Reviews for Her Own Life: Autobiographical Writings by Seventeenth Century Englishwomen

The average rating for Her Own Life: Autobiographical Writings by Seventeenth Century Englishwomen based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-02-28 00:00:00 Vladislav Vilensky I have always loved old legends and myths. That was the reason, why I chose this book from NetGalley. And It's a wonderful collection of old legends and myths about ancient heroes and heroines, their stories are from a time when druids ruled the Dedannas till the time that Christian religion reached the Irish islands. The stories are drenched in blood and green mist of magic. The heroes are sent to avenge for the death of their fathers or rescue fair maidens or they have to run when the fair maidens choose them over their king. The jealous or the greedy relatives use magic to eliminate their more fortunate relatives. There are brothers that go to the quest to avenge for their father but end up going to a very long trip where they visit many different islands, and there are brothers that go to a pilgrimage, where they visit very similar islands only those islands are different levels in hell. All the heroes are always ready to charge into a battle with their Fena, and they hack at their enemies till the soil beneth their feet is soaked with blood. The heroes are always the most powerful and fair, the maidens are always most beautiful anyone has ever seen, the monsters are always the most grotesque and hideous and they all live much longer than the small Irish people. But these legends do not have happy endings, very few heroes live to participate in another tale and these stories do not have enlightening moment for the readers, they are just bloody chronicles about the ancient Dedannas and Milesians with their king Finn and his sons Oisin and Oscar. Good and surprising read!

Review # 2 was written on 2009-08-17 00:00:00 Alan Mizuko A reprint of a classic 1879 translation of legends, myths, folktales and fairy tales from ancient Ireland. I found this book super interesting, as I'd not heard/read any of these tales before. Many of them are based on actual historical figures - kings, warriors, etc. - but mixed with magic, fantastical creatures, bloody battles and incredible feats of strength, and passed down over thousands of years. I do wish there was a bit more flow and emotion to the tales, however. I know the author translated these from old gaelic texts, but since he "modernized" them somewhat by using common English and rewording phrases that wouldn't have made much sense in literal translation, perhaps he could've smoothed out the rough edges a bit (re-worded some of the abrupt scene change/endings, etc.). It also would've been helpful to have the dictionary at the front of the book so we readers could've gotten a glance at some of the unfamiliar terms first, rather than at the end (especially for us e-book readers, where navigation isn't always easy). *Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.