Thanks to @LocalBeeHuntersNook for #5OnMyTBR – a weekly bookish meme where we share 5 books on our TBR list from prompts (which you can find here). The prompt this week is non-fiction!
(Click on the title links for the goodreads synopses)
Since I’m a big history nerd, most of non-fiction books I read have a historical slant. In this list, there’s a mix of classical history, Victorian history and modern history!
Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths
✿ 320 pages
✿ published 2020
Pandora’s Jar includes retellings of the big Greek myths with a focus on the women in the stories, who have often been either forgotten about or villainised. I love Greek mythology, so this is a must read for me. I still need to read Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships too!
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
✿ 496 pages
✿ published 2020
Caste links caste systems across the world and explores how they affect our lives and behaviour, particularly in America. This sounds like a really interesting concept, so I’m intrigued to read more, especially while doing my A-Level history coursework on the American Civil Rights Movement.
The Five: The Lives of Jack the Ripper’s Women
✿ 336 pages
✿ published 2019
The Five gives a new perspective to the Jack the Ripper case by exploring the lives of the women he murdered instead, and the society they lived in at the time. I remember studying Jack the Ripper at school and visiting Whitehall, and what was most fascinating is what it told us about Victorian London so this sounds like a perfect read!
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability and Making Space
✿ 253 pages
✿ publishes 2020
Disfigured examines the representation of disability in fairytales and how they have shaped our expectations of disability. This is something I’ve never really thought about, so it is a crucial read for me.
Agrippina: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore
✿ 285 pages
✿ published 2018
Agrippina is a biography of a powerful woman in the classical world who has been subject to misogyny and dismissal. This explores her life in a more nuanced light. I love Roman history, but most of the history I study in Latin is male-dominated, so I would love to get my hands on this!
Thanks for reading! Do you like non-fiction and history books?
—ella♥
ella isn’t writing 