Andrea Hopkins

The more I read them, the more I feel like the classic legends are so beautiful and yet so wooden. It's no wonder the Renaissance followed after a time when heroes wandered about in constant action sans any insight about the inner nuances of their emotion. That reaction aside, Hopkin's work is a fully informative and cohesive compilation of the various Arthurian sources. The chronicles include plenty of excellent art and historical asides.

Interesting text, extremely well illustrated with pictures from medieval illuminated manuscripts. The women considered in this book are so different from each other that the choice of subjects seemed quite random, and I found some parts of much more interest than others. The most interesting fact I gleaned was that news of Joan of Arc's extraordinary career inspired Christine de Pisan to write her final, highly insightful, work. This made me realize how much better the book could have been show more if there were more connections between the lives of the subjects. show less

This is sold as a children's picture book. It is. But I question the story choice. There is nothing graphic or anything, but still. I purchased it because the pictures are glorious - such beauty and art is rarely seen in children's works. This is a simple introduction to this classic story, but it might be a bit mature for young readers.

This book offers a nice introduction to European women and the role they played during the Middle Ages. It shows that women had more rights than they had at later periods and often served alongside their husbands. The book addresses women of all classes, women in the home, women rulers and leaders, women who became nuns, and women in business. It is a great introduction to younger readers for this period and offers a bibliography of additional resources for further study.