RULERS IN PETTICOATS

A parade of feminine power in the capsule careers of nineteen queens: Hatshepsut, Cleopatra, Boudicca, Theodora (of Constantinople), Eleanor of Aquitaine, Margaret (of Scandinavia), Maria Theresa, Catherine the Great, Victoria, Tzu Hsi (of China), Wilhelmina and Juliana, Elizabeth II. Each reign is summarized, each queen characterized in easy platitudes; the writing is choppy and non-descriptive, the sweep of history barely a swoop. Too little (and too shallow) information for fact-seekers, not enough pomp for fantasizers.