THE GREAT DEEDS OF HEROIC WOMEN

This companion to Great Deeds of the Superheroes (1990) has a tentative air: Whereas Saxby cemented the first collection of myths and legends by showing the common features of male heroes and hero tales everywhere, here he claims to have found no such correspondences. Of his 18 subjects, some—Athena, Judith, Boadicea, Joan of Arc—are undeniably heroic. But Aphrodite cuts a decidedly unheroic figure; it's appalling to think of Circe or Medea as role models; and the Zuni ``Hunter Maiden'' is not only rescued from a demon by two warrior gods, but they also do her hunting for her. The Vasilissa and Pocahantas tales are familiar; but the story of Miao Shan, who had her hands and eyes removed to restore her father's health and was later deified as Guanyin (the Chinese goddess of mercy), is less so, while the saga of Mary Bryant, an 18th-century convict who escaped the penal colony of Botany Bay with a 3000-mile journey in an open boat, will be new to most readers. Ingpen offers a series of powerfully telling portraits (some referring to Botticelli and other old masters) realistically depicting women of many ages, miens, and moods. Aside from occasional references in the text, there are no notes on sources beyond a perfunctory bibliography. Handsome, but of substantially less value than its predecessor. Index. (Nonfiction. 12-14)