Legenda

A brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been misrepresented and co-opted over centuries for political, nation-building ends. By Professor Janina Ramirez, bestselling historian and author of FEMINA

From the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited over centuries for political, nation-building ends.

In LEGENDA, bestselling historian Professor Janina Ramirez peels back the layers of time to reveal how the lives of women have been co-opted by those intent on crafting national identities. Their names are well known, and summaries of their achievements have been recited in classrooms for decades, but medieval women like Joan of Arc, Lady Godiva and Isabella of Castile have been misrepresented, their stories twisted and weaponised. Meanwhile, ground-breaking 18th- and 19th-century women who blazed a trail through revolutionary Europe have been forgotten, their legacies too easily dismissed or ignored.

Questioning established narratives and searching for the real women behind the legends, Ramirez interrogates what defines a nation and who gets to build it, shining a light on how history is so often hijacked to serve the ideological and political interests of the present.

PRAISE FOR JANINA RAMIREZ-

‘Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character’ DAN SNOW, host of History Hit

‘Skillfully brings out from the shadows the lives of women who ruled, fought, traded, created, and inspired’ CAT JARMAN, author of River Kings

‘Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez’s themes are interwoven with a conssumate skill’ TOM HOLLAND, author of Dominion and host of The Rest is History

‘Ramirez makes us look into the mists of history in new, exciting and provocative ways’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads

Author Biography

Professor Janina Ramirez is a Sunday Times bestselling author, Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster and researcher. She is Director of Studies for History of Art at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor in Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln. She has published widely on medieval history, art and literature, has written both fiction and non-fiction for adults and younger readers, and has taught and researched across a broad chronological sweep, covering everything from the sculptures of antiquity to post-modern architecture. She has also written and presented documentaries across the world for over 15 years. She is Lifelong President of Gloucester History Festival, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Royal Society of Arts, Universities of York and Gloucestershire and City Lit. Her book Femina was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.