Poet, mystic, widow, wife The extraordinary lives of Medieval women

Howes (City Univ. of London. UK), a medieval literary scholar, uses the words of four exceptional women, the 12th-century French poet Marie de France, the 14th-century English mystic and anchoress Julian of Norwich, the 14th-century Italian widow and court writer Christine de Pizan, and the 15th-century English wife and pilgrim Margery Kempe, along with those of other women and many men, to examine the lives of medieval women more broadly. Written for a popular audience and organized into thematic chapters, the book examines childbirth, marriage, sex outside of marriage, traveling, making a living, friendship, having an impact, balancing various aspects of life, and death. Their writings--Kemp's autobiography was dictated, but her voice comes through--reveal much about the world they lived in and sometimes reflect on the place of women in it, which is why they have long been taught in courses on women writers and medieval women. Howes' emphasis on their agency and her lively style make the women accessible, but perhaps a bit too much so, as the fascinating aspects of their lives that are weird to contemporary sensibilities get somewhat lost. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through advanced undergraduates. --Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, emerita, University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee