Femina
- Author Janina Ramirez
- Narrator Janina Ramirez
- Publisher Ebury Publishing
- Run Time 11 hours and 56 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre European history: medieval period, middle ages, Gender studies: women and girls, History, History of art, Social and cultural history, Society and Social Sciences, The Arts.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
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gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burnt, artworks to be destroyed, and new versions of myths, legends and historical documents to be produced, which has manipulated our view of history.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.
© Janina Ramirez 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022
Critics Review
-
Revelatory… Ramirez shows again and again that dark age Europe was a far more various place than we like to believe
Kathryn Hughes, The 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, bestselling author of Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman -
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, bestselling author of The Silk Roads
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.