An absolutely fascinating examination of the rule of women of England/Great Britain. Maureen Waller brings to life the six women, all remarkable in their own unique ways, who stepped up to sit on the throne. Each faced their own respective challenges, and Waller delved into the details of how they managed their subjects (few of which were keen on being ruled by a woman) and survived everything thrown at them.

The book started out a bit slow with the section about Mary I, I admit. The biographical information about her seemed to drag on a bit unnecessarily, while the other sections all seemed to assume that the reader would have the basic knowledge about their subjects. Once Waller got into explaining Mary's method of ruling, however, the book became a lot more interesting. Just have to get through Mary's background first.

A stellar book for anyone interested in the rule of women, or women's history in general.