Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History

Gregory has always put women centre stage in her historical fiction, but this new nonfiction work strives to restore them to their rightful place in history, and in so doing radically reframe our national story. Mothers, wives, daughters, soldiers, protesters, doctors, factory workers, Suffragettes, guild widows, pirates, highwaywomen, and women husbands are all represented in this book. By including small snippets of stories from women of every walk of life over centuries, Gregory allows her readers to discover more about these women for themselves.

Brisk and direct in the telling (there are more penises than English women in Bayeux tapestry, she notes), it covers 900 years, expanding our sense of “normal women” by conjuring up a show more sisterhood of weavers, nuns and housewives, jousters, highwaywomen and ship-builders. Nearing present day, however, we’re reminded that with full equality elusive still, this is not yet a tale of triumph.

This book was fresh, innovative, challenging at times, and overall a fascinating read. By letting the facts and the stories of these women speak for themselves, Gregory presents the past in a way that is both inspirational and heartbreaking, raw and real. show less

A comprehensive history of "the nature of women" in British history. Gregory's examination of everyday "normal" women is refreshing and a departure from history books that only feature the successful outliers of history - the powerful and famous women. While her book does touch on these women (Anne Boleyn, Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria to name a few), most of the stories delve into the average lives of women, dissecting current power structures by examining the root histories of patriarchy and when women became relegated to less than. An essential read.

Although dense in facts it's a book you can read and not have to re-read the sentences to grasp the detail and context. It is something you can put down and come back to and learn something new without having to retrace your steps to refresh where you are in the book. It is a huge undertaking - the scope is enormous - but having read most of Gregory's historic novels has helped to see where she has culled and used her research material and feel comfortable with what is stated. Gregory can't resist passing a subjective comment from time to time, which arguably makes it a non-academic tome, but I found myself heartily agreeing with some of her heartfelt responses.

A remarkable achievement that informs the reader of the interplay of gender and economics through centuries of English history. The construction of the books helped this reader understand so many things that have happened in my lifetime and are currently happening in the world today.