Author:Christine de Pizan,Sarah Lawson,Sarah Lawson,Sarah Lawson
Written by Europe’s first professional woman writer, The Treasure of the City of Ladies offers advice and guidance to women of all ages and from all levels of medieval society, from royal courtiers to prostitutes. It paints an intricate picture of daily life in the courts and streets of fifteenth-century France and gives a fascinating glimpse into the practical considerations of running a household, dressing appropriately and maintaining a reputation in all circumstances. Christine de Pizan’s book provides a valuable counterbalance to male accounts of life in the middle ages and demonstrates, often with dry humour, how a woman’s position in society could be made less precarious by following the correct etiquette.
Colourful without being sensationalist, the result is compelling
—— Andrew Holgate , Sunday TimesBrilliant
—— Christopher Hirst , IndependentExcellent...an impressively strong sense of 19th-century poverty seems to ooze from its pages and the details are fascinating
—— Toby Clements , Daily TelegraphEngrossing...Wise exposes an entire "resurrection community" in London's underworld and shows how "The Italian Boy case" captured the public imagination
—— Ian Pindar , GuardianA work of great skill and sympathy
—— Peter Ackroyd , The TimesAn extremely balanced book...absorbing
—— Guardian