The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman

The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma

By: Melanie Magidow, Melanie Magidow - editor, Melanie Magidow - introduction, Melanie Magidow - translator

Narrated by: Dalia Ramahi

Published in English for the first time, and the only Arabic epic named for a woman, The Tale of Princess Fatima recounts the thrilling adventures of a legendary medieval warrior universally known throughout the Middle East and long overdue to join world literature's pantheon of female heroes.

A Penguin Classic

A fearsome, sword-slinging heroine who defeated countless men in stealth attacks on horseback, Dhat al-Himma, or Princess Fatima, was secretly given away at birth because she wasn't male, only to triumph as the most formidable warrior of her time. Known alternately as "she-wolf," "woman of high resolve," and "calamity of the soul," she lives on in this rousing narrative of female empowerment, in which she leads armies of more than seventy thousand men in clashes between rival tribes and between Muslims and Christians; reconciles with her father after taking him prisoner; and fends off her infatuated cousin, who challenges her to a battle for the right to marry her. Though her cousin suffers an ignominious defeat, he impregnates Fatima against her will and, when she gives birth to a Black son, disowns his own son, who also grows up to be a great warrior, eventually avenging his mother's honor. The epic culminates in a showdown between Fatima and another formidable warrior woman, and earns Fatima a place alongside the likes of Circe, Mulan, Wonder Woman, Katniss Everdeen and other powerful women.


* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains the A Note on the Translation and Suggestions For Further Reading from the book.

pleasantly surprised!

i wasn’t sure if i would of liked this story or not but i really did enjoy this empowering folklore with the strong female lead and her not taking no mess from NO MAN!
this was definitely giving GIRL POWER

the narrator was great and animated as well.

Not really sure what I was expecting

This is a great epic story and one I can see my grandparents telling me. This is definitely a book to read allowed and to not really care about the elegance of prose. Which can easily be lost in translation.

I would say TW regarding rape