Sex and the City of Ladies
The bestselling author and historian Lisa Hilton picks up the mythical âCity of Ladiesâ where the medieval writer Christine de Pisan left off, continuing a conversation about gender and greatness that began more than six hundred years ago.
In 1405 Christine de Pisan took up the pen to defend her maligned sex. Her book, The City of Ladies, was built around preserving women's reputations from the slights and misunderstandings of history. In it the author is visited by three spirits â Justice, Rectitude and Reason â who guide her in sifting through countless lives, in search of worthy citizens.
Over 600 years later, the historian and novelist Lisa Hilton picks up the book and promptly falls asleep, only to be visited by three great women from history: Cleopatra, Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine the Great. And they arenât happy. Having found themselves barred from the original âCity of Ladiesâ, they want to know why. And isnât it time, they ask, for a new author to take up the pen?
What follows is a reassessment of the past, in which deeds and reputations, rumours and reality are held up to the light, and history is wrested back from the distortions of misogyny.
The bestselling author and historian Lisa Hilton picks up the mythical âCity of Ladiesâ where the medieval writer Christine de Pisan left off, continuing a conversation about gender and greatness that began more than six hundred years ago.
In 1405 Christine de Pisan took up the pen to defend her maligned sex. Her book, The City of Ladies, was built around preserving women's reputations from the slights and misunderstandings of history. In it the author is visited by three spirits â Justice, Rectitude and Reason â who guide her in sifting through countless lives, in search of worthy citizens.
Over 600 years later, the historian and novelist Lisa Hilton picks up the book and promptly falls asleep, only to be visited by three great women from history: Cleopatra, Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine the Great. And they arenât happy. Having found themselves barred from the original âCity of Ladiesâ, they want to know why. And isnât it time, they ask, for a new author to take up the pen?
What follows is a reassessment of the past, in which deeds and reputations, rumours and reality are held up to the light, and history is wrested back from the distortions of misogyny.
Description
The bestselling author and historian Lisa Hilton picks up the mythical âCity of Ladiesâ where the medieval writer Christine de Pisan left off, continuing a conversation about gender and greatness that began more than six hundred years ago.
In 1405 Christine de Pisan took up the pen to defend her maligned sex. Her book, The City of Ladies, was built around preserving women's reputations from the slights and misunderstandings of history. In it the author is visited by three spirits â Justice, Rectitude and Reason â who guide her in sifting through countless lives, in search of worthy citizens.
Over 600 years later, the historian and novelist Lisa Hilton picks up the book and promptly falls asleep, only to be visited by three great women from history: Cleopatra, Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine the Great. And they arenât happy. Having found themselves barred from the original âCity of Ladiesâ, they want to know why. And isnât it time, they ask, for a new author to take up the pen?
What follows is a reassessment of the past, in which deeds and reputations, rumours and reality are held up to the light, and history is wrested back from the distortions of misogyny.
