The first popular biography of a pioneering feminist thinker and writer of medieval Paris. The daughter of a court intellectual, Christine de Pizan dwelled within the cultural heart of late-medieval Paris. In the face of personal tragedy, she learned the tools of the book trade, writing more than forty works that included poetry, historical and political treatises, and defenses of women. In this new biography—the first written for a general audience—Charlotte Cooper-Davis discusses the life and work of this pioneering female thinker and writer. She shows how Christine de Pizan’s inspiration came from the world around her, situates her as an entrepreneur within the context of her times and place, and finally examines her influence on the most avant-garde of feminist artists, through whom she is slowly making a return into mainstream popular culture.
Charlotte Cooper-Davisis a lecturer in French at the University of Oxford. She is the author ofChristine de Pizan: Empowering Women in Text and Imageand lives in Cambridgeshire.
"This readable and informative book places Christine de Pizan (c.1364–c.1431) in four wide contexts in as many chapters. . . . The last and most original chapter surveys Christine’s presence in contemporary culture: works of visual art from several countries, video games in which she is transformed into a sorceress, Instagram, and her recent elevation to canonical status in the French agrégation. . . . Recommended."
"Engagingly written with ample, well-chosen illustrations, Cooper-Davis’sChristine de Pizan: Life, Work, Legacyprovides a rich cultural and historical context for Christine’s works . . . this engaging, erudite, and wide-ranging book is a welcome addition to Christine studies that deserves a spoló)
![Christine de Pizan: Life, Work, Legacy [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/0/8/4/2_5179684.jpg "Christine de Pizan: Life, Work, Legacy [Hardcover]")