The Covid pandemic forced most schools to close in person and start online learning programs so that everyone could stay home under quarantine lock down. In response, I decided to offer “student-teacher” editions of the Legendary Women of World History biographies. I also adapted the historical novel “The Arban and the Saman” and the USA socio-economic analysis “American Poverty” to textbook format. Find series pages for the Legendary Women of World History textbooks at Amazon and Smashwords.
Here are all 15 textbooks with their descriptions and retail links.
All titles are written in English. Most titles are also translated into Italian. Some titles available in Spanish or Portuguese as well.
The Arban and the Saman
War and violence brought them together. Mysterious and ancient powers kept them together.
It is the year 1211 CE. Five years after being declared “khan,” Chinggis Khan and his invading hordes are sweeping across the north China plain, right into the nűzhen heartland. Their objective: conquest of the mighty Jin Empire.
Among those sent into Liaoning is a low-ranking officer (an arban) named Mongke Nichan, a spiritual man on a personal quest to find his soulmate and fulfill a prophesy long lingering in his heart.
But physical conquest and winning her love are completely different matters, especially coming from a man rightfully considered her enemy.
Powerful spiritual forces are at work in this wartime romance deeply seeped in Mongol, Jurchen, and Chinese religion and culture.
Student-Teacher Edition features study questions after every chapter.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and a retailer near you.
American Poverty
In this thought-provoking historical and economic analysis, Laurel A. Rockefeller takes on poverty culture head-on, exploring what it means to be poor in the United States. She also takes a look at how America’s closest, and much more economically successful, allies (Canada, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom) take care of their poor.
Student – Teacher edition adds questions to the front of each of the book’s three parts to guide the reading experience with focus on reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and a retailer near you.
Boudicca: Britain’s Queen of the Iceni
Why is The Morrígan’s raven crying? Only Britons with hearts for true liberty know! In 43 CE Roman conquest of Britannia seems all but certain — until a chance meeting between King Prasutagus of the Iceni and a runaway slave of royal decent from the Aedui tribe in Gaul changes the fate of the British islands forever. Rise up for liberty with the true story of Boudicca, Britain’s Queen of the Iceni and discover one of the most inspiring stories in history! Based on the accounts of Roman historian Tacitus and supplemented with archaeology presented by the BBC.
Student – Teacher Edition features study guide questions after every chapter.
Available at Apple, Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes/Noble and a retailer near you.
Catherine de Valois: French Princess, Tudor Matriarch
Best known as Henry V’s Agincourt bride from Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” Catherine de Valois was an extraordinary woman of faith, courage, and conviction in an age of politically powerful women.
A younger daughter to King Charles VI of France terrorized by his mental illness, Princess Catherine survived the ravages of his schizophrenia, a civil war at home, and King Henry’s war with France to become one of Renaissance England’s most fascinating and courageous queens.
Student-Teacher edition features study guide questions following every chapter plus challenging puzzles to practice reading comprehension, logic, and critical thinking skills.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and a retailer near you.
Mary Queen of the Scots: the Forgotten Reign
Queen Mary Stuart was one of the most beloved and controversial women in Scottish history. The granddaughter of King James IV and his wife Margaret Tudor, Queen Mary’s status as heiress-apparent to the English throne paired with the violence of the Scottish Reformation set the stage for one of the most dramatic and poorly understood lives of the 16th century.
Mary Queen of the Scots tells Mary’s true story, focusing primarily on her reign as queen of Scotland, celebrating her life more than her death, and showing us all why she was truly a woman ahead of her time.
Student – Teacher Edition features study questions after every chapter, plus a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Queen Elizabeth Tudor: the Forgotten Reign
Queen Elizabeth is perhaps the most legendary and celebrated ruler in English history. Yet do you really know her as well as you think you do?
In this beautiful narrative biography you explore Elizabeth’s path from “Lady Elizabeth” to “Gloriana” through the lens of her relationship with Robert Dudley, a relationship far more contentious than most people believe. Politics and religion collide, provoking Elizabeth to console herself with her music, and a hard decision lays before her as plots against her life threatens her throne.
Take the journey to Gloriana and discover a side to Elizabeth you never knew existed.
Student – Teacher Edition features challenging puzzles and study guide questions after every chapter, plus the appendices with six medieval and Elizabethan songs, a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
This book continues “Mary Queen of the Scots.”
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Empress Wu Zetian
The most hated woman in Chinese history!
Born in 624 CE in Wenshui County in Shanxi province, very little was expected of the beautiful and bright Wu Zhao (reign title Wu Zetian) — except that she would be trouble to any man unlucky enough to marry her. The very opposite of a virtuous maiden by most interpretations of the Analects of Confucius, Wu Zhao was not only bright, but highly educated and equally ambitious.
Harshly judged by both contemporaries and generations of Chinese scholars since, the one thing everyone can agree upon about Empress Wu: the world is a vastly different place because she dared what no other woman of her time dreamed was possible. This is her true story, a truly legendary woman of world history.
Student – Teacher Edition features challenging study questions after every chapter, plus a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd: the Warrior Princess of Deheubarth
Queen Elizabeth Tudor’s Heroic Welsh Foremother!
Born in 1097 in Aberffraw Castle, Princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd ap Cynan was always destined for great things. As daughter to one of Gwynedd’s greatest warriors she grew up strong and passionate — more than a match for her older brothers.
At sixteen Gwenllian’s life changed forever when she fell in love with Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys, the beleaguered heir to Rhys ap Tewdur of Deheubarth. Together husband and wife fought for and ruled southern Wales, challenging the Norman Conquest of Wales and proving once and for all the nobility and courage of the Welsh people, a courage that endures across the centuries and lives in the heart of every Welsh man, woman, and child.
Student – Teacher Edition features challenging puzzles and study guide questions after every chapter, Plus a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Empress Matilda of England
The roaring lioness of England!
Born in 1102 to King Henry of England and Queen Edith Matilda of Scotland, Matilda’s uniquely royal Norman, Saxon, and Scottish heritage was meant to unify an England still divided by her grandfather’s conquest in 1066. When the 1120 White Ship Disaster made her the only surviving child of her parents, Matilda suddenly became heiress to the English throne in a time when the old Saxon Witan, not the king’s Will, still decided the succession.
Discover the true story of the first woman to claim the throne of England in her own right and be inspired!
Student – Teacher Edition features challenging puzzles and study guide questions after every chapter, plus a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Hypatia of Alexandria
As the western world fell into darkness, she dared defend the light. Born in 355 CE in the aftermath of Constantine’s reign, Hypatia of Alexandria lived in a collapsing Roman Empire, a world where obedience to religious authorities trumped science, where reason and logic threatened the new world order. It was a world on the edge of the Dark Ages, a world deciding the question of science verses religion, freedom verses orthodoxy, tolerance verses hate. For over 40 years Hypatia stood between the dark ages and the light of classical philosophy, arts, and sciences. Though none of her books survived the aggressive book burnings of religious zealots, her legacy remains that of one of the greatest scientists of all time.
Student – Teacher Edition features challenging puzzles and study guide questions after every chapter, Plus a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you. Also available in audio edition in English (Apple , Audible).
Cleopatra VII: Egypt’s Last Pharaoh
The exciting true story of Egypt’s most famous queen! Now in student – teacher edition for secondary school social studies classes and home schools!
Cleopatra Thea Philopator refused to do what she was told. In an age where patriarchy denied full citizenship to even the most elite of Roman women, Cleopatra ruled her Egypt determined to keep it independent and free from Roman control — at any price necessary.
Demonized as a simple seductress by Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (the future Caesar Augustus) and his political allies, Cleopatra VII proved herself the equal to three of the most powerful men of the Roman world: Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Antonius, and Octavian Caesar.
Includes a detailed timeline, suggested reading list/bibliography, and a special Easter egg for science fiction fans.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Margaret of Wessex
The inspiring story of Margaret of Wessex, queen consort to Malcolm III Canmore of Alba comes to life in this special student-teacher edition designed for educational and home school use. Questions practicing reading comprehension, logic, and critical thinking skills pair with history learning to create a robust yet accessible addition to, or focal point for, social studies units and classes. Appendices at the end of the book provide key reference information, including a detailed timeline covering over 3000 years of Scotland’s history. Medieval units of time are both explained in the accompanying appendix and practiced in the narrative.
A must have addition to every secondary social studies course. For ages 12+.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Hildegard von Bingen
With the power of her pen she changed Christendom forever.
When Hildegard von Bingen succeeded Jutta von Sponheim as Magistra and prioress of Disibodenberg monastery she found herself unable to keep her visions secret any longer. What happened next led her to revolutionize not only monastic life for women, but the whole world too.
Student-Teacher edition features study questions after every chapter.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation
Born in 1499, Katharina started her education at first the convent at Brehna, then continued it in Kloster Nimbschen where she took vows as a nun at the age of sixteen and expected to live the whole of her life.
God, however, had other plans. On Easter Eve 1523 she escaped with eleven other nuns to Wittenberg, a move meant to be temporary until a more permanent home could be found for her. What happened next changed the world in this family story filled with music in the original German.
Student-Teacher Edition features challenging study questions after each chapter. Extensive appendices include a detailed timeline, detailed bibliography, plus information on medieval time and lyrics to Martin Luther’s most popular hymns in both English and German.
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Aliénor was the most sought after bride in all of Christendom – and not simply because she was beautiful. The eldest daughter of Duke William X of Aquitaine, she inherited his vast duchy at the age of just 15 and was crowned queen of the Franks that same year.
But love was not to be for the beautiful duchess, despite two marriages and giving birth to a total of ten children. Troubadours sang her praises and composed the first romantic love songs. Tales of King Arthur and his round table were first told in her honor. She transformed two emerging empires and made Aquitaine the most faithful continental ally to England. She was a legend in her time and ours. This is her remarkable true story.
Student-Teacher edition features study questions after every chapter
Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you.
See also The Legendary Women of World History series.
Laurel A. Rockefeller 