Booklist Review

From mythic Mother Danu to the pirate queen Grainne Ni Maille and the Kilkenny "witch" Alice Kyteler, what a marvelous cast of characters is here! Celtic scholar Ellis brings to life the named and unnamed heroines of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and even Celtic England. Reaching back to the mists of prehistory, Ellis offers evidence that Celtic women were accorded rights that modern women are now winning back. For instance, Shannon Faulkner has had to fight to get into the Citadel, but her distant cousin Boudicca led her people in war against Rome. This is a treasury of material that, while impeccable in its scholarship, is written in accessible and enthusiastic fashion. --Patricia Monaghan