Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of women of accomplishment in Gregory's book. Open it to any page and someone I hadn't heard of who did something worthy of note is described. This is a book I've been keeping by my desk and when I need inspiration I open it to any page and find someone to admire and identify with. While very readable, this is more of a reference book for me, and I plan to keep it close at hand.

Fascinating and eye-opening even in the first 10 pages. Reveals a world of women that was closed off to us before, correcting the ignorance that has kept us in darkness.

I'm really enjoying this book. Just know that it's a dense read and not something you're going to breeze through in a weekend.

A bit more academic than I expected based on her previous novels. The woman is an incredible researcher. I was impressed with the strength of the women who led the women's movement through history.

I got it from the library, thankfully.It is very thorough. The pre-Elizabethan section was most interesting and good reading. Then it just was too academic. It will be cited extensively but isn't a leisure read.

Thorough, not dry but detailed. Horrific in many ways but all true. This is worth a read by males and females.

Gregory's work of nonfiction is different from her historical fiction, and yet not. Very enjoyable reading!

I’ve read a lot of English history books—not one ever made me laugh like this one or glued me to the page quite like this either. There’s so much to see here! Instead of a few interesting antidotes about a handful wealthy white women being outstanding this is literally the story of all of us doing everything. The author’s incredible storytelling talents means it never gets too dense nor boring. Riveting and eye-opening!

A beautifully woven history of women which details the origins of today's inequalities such as, how women's labour moved from valued and paid to being invisible and free and why we have been forced into two genders. It details how the double shift was born and how 'women's work' was gradually forced to the home where it was unseen. It was empowering to read about a history where women worked in ale production, were a part of guilds, played football first and boxed. And it was devastating to see how this was slowly eroded by a society of men who feared women's sexualities and independence. Gregory highlights a pattern of woman doing something - like knitting, boxing, weaving, owning taverns, painting, - then men taking it up, excluding women by barring their access to it, then removing them from records.It is particularly interesting that I'm reading this at a time when we see hearing about the effect a lack of female input had in the COVID response. I understand this is a new context now because the book explains the evolution of why male incompetence still chosen over female brilliance.I need to read it again. There was just too much to take in - one gem that has stayed in the forefront of my mind is that fact that a male doctor kept the life saving invention of forceps as a secret knowledge to be passed down his line. Meanwhile women died needlessly. The whole book is a fascinating, devastating read.

I bought this book as a present for my wife as I know she has previously read other Phillipa Gregory novels.She read it from cover to cover and told me how much she enjoyed it.

A review of ordinary and elite women’s lives over the past 800 years or so. When I saw the pages of notes at the back, I thought the book would be too scholarly for me. However it has been a brilliant read, and the notes are there to offer the evidence attesting to the incidents described in the text. It is a very thorough and thoroughly readable account. In fact I have now bought two, and gifted one to a friend. The equality we women had in the early Middle Ages was gradually eroded. Enclosures being a major cause. And our financial subservience to our husbands went on into modern times, for I am old enough to remember when I had to reveal my finances to my husband for him to submit our tax return! I think a point she could have made. I am not always in agreement with her opinions, particularly on how many sexes there are; nevertheless, I am very glad to have bought this book. It is a treasure.

product arrived quickly and in great condition, it is a very interesting book, very happy with this purchase

This book was very interesting and informative, but I confess I had to have breaks to read something lighter as it was so fact packed. I particularly enjoyed the stories of individual women.