Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month for April 2023
Extraordinary women have held positions of power throughout history. But,aside from the select few,why do we not hear about them
The middle ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings,Saints and Kings: a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women. But by digging a little deeper into the truth,drawing on evidence from all disciplines,we can see that the'dark'ages were anything but. BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women's names struck out of historical records,with the word'Femina'annotated beside them. Male gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burnt,artworks to be destroyed,and new versions of myths,legends and historical documents to be produced,which has manipulated our view of history.
By weaving a vivid and evocative picture of the lives of the women who influenced their society,we discover not just why these remarkable individuals were removed from our collective memories,but also how many other misconceptions underpin our historical narratives,altering the course of history,upholding the oppressive masculine structures of their present,and affecting our contemporary view of the past.
Publisher: Ebury PublishingISBN: 9780753558263Number of pages: 464Weight: 312 gDimensions: 198 x 126 x 27 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Revelatory... Ramirez shows again and again that dark age Europe was a far more various place than we like to believe'- Kathryn Hughes,Guardian
'One of Femina's greatest strengths is that it is not just a collection of medieval heroines,although there are inspirational stories aplenty in its pages,but also a readable and wide-ranging account of the Middle Ages - with the women put back in - that forces us to look at familiar stories in new ways'- The Sunday Times
'It's about time these stories had a wider audience. They've been waiting long enough'- Spectator
'Passionate,provocative and brilliant,this book is a firecracker somehow captured between two covers'- Lucy Worsley
'Beautifully written,wonderfully free-ranging and gloriously original,Femina makes us look into the mists of history in new,exciting and provocative ways. A joyous read'- Peter Frankopan
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