Book Review | Heroines of the Medieval World

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another essential read from the author on one of the most extraordinary periods in history, showcasing  a wide variety of women who were just as extraodinary. Connolly introduces many women both famous and obscure and shares their stories. Despite the fact that it was supposedly men who ruled the world, these women prove time and again that they were not merely subservient to the men in their lives. The choices these women make not only alter their own paths, but the wider world around them, some even changing so far as to change the course of history.

Connolly has organized the women by theme and I really liked this approach. I like that this lead to some overlap sometimes, because it shows how so many were connected. Themes include Heroines in Religion, the Medieval Mistress, Scandalous Heroines, Women Who Ruled, Captove Heroines, and the Survivors. There are others as well that I will leave you discover, just as I will let you discover these heroines and who Connolly chose to include. There were many women I was unfamiliar with, or only knew of in passing where they fit into someone else's larger story. As a result there are many more women I will seek out further books about.

Connolly is incredibly knowledgeable of the women and their world. This is a well-researched text with notes and references to back up her work. Despite not being organized by woman, there is still so much depth here that we get to know the women very well. She brings the women to life and does so in an informative but still accessible way.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's a fantastic read and I hope that Connolly at some point produces a second volume because there are so many more women who also deserve their moment in the spotlight.

Highly recommended.

Joan of Arc: A History

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Review:

It took all I had to finish this one. I should have paid more attention to the subtitle of 'A History'. While I am terribly interesting in reading all I can about Joan of Arc, I have found I do not care one iota about the history of France - even in regards to the Hundred Years' War, which features one of the countries I love learning about so much, England. I was looking for another biography about Joan, and sadly, only a portion of this book is actually about Joan.

That's not to say this is a bad book. It is just not what I was looking for. Now, as I don't find the history of France my particular cup of tea, it was difficult for me to get through the sections pertaining to the war before Joan made her appearance. It is obvious though that Castor has done her research. This is not a hastily put together piece of work. Unfortunately, it is a very dry one. I simply could not get my interested in the 'Before' section, no matter how I tried, and I ended up skimming much of that section, so ready was I to read about Joan herself. The second section was most interesting to me, as it was directly about Joan and her mission, while section three dealt with 'After', meaning after her execution.

I understand what the author was doing, in writing a history and not a straight biography. To understand Joan is to understand the time in which she lived. The war itself was just not interesting to me, as I don't generally care to read military history - medieval or otherwise. And as I mentioned, the writing is quite dry and it was hard to remain interested in the book despite my great interest in Joan. As long as you go in knowing that Joan will not make an appearance for several chapters, and look at this as a history of this select time period, perhaps you will enjoy it more than I did.