Essex girls - Karen Bowman

Queen, temptress, martyr, witch: the Essex Girl has left her mark on history. For centuries, society allocated women a role of service and obedience; an invisible woman, circumscribed by home and family, was a righteous woman. The Essex Girl, however, was a rebel. She has been the most powerful of landowners, the most loyal of wives, the most devout and the most debauched of nuns. Courageous and spirited, she has fought for her country, sacrificed herself for peace, swum rivers for love, and crossed oceans for her beliefs. She has known wealth and adoration, and suffered persecution and banishment; but, whether saint or seductress, victim or wanton, she has always refused to be invisible. This book tells her story.

Born in London, Karen Bowman became an adoptive 'Essex Girl' at the tender age of ten. She has blended her love of history with her knowledge of the county, and has published numerous articles and stories on a variety of historical subjects. Karen Bowman is married and lives near the South East Essex coast with her family. She counts genealogy, archaeology, a fledgling interest in photography, and of course writing, amongst her personal passions.

From strumpets to plucky pioneers... Karen's book brings to life a breed of women'.
ESSEX ECHO