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
identities 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 18 th and 19
th -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 'Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross Janina Ramirez's
themes are interwoven with a conssumate skill' TOM HOLLAND 'Passionate provocative and
brilliant' LUCY WORSLEY 'Janina Ramirez is a born storyteller . . . This is bravura narrative
history underpinned by passionate advocacy for the women whom medieval history has too often
ignored or overlooked' DAN JONES 'Skillfully brings out from the shadows the lives of women
who ruled fought traded created and inspired' CAT JARMAN 'Absolutely brilliant and highly
recommended' CAITLIN MORAN
