Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

  Frida Kahlo, Mexican, 1907-1954, Self-Portrait with Monkeys , 1943 Oil on canvas, 81.5 X 63 cm, Gelman Collection. Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D. F. /   While planning a future trip to Washington, DC, I stumbled upon an ad promoting this new exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA.  Entitled "Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting" the exhibition will feature some of the best examples of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's work, approximately 140 paintings mainly from collections in Mexico. According to the press release, the paintings will be exhibited chronologically and according to themes including: maternity, Mexcian identity, and portraiture.  The High Museum of Art will be the only U.S. venue for this exhibition, so if you want to see it, you'll have to book a plane to Atlanta. I wrote about Frida Kahlo in Scandalous Women and I'm not afraid to admit that I became a little obssessed by her and her stormy re...

Scandalous Women is pleased to welcome author Vicki Leon to the blog with a fascinating guest post about Pericles and Aspasia. You wouldn’t think that enthusiastic kissing would set off such a scandal. But even during the glory days of ancient Athens, it did. The couple caught in the act were celebrities around town; Pericles, the most brilliant political and military leader of his time; and Aspasia, the witty, well-spoken foreigner from the Greek city of Miletus. Such public displays of affection were taboo in that era. And independent, eloquent women, even more so. Well-bred matrons shunned the public eye. Sneered at Aspasia, called her harlot and worse. Some secretly envied her, and the steadfast affection their leader had for her. Each morning, with the neighbors as witness, Pericles soundly kissed his love; and each evening, when he returned, he embraced her again before their jealous eyes. I’m willing to bet they had the most loving, full-bodied relationship of ...

Title:    The Joy of Sexus - Lust, Love and Longing in the Ancient World Author:   Vicki Leon Publisher:   Walker and Company Pub Date:     January 29, 2013 Pages:         302 How Acquired:   Through publisher What it's About:   In her previous books, Vicki León put readers in the sandals of now obsolete laborers, ranging from funeral clowns to armpit pluckers, and untangled the twisted threads of superstition and science in antiquity. Now, in this book of astonishing true tales of love and sex in long-ago Greece, Rome, and other cultures around the Mediterranean, she opens the doors to shadowy rooms and parts the curtains of decorum. León goes far beyond what we think we know about sex in ancient times, taking readers on a randy tour of aphrodisiacs and anti -aphrodisiacs, contraception, nymphomania, bisexuality, cross-dressing, and gender-bending. She explains citizens' fear of hermaphr...

Title:   Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker   Author:   Jennifer Chiaverini   Publisher: Penguin Group (USA ) Publication date: 1/15/2013   Pages: 352   How Acquired:   Through Net Galley Overview:   New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini illuminates the extraordinary friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a former slave who won her freedom by the skill of her needle, and the friendship of the First Lady by her devotion. In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker , novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compe...

 Every now and again while doing research for Scandalous Women I come across a story that is truly inspiring. I’ve wanted to write the story of Noor Inayat Khan for some time but work and other fascinating women have come along and Noor has been put on the back burner. Khan’s story is truly inspirational.   She was a wartime British secret agent who was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).   Unfortunately, she was arrested and eventually executed by the Gestapo. Noor un-Nisa Inayat Khan was born on New Year's Day 1914 in Moscow. She was the first child of Hazrat Inayat Khan and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker (Ameena Begum). She was of royal descent from Tipu Sultan, the last Muslim ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He refused to submit to British rule and was killed in battle in 1799. Khan's father was a musician and the founder of the Sufi Order of the West and a teacher of Universal Sufism. He move...

This honor comes with certain requirements.  (Just imagine that there is a picture there. For some reason Blogger won't let me post the lovely badge) 1. Thank the person who nominated you. (Many thanks, Margaret !) 2. Add the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ image to your post. 3. Share seven things about you. 4. Pass the award on to seven nominees. 5. Include this set of rules. 6. Inform your nominees* by posting a comment on their blogs. Seven Things About Me 1. My first appearance on stage came very early in my life...while in nursery school. I think I played a gypsy. 2. My first kiss was in the first grade given to me by my boyfriend.   What can I say, I was very precocious. 3. I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue. 4. I love to eat sushi.   If I could afford it, I would eat sushi every single day, especially spicy tuna rolls. 5.   When I was 16, I lived with a family in Redbridge, Ilford, Essex for a month which mak...

Title:   Georgette Heyer Author:   Jennifer Kloester Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated   Publication date: 1/1/2013   Pages: 464 How acquired:   Through Net Galley What it's about:   Georgette Heyer remains an enduring international bestseller, read and loved by generations of readers and extolled by bestselling authors. Despite her enormous popularity she never gave an interview or appeared in public. Jennifer Kloester, Heyer's official biographer, spent ten years researching Georgette Heyer, during which time she had unlimited access to Heyer's notebooks, private papers and family records. Engaging and authoritative, this comprehensive, official biography offers new insights into the life and writing of a remarkable and ferociously private woman. My thoughts: Happy New Year everyone! During the holidays, I settled down to read Jennifer Kloester's new biography of author Georgette Heyer (1902-1974).  I've been reading ...