The Book of the City of Ladies [Paperback]

A fascinating insight into the debates and controversies about the position of women in medieval culture, written by France's first professional woman of letters

The pioneeringBook of the City of Ladiesbegins when, feeling frustrated and miserable after reading a male writer's tirade against women, Christine de Pizan has a dreamlike vision where three virtues—Reason, Rectitude and Justice—appear to correct this view. They instruct her to build an allegorical city in which womankind can be defended against slander, its walls and towers constructed from examples of female achievement both from her own day and the past: ranging from warriors, inventors and scholars to prophetesses, artists and saints. Christine de Pizan's spirited defence of her sex was unique for its direct confrontation of the misogyny of her day, and offers a telling insight into the position of women in medieval culture.The Book of the City of Ladiesprovides positive images of women, ranging from warriors and inventors, scholars to prophetesses, and artists to saints. 

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Rosalind Brown-Grant

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Translator's Note

THE BOOK OF THE CITY OF LADIES

Part One
1. Here begins theBook of the City of Ladies, the first chapter of which explains why and for what purpose the book was written.

2. Christine tells how three ladies appeared to her, and how the firslC'