreyer on Remarkable Women

Hello lovelies! I’m really excited to welcome Eileen Dreyer to A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet for Women’s History Month. I’m loving these posts on amazing women that really should get more attention than they do, and be studied more. I definitely learned something, and hope you will too! (Eileen is also a first time guest to ALBTALBS – which … how is that even possible?! <3) 

Remarkable Women

By now we all know that the contributions by women in many fields have been lost over time. We’re even enjoying rediscovering them. Anybody who saw Hidden Figures (and if you haven’t, do. Immediately), you’ll see that it wasn’t only women who were erased from the ledgers of NASA accomplishments, but women of color. We were there. They just didn’t think anybody really needed to know.

I hope the movie inspired a lot of people to look back for other women who had their discoveries commandeered, like Mary Anning, who in 1815 unearthed the first intact echthyosaur skeleton, thereby revolutionizing geology and introducing the first accepted proof of extinction, only to have her discoveries credited to men who never considered her eligible for the scientific societies that should have sponsored her work. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Eva Leigh on Trailblazers in Romance

We are so pleased to have author Eva Leigh join us today with a guest post that celebrates some of Romancelandia’s greatest trailblazers. Eva was on deadline when she wrote this post,  so a thank you to her for taking time out of her schedule to join us in celebrating Women’s History Month. 

Who is YOUR favorite trailblazer? Consider writing a guest post of your own! ALBTALBS doesn’t have word count limitations and Lime always encourages guests to write at least 1000 words. I should know, since I’ve written a few of these posts myself. 😉

Trailblazers in Romance
by Eva Leigh

In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I’d present to you a list of the women who have helped shape modern romance novels. For my purposes, I’m focusing on American published romances since the 1970s, but the roots of romances as most readers know them go much further back. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Cynthia Sax on How Bad A$$ Women Changed The Computing World Forever

Hi friends!!! We have the wonderful Cynthia Sax guesting with us today! 😀 It’s Women’s History Month, and Cynthia very kindly wrote post for us! It’s pretty self-explanatory, so no further intro is needed. Enjoy!

How Bad A$$ Women Changed The Computing World Forever

You’re reading this blog post today because of the brilliant women who came before us. Without their contributions, our laptops, tablets and smart phones wouldn’t exist. Women’s History Month wouldn’t be complete without discussing them. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Cassandra Carr Gives 8 Reasons Men and Women are Still Not Equal in 2018

Hi friends! As previously stated, March is Women’s History Month, and I’m excited to share our first guest post. Shout out to Cassandra Carr who also provided one of the few Black History Month posts this year too. <3 She makes some excellent points here, with numerous sources and resources, so I hope you’ll check it out!

8 reasons men and women are still not equal in 2018
By Cassandra Carr

It’s 2018. Women are leading the charge all over the world to increase equality, but we’re far from where we should be. We make up a large portion of the American movement called The Resistance, and more women than ever – by a large margin – are running for office. Some inequalities are narrowing, but still present. These are positive steps, but we have so far to go.

As I write this, it’s International Women’s Day, part of Women’s History Month. But instead of talking about women in the past, I want to talk about how today’s women can make history and what they must do to succeed. Continue reading

Happy Women’s History Month! (aka SWHM at ALBTALBS)

Hi friends! As you probably know, March is Women’s History Month, and here at A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet, we always try to give a nod to the Smithsonian Heritage Months. You probably also know that it’s low key or not depending on how interested people are in participating in any given month. That’s all there is to it. Of course if you ever have suggestions of people or you yourself would like to guest post (please!) – do let me know! <3

Billie Holiday, Credit: William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Beverly Jenkins on Apache Warrior and Prophet Lozen

Hi friends! I’m beyond excited to welcome super star author Beverly Jenkins to ALBTALBS with a guest post for Smithsonian Women’s History Month (SWHM).

Lozen is my right hand … strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people.”

This quote, attributed to the great Apache War Leader Vicotorio describes his sister, Lozen, remembered by the Apache as a kick ass warrior and one of the most powerful medicine people in tribal history. She was born in the late 1840s into the Warm Springs band of the Chiricahua Apache who made their home in the mountains of what is now New Mexico. Some historians believe Lozen means, “Little Sister”, while others say Lozen is a war title given to a person who steals horses during a raid. Regardless of what her name means she is a legend. At a young age, she eschewed the traditional female lessons of basket making and child care to ride horses and learn to fight. She also vowed never to marry. As she grew older, she was as good with a knife as she was with a rifle. She was also a formidable horsewoman. During her coming of age spirit quest, Useen, the Apache Creator God gifted her with not only the power to heal wounds, but the ability to sense the enemy; a sixth sense that would prove invaluable in the Apache fight to remain a free people. Continue reading

SWHM Guest: Cecilia London

My friends, March is almost over, and I’ve let Smithsonian Women’s History Month pass quietly. There will likely be some changes at ALBTALBS (and ideally a more usual schedule – that’d be a change of pace for sure…) – and some “retroactive” posts… but as you see, we have the fantastic Cecilia London guesting with us, and she’s got a double relevant post – discussing Women’s History Month as well as her books – one of which is currently free. Whee!

My earliest political memory is of drawing a mustache on Walter Mondale while my best friend drew a beard on Ronald Reagan. We had just been handed a special election copy of Weekly Reader. Don’t judge me, or her…we were seven and in parochial school. I hadn’t yet realized that my parents were moderate to liberal independents with rebellious voting tendencies that have only gotten more radical with age. I was convinced I was a Republican. Continue reading