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Christine de Pizan (1364-c.1430) was one of the most remarkable and respected literary figures in the courts of medieval Europe. She was the only professional woman writer of her time and secured an enviable reputation with her lyric poetry. She went on to write with success on moral and political issues, as well as producing a biography of Charles V. Rosalind Brown-Grant is Lecturer in French at the University of Leeds, where she specializes in medieval literature. Rosalind Brown-Grant took he BA and Ph.D. at the University of Manchester and is now Lecturer in French at the University of Leeds, where she specialises in medieval literature.
One of the most respected figures in the courts of medieval Europe, de Pizan was remarkable for being the only professional woman writer of her time. By 1390 she was fatherless and widowed, needing to support 3 children, her mother and a niece: she soon established a major reputation as a poet. Her writings also included a highly acclaimed biography of Charles V and works on public affairs, the art of government, peace and women's roles in society. In The Book of the City of Ladies, she constructed an allegorical city in which reason, rectitude and justice defend womankind from the misogynist view that 'female nature is wholly given up to vice'. A key text in the hisotry of feminism, it provides many powerful images of women - from warriors, inventors and scholars to artists, prophets and saints - as well as being a fascinating insight into medieval culture. (Kirkus UK)
