Normal Women
900 Years of Making History
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Normal Women
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By:
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Philippa Gregory
About this listen
A NEW STATESMEN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
‘A lasting work of social history’ THE TIMES
‘A genuinely new history of our nation’ DAN JONES
‘This celebration of women is a triumph of popular history’ SPECTATOR
FROM THE MULTI-MILLION BESTSELLING HISTORICAL NOVELIST COMES THE CULMINATION OF HER LIFE’S WORK
- Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry?
- That the Peasant’s Revolt was started and propelled by women, protesting a tax on women?
- Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior?
These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious and ground-breaking book, she tells the story of our nation over 900 years, but for the very first time women – some fifty per cent of the population – are no longer invisible in this history of England, but are at its beating heart.
Using research skills honed in her work as one of our foremost historical novelists, Gregory trawled through court records to find highway women, beggars and shepherdesses, through newspapers and diaries to find murderers and brides, housewives and pirates, female husbands and hermits. The ‘normal women’ you will meet in her pages went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their everyday lives They committed crimes, or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things and rioted. A lot. They built our society to be as diverse and varied as the women themselves. They are there in the archives – if you look – and they made our history.
‘You’ll lose count of the number of things you learn about women and their skewed place in history as you read Philippa Gregory’s stunning Normal Women … the book reframes the past … an essential read’ INDEPENDENT, FIVE-STAR REVIEW
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Philippa Gregory (P)2023 HarperCollins PublishersCritic Reviews
‘Radically reframes our national story’ OBSERVER
What listeners say about Normal Women
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Charlie
- 16-01-2024
Every high school student should read / listen to this book
Disclaimer- i am a die hard Philippa Gregory fan and have read every single one of her books. But this one was profoundly different and as she states the beginning, this book is the fruit of decades of research on hidden stories of women in English HIStory. A comprehensive summary of how women have been controlled and held back since records exist and it is painfully shocking even for those who like to think they’ve read enough history to no longer be surprised- this book is a must read - share with everyone you know
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- Danielle Ward
- 27-05-2024
Brilliant real stories of real women
The book is a treasure and a must-read. An absolutely fascinating look into the lives of ordinary women throughout history.
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- Jane
- 29-06-2024
Shining a light on ordinary women in history
Highly recommended. So much I had not come across before. The history of every day women over 900 years is an ambitious project. Engaging performance by the author.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-04-2024
Reassuring and validating
I’ve always wondered what women were doing when men were creating the world. So pleased to know we existed and some records of our deeds survived. Other revelations for me include: the displacement of people by the enclosures could be viewed as prototypical to the displacement of people in countries colonised by the British; the relatively recent introduction of binary gender identities; and how completely things can change in 100 years. I feel strangely reassured even though I’m not sure I’ll see the society we all deserve in my time. Beautifully done and a gift to society, thank you.
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- Anonymous User
- 21-04-2024
A Great History
One of my top reads of the year so far. Meticulously researched, beautifully presented and a great addition to the available material on the history of women. Highly recommended.
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- Terri
- 28-04-2024
Such an important work
Really important to learn about the all too often overlooked lives of women who came before us.
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- Alison
- 04-08-2024
Working women given a voice
Despite the depressing nature of the history ofwomen in the UK over the last 900 years, Phillipa has shone a light on the courageous spirit of the women. She opened my eyes to the tactics that have been employed by those in positions of power and the pervasiveness of oppression. Working women in the UK have been oppressed and used. And some have shown themselves to be resilient. My grandmothers had excellent moral compasses and were hard workers and loving. Phillipa gives women like them a voice.
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