Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women

A spectacular, vivid, groundbreaking work of history which takes us into the minds and lives of medieval women.

What was life really like for women in the medieval period? How did they think about sex, death and God? Could they live independent lives? And how can we hear their stories?

Few women had the luxury of writing down their thoughts and feelings during medieval times. But remarkably, there are at least four extraordinary women who did. Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a "no-good wife". In their own ways these four very different writers pushed back against the misogyny of the period. Each broke new ground in women's writing and left us incredible insights into the world of medieval life and politics.

This mesmerizing book is an unforgettably lively and immersive journey into the everyday lives of medieval women through the stories of these four iconic women writers, some of which are retold here for general readers for the first time.

Review

A fascinating book about four women - each a heroine in her own way - it tells us so much about their world, and about our own. What jumps off the page is the liveliness of the women, their passion, their courage and their own way of being a woman.

― Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl and Normal Women

Beautifully written and brilliantly observed. Full of surprises and packed with thrilling details, this is an important, eye-opening book. ― Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives and Uproar!

A celebration of female ambition and endeavour... enormous fun. ― The Sunday Times

Brilliantly revealing. ― Observer

Lively and enjoyable. The result is illuminating. evokes the spirit of the period so well. ― History Today

Howes's book is highly readable and informative. ― The Spectator

[An] immensely readable and academically rigorous book. This is a valuable contribution to our understanding. -- Claire Gilbert ― Church Times

Hetta Howes unflinchingly explores the trials medieval women faced and, importantly, how they fought back. ― Tabitha Stanmore, author of Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic

A brilliant portrait of four trailblazers. ― The Simple Things

This meticulously researched book makes visible so much that popular models of medieval life have found inconvenient or uninteresting to accommodate. ― Noreen Masud, author of A Flat Place - shortlisted for the Women’s Prize

[A] witty and amusing portrait. ― Vanessa 'V.M.' Braganza, currently at work on her first trade book, The Secret-Seekers: A Detective's Quest to Decipher the Renaissance

Engaging, authoritative and original. ― Carolyne Larrington, Emerita Professor in Medieval European Literature, University of Oxford and author of The Land of the Green Man

About the Author

Dr Hetta Howes is a Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Literature at City, University of London, and a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker. She regularly contributes to broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and 4, as well as writing for publications such as The Times Literary Supplement and BBC History Extra. She has a BA and MPhil from Cambridge University and a PhD from Queen Mary, University of London.

Her academic book Transformative Waters in Late Medieval Literature was published by Boydell and Brewer in 2021. Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife is her first book for a popular audience.