2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge #1

Good morning everyone. This post will be serving two purposes. The first will be my official kick off to joining the 2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Book’d Out. The rules for this challenge are pretty simple, I just have to read some nonfiction and write up reviews for them. There are four levels to choose from and for this year I am going to challenge myself to read six nonfiction books, a Nonfiction Nibbler. (I am actually going to shoot for 8 books, but there wasn’t a level for that.)  I actually did sign up for this challenge last year, but I wasn’t very good about posting reviews or adding them to my official count. So this year I plan to do better on both of those.

Now that it is official, I am also here to review my first nonfiction book of 2024. I first learned of this book last year, probably through one of Book’d Outs posts, and thought it sound very interesting. It was, I actually learned quite a bit about poisoning and some of the women throughout history who used this method.

The League of Lady Poisoners: Illustrated True Stories of Dangerous Women

Written by Lisa Perrin

Published: September 19, 2023

Summary from Goodreads:

Confession:

This is a well researched and interesting read. You learn alot about poison and how it was used throughout history for some pretty heinous crimes. You often hear that poison is the method of choice for women, and this book certainly has many examples of that. But there is evidence that men have also used poisons to kill and more often than women. But, it is women who perhaps have used it more historically and their trials were more notorious then any of the men.

This book recounts twenty five accused women poisoners from ancient times up to the mid twentieth century. Some of these women only poisoned a few people, others were less discriminate in who they killed and how many they killed. The chapters are split up into sections that are based on the women’s motives for killing such as money and greed, power and politics and anger and revenge. Most of the women discussed are white, but there are a few from other cultures. 

I found all of the women’s stories fascinating and sometimes intriguing. There were even a few women who I found sympathy and compassion for. They were the ones who used poison to get out of bad situations, and I can totally understand that. There were a few women that I had heard about before, but there were many that I hadn’t, but all of their stories were compelling. I also enjoyed the poison primer at the start of the book. For most of the women the poison of choice was arsenic, but many used other things as well. The primer helps you to navigate some of the more obscure poisons. It is interesting to note that many poisons are also used as medicine, it all depends on the dosage.

If you are into true crime, history, and women’s stories this might be a book you want to take a look at. The illustrations are wonderful and add a nice touch to the stories. I also liked how the author wrote with compassion and occasionally humor to get her point across. This is a well put together historical look at poisons and the women who used them.