de Pizan, Christine - The Book of the City of Ladies

Christine de Pizan. The Book of the City of Ladies. London: Picador, 1983. Softcover. 281 pages.  Very good. Minor edgewear and soiling to covers.  “That this book has been unknown for so long  is nothing less than a tragedy for women”. - Judy Chicago ” Christine was disheartened by what she saw as the misogyny of much court literature, especially the famous French dream vision The Romance of the Rose. She decided to write a work which would treat women in a more positive light. In The City of Ladies, Christine imagines falling asleep and being visited by three personified virtues – Reason, Rectitude and Justice – who arrive and tell her that she has been chosen by God to set the record straight about women. They direct her to build a metaphorical city which will house a group of worthy heroines and protect women against attack.”