Femina: The instant Sunday Times bestseller – A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

I love the wave of new examinations of the past. I'm fascinated by the idea of giving a voice to those who have for so long, been almost written out of history and I was attracted to this book because it promised to do exactly that. I'm also a huge fan of Janina Ramirez' TV work, having been introduced to it via a documentary about Sutton Hoo, which my youngest was obsessed with watching, so I began reading this book with a high level of expectation.I was not disappointed.Throughout, I kept stopping to tell my husband about some interesting fact that had been mentioned. I'd never heard of the Loftus Princess, but the comparisons between her burial and the one at Sutton Hoo, mean that I'm keen to learn more about her. I'd been vaguely aware of the status of women in the Viking world, thanks to a Horrible Histories sketch, particularly with regards to domestic violence. However, reading it made me wonder why it is that modern society seems to have regressed so far in this area. If societies at the time could give women autonomy to leave such relationships, why do we get it so wrong today?The standout story however, is that of Hildegard of Bingen. Nun, musician, visionary, her book was smuggled out of Soviet occupied Germany in 1948, thanks to the bravery of two women. A fact which seems incredibly fitting. I got very excited when she was mentioned in a children's TV programme I was watching with my six year oldThe final few pages are interesting in their own right though. Dr Ramirez discusses issues of gender and sexuality - a very current topic in society - through the lens of historical figures. It was a fascinating insight into the topic. Again, there was a Horrible Histories related fact that caught my eye - the Roman Emperor Elagabalus apparently liked to be referred to by female pronouns and allegedly discussed gender reassignment surgery.This is a fascinating insight into the lives of women who deserve to be far more well known than they are and it is my sincere hope that this will not be the last book to give such people a voice.This is well worth a read.

Fascinating book we should all read at school, at least partly, in order to teach the unjustly deleted history of women (half our population, at any given point in time).

Dr Ramirez is a popular historian in the UK, a regular face on TV. I'm not a popular historian, out to tick those boxes that makes one acceptable to the media -I'm just a grumpy middle-aged white male archaeologist....so what do I know about anything eh?This is a popular history book and her style is not for everyone. Some good history; sometimes though she is just trying too hard to deliver The Message.Because I would rather spend my money on beer, whisky, kebabs and tabs I bought a second hand edition. Consider doing the same.

I was looking forward to reading and learning about the women whose stories had always been overlooked in history. Most of the women I had already heard of from other sources. I enjoyed the book but did think that, if all the background material, opinions and conjectures had been left out, the material was a little thin. There is only a limited amount of information about these women, it just seems to me that it's how it's dressed up which makes all the difference. The book is well researched and well written. I admire Janina Ramirez for her enthusiasm and personality when presenting her TV shows which are always eminently watchable, but feel the book just falls short of being worth 5 stars.

Not the greatest story teller. Lots of old facts and rehashing of basic history, many very dry pages to sort through until finally we get to a female historical figure, but there are really no surprises. Of course queens were powerful, privileged folk have always had power. Based on the cover quotes I really thought I would be dazzled but nope, not at all. But, if I were a student needing a reference for a paper, this book could be of help.