Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History
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- Create Date：2024-03-01 13:21:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Philippa Gregory
- ISBN：0063304325
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Summary
The #1 New York Times bestselling historical novelist delivers her magnum opus—a landmark work of feminist nonfiction that radically redefines our understanding of the extraordinary roles ordinary women played throughout British history。
Most histories have been written by men， about men， relegating women—with the exception of a few queens—to the shadows of time。 Now， bestselling author Philippa Gregory reveals the importance of ordinary women， providing a more balanced and truer chronicle that expands and adds rich detail to the story of Great Britain。
In Normal Women， Gregory draws on an enormous archive of primary and secondary sources to rewrite British history， focusing on the agency， persistence， and effectiveness of everyday women throughout periods of social and cultural transition。 She sweeps from the making of the Bayeux tapestry in the eleventh century to the Black Death in 1348—after which women were briefly paid the same wages as men， the last time for seven centuries—to the 1992 ordination of women by the Church of England， when the church accepted， for the first time， that a woman could perform the miracle of the mass。
Through the stories of the female soldiers of the civil war， the guild widows who founded the prosperity of the City of London， highwaywomen and pirates， miners， ship owners， international traders， the women who ran London theaters and commissioned plays from Shakespeare， and the "female husbands" who married each other legally in church and lived as husband and wife， Gregory redefines "normal" female behavior to include heroism， rebellion， crime， treason， money-making， and sainthood。 As she makes clear， normal women make history。
Normal Women will include black-and-white illustrations throughout and a full-color insert。
Most histories have been written by men， about men， relegating women—with the exception of a few queens—to the shadows of time。 Now， bestselling author Philippa Gregory reveals the importance of ordinary women， providing a more balanced and truer chronicle that expands and adds rich detail to the story of Great Britain。
In Normal Women， Gregory draws on an enormous archive of primary and secondary sources to rewrite British history， focusing on the agency， persistence， and effectiveness of everyday women throughout periods of social and cultural transition。 She sweeps from the making of the Bayeux tapestry in the eleventh century to the Black Death in 1348—after which women were briefly paid the same wages as men， the last time for seven centuries—to the 1992 ordination of women by the Church of England， when the church accepted， for the first time， that a woman could perform the miracle of the mass。
Through the stories of the female soldiers of the civil war， the guild widows who founded the prosperity of the City of London， highwaywomen and pirates， miners， ship owners， international traders， the women who ran London theaters and commissioned plays from Shakespeare， and the "female husbands" who married each other legally in church and lived as husband and wife， Gregory redefines "normal" female behavior to include heroism， rebellion， crime， treason， money-making， and sainthood。 As she makes clear， normal women make history。
Normal Women will include black-and-white illustrations throughout and a full-color insert。
Reviews
Tina
，
A marathon stuffed from beginning to end with the lives of everyday women through the centuries。 I’m prone to romanticising the past， but this book has given me information to change those ideas！
Jayne E
，
Thank you Phillippa Gregory for the lasting legacy you will leave behind。 This book should be on every school curriculum。Reading the list of names of women who died as a result of violent acts of men in 2019 alone made me rage and weep。
Emily Prince
，
I loved how this book empowered ordinary women who have done extraordinary things whether that be volunteering in the war effort despite opposition， suppression and underestimation and so much else。 Never have I wanted to be more ordinary- which is so refreshing and wonderful。 It's affected my outlook on my life and instead of striving to be and do more， I have more self acceptance that I'm great just as I am - an ordinary but beautiful woman。 Thankyou Phillipa！ I loved how this book empowered ordinary women who have done extraordinary things whether that be volunteering in the war effort despite opposition， suppression and underestimation and so much else。 Never have I wanted to be more ordinary- which is so refreshing and wonderful。 It's affected my outlook on my life and instead of striving to be and do more， I have more self acceptance that I'm great just as I am - an ordinary but beautiful woman。 Thankyou Phillipa！ 。。。more
Stephen
，
Very detailed analysis of women's role since Anglo saxon to modern day and forever changing environment restricting and opening up women's role in society。 Very interesting read historically Very detailed analysis of women's role since Anglo saxon to modern day and forever changing environment restricting and opening up women's role in society。 Very interesting read historically 。。。more
Natasha Giroux
，
I found the first half of the book a struggle to get through: the farther back in history we were， the less context each case study had and some sections read as a continuous pros of one flavorless example after another。 However， as we travelled forward in time， Gregory was able to craft a more engaging narrative with， presumably， more evidence to draw from。 There was therefore an element of persistence needed to get through the first half of the book and， unfortunately， the weight of this piece I found the first half of the book a struggle to get through: the farther back in history we were， the less context each case study had and some sections read as a continuous pros of one flavorless example after another。 However， as we travelled forward in time， Gregory was able to craft a more engaging narrative with， presumably， more evidence to draw from。 There was therefore an element of persistence needed to get through the first half of the book and， unfortunately， the weight of this piece of work （both figuratively and literally） will likely make it unattractive to a large proportion of readers who would otherwise be interested in the topic。 A more edited approach with ongoing analysis would have made me more likely to recommend the book to others who weren’t perhaps so interested in history。 The book is， however， undoubtably full to the brim with fascinating， untold stories of women and has fully debunked many previously held beliefs about women’s roles in the past。 The amount of research that Gregory has done is staggering and I really did enjoy reading it， particularly her occasional （and quite random） wry comments that made me actually laughed out loud at times （a rare thing）。 It is the Afterward， however， that is Gregory’s crowning moment。 After research into 900 years of British women’s history， she writes a powerful and mobilizing analysis of where gender equality sits today。 And it doesn’t look good。 I personally found her afterward insightful， depressing and motivating in equal measure。 At the end we get the modest but motivating line that， “This history has only added one voice to the chorus of women who speak up…”。 And I’m glad she did。 。。。more
Frances M-H
，
4 stars for an amazingly well researched and methodically laid out book - so many facts， figures and nuggets of information。 It's quite a dry read though and the relentless facts don't make it appealing in terms of being a 'page turner'！ Perfect if you want to research particular eras though。 4 stars for an amazingly well researched and methodically laid out book - so many facts， figures and nuggets of information。 It's quite a dry read though and the relentless facts don't make it appealing in terms of being a 'page turner'！ Perfect if you want to research particular eras though。 。。。more
Klara De
，
Very interesting read， but can get a bit dry and stilted - due to the formulaic approach to the chapters
Heidi Malagisi
，
The field of history for centuries has been focused on men and the struggles that mankind has had to endure for society to survive。 We tend to get only a mere glimpse at the lives of women when they are next to powerful men。 Some will write about women， mostly royal women， who lead extraordinary lives and left an imprint on the past。 But what about those who lived ordinary lives？ What about the women who lived daily， fighting to survive every obstacle？ What can we learn about history through the The field of history for centuries has been focused on men and the struggles that mankind has had to endure for society to survive。 We tend to get only a mere glimpse at the lives of women when they are next to powerful men。 Some will write about women， mostly royal women， who lead extraordinary lives and left an imprint on the past。 But what about those who lived ordinary lives？ What about the women who lived daily， fighting to survive every obstacle？ What can we learn about history through the eyes of ordinary women？ Philippa Gregory has taken on the mammoth task of trying to answer these questions and more with her tome， “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History。”I would like to thank Harper Collins and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book。 I have had an interesting background regarding Philippa Gregory's books。 When I was in middle school/ high school， I started reading novels by Gregory and I became fascinated with the stories that she was weaving。 It was only when I read other books that disproved some of the things that Gregory had included in her novels that I stopped reading them。 When I saw this book and its praise， I decided to give Gregory another shot because， in the end， I enjoyed her writing style。As the title suggests， Gregory covers over nine hundred years of English women's history， from the Norman Conquest to the modern day。 It is a daunting undertaking， but the way Gregory presents the information is so easy to follow that it allows the depth of the subject material to sink in without it being too overwhelming。 Each part of this book focuses on a different era in the history of England and has segments that highlight important developments during the era when it comes to women’s roles in society。 As readers， we can see changes in society like how the church accepted women， how society accepted women， what kind of rights women had， what jobs women could do for money， how women viewed relationships with men as well as other women， and how men viewed women’s nature。 Unlike Gregory’s previous books and novels， the focus of this book is not the women who wore crowns， but women who lived everyday lives and survived whatever life handed them。 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， which is an exciting prospect。 I am so glad I read this book and gave Philippa Gregory a second chance。 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。 If you want to learn more about English women's history or you are a fan of Philippa Gregory， I highly suggest you read， “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History” by Philippa Gregory。 。。。more
Allison Sylviadotter
，
Would've given 5 stars if she didn't pander to gender ideology and pretend that sex isn't binary （repeatedly， as if it is "silly" to believe that there are only 2 sexes 🙄）。 I really dislike personal virtue signalling in any book， but in a historical book it's inexcusable。 But besides that irritant， the book was a great foray into lost women's history and everything men have done to oppress us in the last millennia。 Would've given 5 stars if she didn't pander to gender ideology and pretend that sex isn't binary （repeatedly， as if it is "silly" to believe that there are only 2 sexes 🙄）。 I really dislike personal virtue signalling in any book， but in a historical book it's inexcusable。 But besides that irritant， the book was a great foray into lost women's history and everything men have done to oppress us in the last millennia。 。。。more
Katy W
，
I began this with high hopes。 This is a great premise for a popular social history read， so it's such a pity her editor allowed so many inaccuracies。 This book is best placed on the shelf of disappointment， beside Naomi Wolf's Outrages。 I began this with high hopes。 This is a great premise for a popular social history read， so it's such a pity her editor allowed so many inaccuracies。 This book is best placed on the shelf of disappointment， beside Naomi Wolf's Outrages。 。。。more
Emma Brown
，
I found this to be an amazing book- talk about eye opening！ It's easy to think women have always been on the sidelines of society- invisible。 This book brings to life so many women through the centuries- ones who achieved extraordinary feats and others who lived their lives ordinarily and yet far more independently than most history would have us believe。 I recommend to all I found this to be an amazing book- talk about eye opening！ It's easy to think women have always been on the sidelines of society- invisible。 This book brings to life so many women through the centuries- ones who achieved extraordinary feats and others who lived their lives ordinarily and yet far more independently than most history would have us believe。 I recommend to all 。。。more
Alaine
，
I got 44% through。 That's over 12 hours。 This is a long audiobook （and I did do the audiobook， although that is not currently an option on Goodreads）。 The topic should be right up my alley。 This is exactly the sort of thing I loved studying in college while working on my history degree。 But I just didn't connect。 Part of it was the narration。 I found it very jarring when the author （who does her own narration， rather decently） would be speaking and then someone else would start talking to read t I got 44% through。 That's over 12 hours。 This is a long audiobook （and I did do the audiobook， although that is not currently an option on Goodreads）。 The topic should be right up my alley。 This is exactly the sort of thing I loved studying in college while working on my history degree。 But I just didn't connect。 Part of it was the narration。 I found it very jarring when the author （who does her own narration， rather decently） would be speaking and then someone else would start talking to read the quote。 Every time there was a direct quote from a historical figure， someone else would speak， and these voices would change depending on who was being quoted。 Not a fan of that at all。 I got confused and disoriented。 But even when the author was the only one speaking for quite some time， I found my mind wandering off quite a lot more than usual even though I was doing the usual sorts of things that I do while listening to an audiobook。 As I said， I didn't connect。 I was trying to power through anyway， but then a hold came through at the library and I think it is time to move on。 I tried。 。。。more
Emily
，
An epic tome。 So glad to have listened to Philippa Gregory reading it。 So many women over such a long time have just held out for being themselves。 Also I liked the foray into what "normal" even is for a woman。 Loved understanding the fickle and fabled past of the everyday。 An epic tome。 So glad to have listened to Philippa Gregory reading it。 So many women over such a long time have just held out for being themselves。 Also I liked the foray into what "normal" even is for a woman。 Loved understanding the fickle and fabled past of the everyday。 。。。more
Natbert
，
Informative， well-researched and interesting！
Pam Keevil
，
A very detailed account of the lives of women from the Norman Conquest onward with plenty of examples from all walks of life。 There are many examples of inspirational women who bucked the trends of the time。 What shocked me was the ease with which men could claim first religion， then science and philosophy to justify the beliefs that women were stupid， inferior， weak and unable to take a role in the affairs of the day。 The author also points out the difference between the lives of upper and midd A very detailed account of the lives of women from the Norman Conquest onward with plenty of examples from all walks of life。 There are many examples of inspirational women who bucked the trends of the time。 What shocked me was the ease with which men could claim first religion， then science and philosophy to justify the beliefs that women were stupid， inferior， weak and unable to take a role in the affairs of the day。 The author also points out the difference between the lives of upper and middle class women and the lives of working class， poor women who have always had to shoulder a massive burden of childcare， working to earn money or grow food and keeping house。 。。。more
Lauren Robertson
，
Everyone should read this。 Women have been left out of history。
Iona Carys
，
Love the concept of this book！ The stories of 900 years of women who have been overlooked in history books due to stories of men being pushed to the forefront。 Showing that women have always been multidimensional， strong， sexual， rebellious， ambitious， and everything in between。 A really interesting read， and written well
Emma
，
Non fiction， chunky read Normal Woman is Philippa Gregory's compilation of history of women in Britain。I start by saying this is a chunky book and pretty heavy as a hardback。 The content is also hard going。 Lots of women being mistreated， murdered， raped etc and told through an unemovtive voice。 You can tell that the intention was to be non biased， but how can a woman be unbiased when describing how women have been treated in the last 1000 years？I liked the way it was layed out。 First by time pe Non fiction， chunky read Normal Woman is Philippa Gregory's compilation of history of women in Britain。I start by saying this is a chunky book and pretty heavy as a hardback。 The content is also hard going。 Lots of women being mistreated， murdered， raped etc and told through an unemovtive voice。 You can tell that the intention was to be non biased， but how can a woman be unbiased when describing how women have been treated in the last 1000 years？I liked the way it was layed out。 First by time period， then by subject matter。 I felt I was learning a lot as I read it， but the only thing I remember right now is about female husbands and pretending to be men to marry and steal their money！It took me a month to read， alongside my fiction reads。 Interestingly I was reading the medaeval section whilst reading Song of the Huntress and Victorian with Babel。 It really fed into my imagination of the time period， including racism of the time and advanced in technology affecting workers。 I'd recommend this one as a bookcase piece to read a bit every so often， or when reading some historical fiction for context。 。。。more
Alice Taprell
，
4。5 stars I feel like this book taught me so much and made me so angry all at the same time。 Normal Women explores how women were often forgotten in history and pushed aside。 It tells history all from the point of everyday women， not just the Queens we are often taught about。 We heard stories about inventors， trailblazers， scientists and met many women who were often overlooked。As the book came into the modern day it was hard to listen to the facts surrounding violence against women， the gender 4。5 stars I feel like this book taught me so much and made me so angry all at the same time。 Normal Women explores how women were often forgotten in history and pushed aside。 It tells history all from the point of everyday women， not just the Queens we are often taught about。 We heard stories about inventors， trailblazers， scientists and met many women who were often overlooked。As the book came into the modern day it was hard to listen to the facts surrounding violence against women， the gender pay gap and the disproportionate amount of work that women still do in the home that isn't seen as work。 Philippa Gregory's writing was thoroughly researched and she narrated the book so you can really tell that this was a passion project of hers throughout all of her time writing historical fiction。 She told the history of women， from the point of view of a woman and it was fantastic。 。。。more
Lorna Merrow
，
Brilliant read， would recommend everyone read it to understand more about how our society has been shaped and impacted everyone。 Best non-fiction purpose for ages！
Holly
，
Thank you Grandma for this Kindle gift！ Xx
Morag
，
I wish this had been better collated。 It reads like a lot of researchers have submitted their research according to period/subject and these were loosely combined into chapters， with occasional short remarks from the author。I was also a bit confused about England。 It was mainly about the country England but then had references to Scotland and Wales。 That was confusing。 It's useful to have comparisons with other British nations， but then these should be given consequentially throughout。 I wish this had been better collated。 It reads like a lot of researchers have submitted their research according to period/subject and these were loosely combined into chapters， with occasional short remarks from the author。I was also a bit confused about England。 It was mainly about the country England but then had references to Scotland and Wales。 That was confusing。 It's useful to have comparisons with other British nations， but then these should be given consequentially throughout。 。。。more
Emma
，
There is so much I could say about this book， but I'm going to limit it to 2。1。 Everyone should read this book， men， women， teenagers - as soon as they are able2。 Given the number of books I read the process of reading a page with many women's names on it shouldn't feel strange。 It does， which for me backs up exactly why this book is important - we haven't even noticed how we are hidden There is so much I could say about this book， but I'm going to limit it to 2。1。 Everyone should read this book， men， women， teenagers - as soon as they are able2。 Given the number of books I read the process of reading a page with many women's names on it shouldn't feel strange。 It does， which for me backs up exactly why this book is important - we haven't even noticed how we are hidden 。。。more
Korrina Davis
，
What an absolutely eye-opening and fascinating book！ I've been a fan of Gregory's fiction since I was 16 years old so I was very excited when I saw this on the shelf in the bookstore。 At a whopping 580 pages I thought it would take me a year to get through （as I like to have a faction and non-fiction on the go concurrently） but I was so engrossed that it only took a month。I wasn't sold for the first couple of chapters as it took a little to figure out the narrative structure but once I got used What an absolutely eye-opening and fascinating book！ I've been a fan of Gregory's fiction since I was 16 years old so I was very excited when I saw this on the shelf in the bookstore。 At a whopping 580 pages I thought it would take me a year to get through （as I like to have a faction and non-fiction on the go concurrently） but I was so engrossed that it only took a month。I wasn't sold for the first couple of chapters as it took a little to figure out the narrative structure but once I got used to it I flew through it。 I loved that as you progressed through the periods you could hear more of Gregory's wit。 A must read！！！ 。。。more
Neil Jones
，
This is a book for the toilet really， to dip in and out of in short bursts。 The amount of information is overwhelming and I found it difficult to make progress。 Not sure that Philippa has found her new niche。 Perhaps not aimed at me so I will return to her historical novels and be happy doing that。
Simon Beechinor
，
Excellent。 This book is well-written and researched。 It's a tremendous achievement and an important book。 I see many parallels between our treatment of women and immigrants。 We should get over ourselves and act like decent， intelligent people。。。 for once。 Excellent。 This book is well-written and researched。 It's a tremendous achievement and an important book。 I see many parallels between our treatment of women and immigrants。 We should get over ourselves and act like decent， intelligent people。。。 for once。 。。。more
Lisa Martin
，
I find the idea that biological sex is an Enlightenment myth very bizarre， and this did blight my enjoyment of the book， which I would otherwise have rated more highly。 The over-arching narrative of the book （that of women being undervalued， misunderstood， misused and often murdered by men） is extremely depressing， which is， of course not PG's fault。 I find the idea that biological sex is an Enlightenment myth very bizarre， and this did blight my enjoyment of the book， which I would otherwise have rated more highly。 The over-arching narrative of the book （that of women being undervalued， misunderstood， misused and often murdered by men） is extremely depressing， which is， of course not PG's fault。 。。。more
Jonathan
，
A very well written book and well worth readingIt really doesn't flow very well though， and a lot of the book does just read like a compendium of listsIt's credit to the author how easy it is read despite this structural handicap A very well written book and well worth readingIt really doesn't flow very well though， and a lot of the book does just read like a compendium of listsIt's credit to the author how easy it is read despite this structural handicap 。。。more
Beth Flint
，
An impressively researched book discussing women （mainly UK） from the last 900 years until the present day。Positives: well researched， insightful， well read by Phillipa Gregory （I listened on Audible）， with moments of her dry wit and humour showing at appropriate points。 Her narration was clear and well-paced。 I learned so much for example that the impact of the enclosure of common land impact is still felt today on women。 I am inspired to read more about so many of the women she discusses （for An impressively researched book discussing women （mainly UK） from the last 900 years until the present day。Positives: well researched， insightful， well read by Phillipa Gregory （I listened on Audible）， with moments of her dry wit and humour showing at appropriate points。 Her narration was clear and well-paced。 I learned so much for example that the impact of the enclosure of common land impact is still felt today on women。 I am inspired to read more about so many of the women she discusses （for example Josephine Butler）。 There was an incredibly touching section where executed women were discussed。 Hearing their names felt like a tribute to their memory。 Phillipa Gregory did not shy away from discussing themes of sex and gender – an almost dangerous thing to do today。 This was done tactfully and with supporting research。Negatives: the repeating themes in most time frames made me question if I had already listened to a chapter。 It was obviously a choice to discuss themes in separate sections on timeframes， but I think I may have preferred chapters on each theme and all timeframes discussed in relation to the theme。 Initially I found the extra narrators jarring， but the editing on this improved as the book went on。 I would also have liked to know the modern day monetary worth of the wages she discusses to allow me to relate more。 The afterword was quite repetitive， often word-for-word repeating what the author had discussed earlier。I often listened to this while walking and this lead to me often embarrassing myself by guffawing out loud when Phillipa would often say ‘Women's work in the home is done for free’ as my response was ‘What's new？！’ This was well summed up in the afterword with 'The invisibility of women's work has affected our history'I was left reflective， thinking about （as Phillipa Gregory calls it） the internal contempt that is held towards women and by women。 I was also left furious about the way women have been treated and still are treated by society， but with a determination to stand up for all women and for myself。This is a book for all women/men/genders to read or listen to。 。。。more
Miles Row
，
Most of it is a 4 star book and would still recommend it。 It is 3 stars as I have complex feelings about how it is trans inclusive but at points erases trans masc people。 It is a hefty book that could have done with more editing but overall still works well as a queer inclusive feminist book with interesting information and is going on my books to reread list。
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normal women nine hundred years of making history normal women nine hundred years of making history philippa gregory