Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History―Unveiling the Untold Stories of Women Who Shaped England from 1066 to Modern Times

by Philippa Gregory

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Audiobook, Historical, Womens, Politics

688 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2023

About the author

DR PHILIPPA GREGORY studied history at the University of Sussex and was awarded a PhD by the University of Edinburgh where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds an honorary degree from Teesside University, and is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff. Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Neilsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. In 2021, she was awarded a CBE for services to literature and to her charity Gardens for the Gambia. and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

She welcomes visitors to her site www.PhilippaGregory.com.

Philippa's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PhilippaGregoryOfficial

Reviews

[Laura Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia Cranmer. Mary Boyle. Barbara Leigh Smith. Flora Sandes.

Who are these women? Well - not only are these women new additions to my list of inspirational people, but they are women whose stories have gotten lost in history alongside millions of others.

This book is filled with empowering and uplifting tales, but also shocking and harrowing ones too.

You can read about how women were used as a "last resort" during The Black Death, of heroic acts during the War of the Roses, how the reformation of the church by King Henry VIII affected so many girls and women and the impact that the crowning of Queen Victoria had on women.

All incredibly well known historical events, in which millions of women's stories have been forgotten or have been left untold.

The book also discusses topics such as the traditions surrounding marriage and how they've changed through time, witchcraft trials and how women managed to delay or cancel their executions, religion and what it meant for women in the past and present day including their roles in the church and so much more!

It is filled with such powerful stories, quotes and extracts and I felt so much emotion throughout my experience of reading this.
There were inspirational stories and distressing stories, even the statistics and stories closer to present day filled me with disbelief! But whatever their tale consisted of, they deserve to be heard and our history deserves to be talked about.

This book is a celebration of women and it made me feel so proud to be one.

[KAdelaide · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normal Women
I didn't really enjoy reading this book, and I normally love Phillippa Gregory books.  I am amazed at other reviews of this book that have been so complimentary.
1. The book is very long (580 pages). I believe it could have been culled back quite alot. The Summary at the end of the book is 19 pages. Alot in the Summary is repetive- word for word repetitive. Same words in the main part of the book as written in the summary!
2. The first half of the book, dedicated at MOST 2 paragraphs to each woman. Most women only got 2 lines and nothing more. This made the book very jarring as one case was made after another. There is no flow. It would have been better if there were far fewer examples and they were actually detailed more fully. It was like find 10 cases in 16th century..and stick them on one page.
This may be because of the lack of written material because of the times, Phillippa documenting all that was known. However, reading it, it was all over the place, reading about one person and jumping next minute to another.
3. The second half of the book was more fleshed out, maybe because there was more material,  but at the same time, alot was repetive and should have been scaled back. For instance there was 9 pages listing poor women whom were murdered by their husbands in 2019. Nine pages of lists only. Obviously horrible, but each woman was given 2 lines and that is it. It was lists only. I thought this was rather odd and this should have been edited better. It was weird only this year was chosen as well. How did this compare to other years or 500 years ago?
4. Note there is alot of identity and gender politics in the book, particularly towards the end. Not particularly talking about any woman, just general. The beginning of the book was all about cases and facts. This section was more theorising.
4. What did I enjoy about the book? The first half of the book was very interesting. And the general gist of the book is very thought provoking- how women were systematically treated by society throughout history. And it wasn't good. Even today, it makes you think about things, which to me is a good sign of a good book.

Overall the book was ok, I just found the book a bit excessive in content, repetitive and a bit of a missed opportunity.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sat down to read 1 chapter and accidentally read the entire thing and consumed 1000 yrs of female history. I could not stop reading and I learnt so much everyone pls read

[Novelle Novels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars
Normal women make history is the best overall summary of this great non fiction book. This spans from 1066 to modern times and we see how culture, and social changes affected us. So often we only hear about the how men shaped our world yet this gives us a fresh take on history and finally we see the importance and determination of women.
I loved hearing about how over time we have had women fighting for the causes yet been seen as inferior. We meet women who were hidden from history. Women who were inventors , campaigners, and fighters. Meeting those that built our society and those that rebelled. I loved this book from start to finish and plan to show it to my son and daughter. This could well and should well be in the school libraries as our children should learn about normal women who made the world a better place.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me much longer than anticipated simply because it contains so much information. It covers 900 years of women's history and features so-called normal women—not the rulers or exceptional women, but the lives of ordinary women.

Sadly, we can still recognize the same prejudices against women in current times as in the Medieval years. The male desire to see women as inferior and incompetent still haunts us and prevents women from receiving equal pay to men. Misogyny seems to be entwined with racism and homophobia, and has been for centuries. The fantasy that white men are supposed to be in control of everything holds us back, but even in Medieval times women found ways to use their talents.

It seems to always be assumed that the most important relationship in a woman's life is a husband, but I would suggest it is more often her mother, daughter, or close friend(s). I have always maintained that men come and go, but the women in my life are permanent. Men may try to limit us, but it seems we can always wiggle out of those limits to build lives that we are happy with.

Informative and infuriating.

[Olya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Knew there was a reason I never could finish any of her other books: she's all show and no substance. She should have just written a directory of women's names and their occupations - since this seems to be the only point of this book. There is no why something happened or why some law or attitude changed and little to no historical context (or does she assume that the reader is a better than average educated Brit who already knows all the dates and royals and so forth?). Then there's all the contradictory information: women had no legal status, women ran their own businesses, women could not inherit, women inherited all the time, women were paid the same as men (for a time), women were considered inferior. All at the sr time???
Even skimming (seriously, are we supposed to remember any of those names after reading this????) for 50%, I was too frustrated to continue.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I took a class…. In the best way possible.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I applaud Gregory’s ambition but this ultimately started to feel very repetitive and more of a list of women doing things. I found myself zoning out as the book went on and felt some parts were only discussed at a superficial level (which does make sense as she is talking about 900 years of history). I’m wondering if this would have been better if it had been broken up into one or two volumes but I do think it’s a great overview or a jumping off point of UK women’s history.

[Giorgina Maini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give it 6 stars if I could

[Lillian]

I think the afterword is what ties this book together. Initially I was kind of disappointed in the lack of narrative because I felt like the book was mostly made up of statistics and anecdotes (because it is), but the afterword left me satisfied. I feel like I understand what she was trying to do with this book and I agree with most of it.


If you want a 688 page feminist argument supported by a ridiculous amount of research, definitely read this.

[Manic Booksy Dreamgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read an unfinished ARC of Philippa Gregory's first foray into Historical Non-Fiction and I really enjoyed the whole thing.

Gregory's background as a Historical Fiction author helped breath a lot of life in this very detailed account of women's history. While the book was extremeley long and sometimes repititious I really liked skimming through and finding facts and subjects that resonated with me.

I think Gregory offers a fresh viewpoint and didn't get bogged down in framing things in the same way most Historians might feel obliged to. Would reccomend checking this out if you're curious.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, mostly narrated by the author, which isn't offered as a choice on Goodreads at this time. I was pleased with the first two-thirds of this book which describes the lives of (primarily) British women at different levels of society beginning around the time of the Norman Conquest, continuing through changes resulting from the Black Death, the War of Roses, and the Tudor period. Examples of women who managed success in such areas as skilled trades, soldiering, religion, and medicine are provided through extensive examination by the author of primary and secondary sources. It was fascinating and inspiring, much of it new to me.

However, the closer the book gets to Victorian and modern times, the more it veers repeatedly into female oppression and gender issues. Of course, severe inequalities existed and continue to be problematic today. They need to be examined and pointed out. My problem with the later part of this book is the dominance they exert to the near exclusion of real progressive change in modern times. I was expecting to find out more of the women who had struggled so hard to improve equality for women as well increasing options that are now open to people along the entire spectrum of gender.

I am a progressive feminist and have never lived within the restrictions expected of women in the
mid-20th century. I support the rights of people of all genders to live their fullest, most authentic lives. Yet I grew tired of what came to be repetitious scolding by the author in the last part of this book. She has a valid point, but it loses power with its anger and persistence. I understand her descriptions of gender inequality because I had seen and experienced them myself, but I also have observed progress and have benefitted from numerous courageous role models who smoothed my path. I wanted to have some of these women (and men) given the credit with more space for their important contributions in this book.

It is difficult for me to rate this book. The first parts would warrant 4 or more stars while, sadly, the last sections deserve significantly fewer. I finally settled on 3 in order to express my appreciation for the information provided as well as my disappointment in what was missing. I am in outlier in this opinion as many readers were more enthusiastic about this book as a whole.

[Julie Yates · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deeply disappointed. This was a lot of reading for very little insight.

This book makes claims I don't believe, or even know to be false: Empress Matlida did NOT lead men into battle, she didn't even appear to strategize, Neither did King Stephen's wife. These "facts" are not followed by footnotes - so after that fiasco, I then pretty much distrusted everything else, leading to a lot of independent research and a slog of a book. Look, you can't say "Queen Margaret of Anjou led her army into battle" without a footnote! [So I spent an hour trying to figure out if this is true - AI says yes, thoughtful people say no. A footnote would have made all the difference.]

The main issue is this books tries to do to much and instead does nothing well. Loosely chronological (it jumps around quite a bit, with lots of changing dates making things hard to follow) with similar subsections within each chapter, the same material is repeated - for example, many have a section about prostitutes, which is the same material over and over, down to the fact the religious were often involved in renting space and 'overseeing' the work. It also often mentions many names without giving the backstory or the women or why they are important - the reader is left with a fleeting glimpse but not remembering the importance.

Even the later chapters on modern women seemed to lack focus?

Janega's The Once and Future Sex about the restricting expectations on medieval women still affecting women today was much more satisfying.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Like a poltergeist summoned by men’s imagination, sometimes a warning banshee, sometimes an angel in the corner, this [natural woman] calls women to either live up to an unrealistic ideal or rebel against it. Most women queasily worry why, if it is the ‘nature’ of women, does it feel so unnatural to me? Millions of us have had that sinking feeling of not fitting the mould; in my own life experiences – as a tomboy, an apprentice to a trade, a professional, a scholar, a mother and a feminist – I have often felt completely out of step."
This book is a monumental achievement: a 900-year history of English women, in almost as many pages. Gregory sets a cracking pace, divvying up the centuries into era-based chapters, which in turn are grouped thematically. Each theme is littered with examples running to a couple of sentences each, with conclusions and generalisations heavily referenced (the notes section runs to several hundred pages). No individual gets more than a paragraph - this is a history of women, not the life writing Gregory is more well known for - with the focus on trends that shaped women and that women shaped. Gregory, as the above quote makes clear, is showcasing the diversity of women's lives, and indeed of women themselves, while tracking the gradual shifts in their economic, legal and social constraints and opportunities. Gregory includes diverse sexualities, varying and cohesive class experiences, and women from different racial backgrounds, as well as the experiences of gender-diverse people in every section. She tracks laws such as witchcraft, scolding, sexual and domestic violence, marriage and inheritance.
It can be an exhausting read - you do need to pace it. There is a lot here - it would be astonishing to see what Gregory left out as she has fitted so much in. The structure has plusses and minuses: within each era, it can be hard to get a sense of progression as the themes jump around (Victorian era and WW1 are in the same section, for example). Her humour is occasional, but at times, pee-yourself good. That you have read a few hours' worth of factual material to get to the one-liner possibly makes it much funnier.
There is a real point here, which becomes clearer in the contemporary section, where Gregory's anger comes through more clearly, along with her sarcasm, such as in this description of the post-war period: "The commission quoted women’s inferior physical strength to that of male workers, and said that women were less able to deal with ‘surprise situations’. Despite this lack of alertness, women were not at all surprised to find their wages fell from 53 per cent of the male rate to 45 per cent."
This frustration also comes from the things that the book tends to have in common: the persistence of sexual violence and the condoning of it, and the burden that sits on working-class women:
"We are indeed ‘right to worry about women carrying the double burden’, but we could have worried about this any time in the last 900 years. Working-class women have carried the double burden of wage work and production for the family ever since wages were paid for work and they had to go outside the home to earn money as well as produce at home. The double burden is hard but profitable when home production is high and wages are good, but it is unendurable when neither is enough to sustain the life of the woman herself or her children."
Nevertheless, this book largely celebrates the variety of womanhood and the ways women have shaped and responded to history. At times, I had been disconcerted by the extraordinary nature of some of the "normal" women featured here, but Gregory makes a persuasive case in summing up her approach:
"The history of women is a struggle over identity and inclusion: we are all ‘normal’ women even when we have been described as exceptional or deviant or inadequate, even when our vanity prompts us to stand apart, or our ambition to compete with each other."

[Jeanne Adamek · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was writing a whole long review and then goodreads deleted it :( basically this book is really good and i also i want to share this sick jk rowling burn:

“The science, the history and the lived experience suggest that forcing people into one of two categories is as fictional as a ‘sorting hat’ – we are more diverse and more varied, and more changeable over time, in a richer multiple world than the binary model described.”

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Richard Keogh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This fails at almost all count to be a good piece of History.

Gregory has compiled an impressive database of lots of women in English History. However, so much of that evidence is skimmed over so quickly that there is little to no meaning to be made from it. There is barely any analysis of the "national-story" that she aimed to include women within.

Her work does a good job of showing how men have designated what a woman is over time but this key narrative feature was lost in amongst seemingly pointless interludes of some random examples of women in sport or one example within 150 years of a cross-dressing woman that left me as a reader confused as to why they were included if you're not going to do anything with the evidence.

I teach many pupils who write like Gregory in this book. They provide evidence and don't actually write any interpretation with it. This is more of a reference book than a work of History.

The skimming of women who I was originally excited to read about became so incredibly boring. I wanted depth to these women but the scale of this longue durée meant that there was a disregard for their lives and individuality that I found somewhat insulting to their memory. They almost became what Gregory was fighting back against - women were becoming footnotes.

There are many important and eye-opening ideas in the book, many from the latter chapters. I specifically thought the section on rape in the 20th century enlightening and her argument (there is some granted) that women were given the vote so working men couldnt be above elite women. But there are many glaring repeated myths that were annoying.

1) Anglo-Saxon England was some equal utopia before 1066 - nonsense
2) The Enlightenment said there were two sexes - Gregory contradicts herself on this within her work and it is a pure oversimplification
3) The British Empire being an all-English affair which completely

The chapters have somewhat defined dates if you have a wider reading knowledge of English History but so many times I found the dates arbitrary and she ignored them herself which left me confused as the reader. But this fits with the wider sense that she didn't actually know what she wanted to write with this book.

The final chapter was very wishy-washy. Her Afterword actually was okay given the tedious 560 pages of trawling to get there, but only if you ignore the added information of her views on gender which felt like a bolt on.

Had Gregory kept a clear narrative of how women have been defined through English History, it would have been much better. How any History editor allowed her to keep naming woman after woman without fleshing them out or actually making a point in many sub-sections, I'll never know.

I kept going for my desire to see Women's History written well, but it didn't. I wanted an inclusive History and didn't really get it. If you want good History books that are actually authentic feminist or at least inclusive works then I'd recommend:

The Five, Hallie Rubenhold
Femina, Dr Janina Ramirez
The Restless Republic, Anna Keay
River Kings, Dr Cat Jarman
A Village in the Third Reich, Julia Boyd
Beyond The Wall, Katja Hoyer

[Lisa Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needed a strong editor. While actually quite interesting, the redundancy of telling the tale of every woman who was a carpenter in rural France in medieval times becomes monotonous.

[Sarah Kimberley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this to anyone passionate about women’s history or history at all! Something drew me to this book for sure.

The wonderful Philippa Gregory examines the remarkable lives of a myriad of women, in a collection of fascinating and radical stories. Stories that tell of their survival and valiance in the face of extreme prejudice and patriarchy. The women often overlooked, they’re here in these very pages. Medieval to modern day women.

Let’s just say, these individuals did a lot in their time. Busy carving their mark and passionate about change. You’ll be surprised at how many names are listed in this book too. These very real people just explode onto the page and rightly so.

Everything is split into sections. A little repetitive in places but there’s so much depth to Gregory’s writing that you kind of ignore it after a while. We had women pulled from the household and into battle. We had women partaking in jousts, primarily a male chivalric sport. We had women who loved women and marriage that was acknowledged to some degree. Women for the first time, or at least what is recorded, campaigned and fought, wrote their own books, wore clever disguises and issued their own currency. Yes, a woman named Mary Long minted her own half penny.

This was their capital and it’s astonishing the level of work that has gone into Gregory uncovering these hidden archives. A wonderful book to get your teeth into and the perfect gift ⚜️

#historylovers #womeninhistory #historicalwomen #britishhistory #normalwomen #bookreview #bookblog

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

Listen - I love the idea of this. I love the idea of giving credence to and a voice to women who have otherwise been overlooked by history. I love the idea of going over the evolution of misogyny (specifically in England) and unpacking what we've been presented as "human nature" and unmasking it as a creation of humanity, specifically men.

In practice, however... This book was pretty hard to get through. I started off reading it with my eyes, and was having such a hard time getting through it, so I had to wait for the book to come out and use an Audible credit to get it on audio to listen to.

And it still took me a fairly long time to finish!

I think it's just hard because you're being constantly bombarded with information, some of it jumping around between people and events rather quickly - so I felt really overstimulated and overwhelmed throughout the whole thing.

I commend Gregory for her research and work in this - and I think it was a wonderful idea for a book, and a very ambitious undertaking, but in practice... I'm not sure it really was executed as well as it could have been. But I can't give really specific feedback on what would have made it better.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Philippa Gregory's fiction for years now so when I saw she was coming out with a non-fiction about women in history I knew I had to read it, and I absolutely loved this from start to finish.

The sheer amount of research which would have gone into this book is staggering, and it's unbelievable how women's rights have changed so vastly over the centuries, going from bad to worse to better again. The stories in this book are shocking and heartbreaking at times, but also inspiring and uplifting.

This will definitely one of my favourite books of the year and I could actually see myself revisiting this, which I rarely do for non-fiction. 100% recommend for everyone!

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This absolutely blew my mind again and again and again. It’s essentially the ‘her’story of women from 1066 to 1994 who found ways to gain power and respect and were shot down by men… over and over and over again. It’s shocking, horrifying, awe-inspiring and fascinating - again and again over 700 pages!

[Miles Row · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Paulo Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and full of information. Slightly repetitive but with some very eye opening stories and facts about the lives of women throughout the centuries.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned and unlearned things through this book - as two examples - women regularly jousted, and there were equal pay laws (that were then revoked after a few hundred years) in the 15th century. I was also infuriated every few pages at something ridiculous against women; but incredibly worth the read to understand the daily lives of women throughout history, to really paint their stories and lives truthfully.

Also appreciated the sass of Philippa Gregory, out in force towards utterly deserving subjects. For example - ‘He described one woman, Alice Mitchell, who had cut her lovers throat as ‘typical’. ‘Homosexual relations are also a cause of suicide in women,’ Ellis wrote in 1879. Ellis himself had an open marriage with writer Edith Lees, who was sexually actively with women during their relationship, without murdering anyone.’ lolol

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing quality is very poor- it feels like a high school paper with a lot of grammatical errors, run on sentences, and not very organized. It also feels gratuitously long. I’m so disappointed because the topic is interesting but the execution is sloppy.

[Kira · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been a longtime fan of Philippa Gregory’s fictional work, so I picked up Normal Women with high hopes. Unfortunately, this book has been a disappointment. It’s scattered, unfocused, and riddled with attempts to twist historical narratives to fit a modern social agenda. This is not the kind of work I expected from an author I once respected. I was looking forward to reading a history book about women that made history come alive. An engaging narrative about normal life throughout each century- in a way that leapt off the page and pulled me in, like her novels. Instead we got this dry, haranguing book of dates and anecdotes that reads like a textbook but without the narrative cohesion of historical events to hold it together.

One of the book’s glaring issues is its misrepresentation of historical context. Gregory repeatedly forces modern ideologies into her interpretation of history. For example, she twists the biblical context of womanhood to fit her narrative—going so far as to suggest that Galatians 3:28 is evidence of St. Paul advocating for a gender-free, non-binary worldview. Particularly on the medieval understanding “that a woman could turn into a man… and both Greek philosophers and church fathers agreed that would be an improvement…” She also cites The Gospel of Thomas, ( supposedly in regard to Jesus talking about women being able to turn into men) referring to it as “apocryphal,” which is technically correct but misleading given its status as a well-known Gnostic forgery from the 2nd century. These distortions make me seriously question the accuracy of the source material she uses, particularly on topics I’m less familiar with.

Another effort to bend the historical record to fit a modern day agenda appears in the next chapter- talking about women in trades or businesses, specifically following the disruption of the feudal system caused by abrupt and dramatic shift in population due to the Black Plague. Gregory writes, “The city exerted itself to create opportunities for dynamic businesswomen, some of whom were women of color. An excavation of a burial pit for 634 victims of The Great Pestilence found that 29 percent of those buried had non-white DNA. Four women had African ancestry and other bodies were of Asian ancestry. One woman had both African and Asian heritage: analysis of her teeth and bones suggest she had been born and raised in pre-plague medieval England…” This anecdote is actually unrelated to the point Gregory seems to be trying to make- that women of color were part of the cohort of dynamic businesswomen following the Black Plague.

First of all the claim “29 percent of those buried had non-white DNA…” is purposefully vague, both in the language “non-white” and the lack of specificity in how much of the exhumed DNA could be traced to another country or region of origin. This is implying a diversity in Medieval England that is spurious at best given that global travel was out of reach for the majority of the population and people’s migration patterns reflect that reality. Given that war, conquest and trade would have all been relevant factors at the time- the mere presence of DNA does not prove a modern day diversity initiative in the Medieval world. Secondly, if the author is attempting to claim that native “women of color” (meaning not foreign wives of traders for example) had equal opportunity in business- FOLLOWING the disruption in social structure due to the Black Plague. Her description of the presence of DNA found in burial pits of VICTIMS of the Black Plague does NOT back up that claim and is anecdotal at BEST leading the reader to conclude based purely on the assumption that since “women of color” were present (theoretically) then they must also have successfully benefited from the social opportunities of the time. There is no evidence for this cited.

Gregory’s insistence on projecting modern understandings of gender and sexuality onto the past is another major problem. There is a concerted effort by the author to imply that same sex relationships between women and even marriages were common place and open in medieval England, but the again her evidence for this is vague and open to interpretation. While I have no doubt that a very very small percentage of women may have been same sex attracted- as is human nature, the idea that this was commonplace and openly accepted by society in a relatively small, heavily agricultural, primarily subsistence society is ridiculous. Viewing history through a modern lens and imposing modern day social issues onto them is to completely lack any historical context or understanding- just because women do not have deep, loving and lasting friendships or appreciation for each other, as communities have disintegrated does not mean that all records of these relationships throughout time reflect same sex attraction, let alone marriage.

She also infers there were men who lived and dressed as women openly, however the two cases she cites are both court trials and both men convicted of masquerading or acting as prostitutes. Not an example of commonly accepted behavior, this does however add credence to the argument that cross dressing men with sexual fetishes have always existed, which I don’t think anyone was arguing against.

Her portrayal of significant historical events is equally problematic. The author seems to imply that the American revolution started because of greed and class struggle (a gross misunderstanding of the basics). She writes “But attitudes seem to have hardened throughout the 1700s and magistrates came to side more and more with the profiteers. Radical thinking- which would go on to inspire violent revolution in France and then in America- originated in England where anger about greed became widespread and the greedy elite increasingly anxious…” Which also seems to imply the American Revolution FOLLOWED the French Revolution which is obviously not the case. The differences between the American and French Revolutions could not be more striking and while greed vs. class struggle could perhaps on a very rudimentary level, characterize the later French Revolution it had very little at all to do with the American Declaration of Independence from Britain. This is a glaring chronological error and an oversimplification that ignores the American Revolution’s deeper roots in liberty and governance.

Perhaps most frustrating is Gregory’s assertion that the concept of two distinct sexes is a modern invention. She writes, “Two sexes, completely opposite, were never a genuine observation supported by all the other evidence, but an intellectual fashion in all modernising European thought; invented to explain and justify sexual inequality.” This baseless claim disregards centuries of biological and anthropological evidence and serves only to bolster her ideological agenda.

Finally, the author admits that in Victorian England “Sexual intimacy between women was not widely known outside of sophisticated circles…” and that many descriptions of women loving women were merely “revered sentimental female friendships.” At last, some acknowledgment—but it hardly redeems the overall narrative.

Rather than delivering a book about “normal women” living amidst history, Normal Women reads like a feminist manifesto laced with leftist talking points—including issues of LGBT identity, feminism, and race. Gregory consistently derails her narrative with these themes, devoting disproportionate attention to LGBT topics in every chapter. If I had wanted to read a book on the history of LGBT issues in England, I would have picked one up. Instead, this book masquerades as a broader history of women while delivering a hyper-focused, agenda-driven diatribe.

Gregory’s stance on other topics is equally problematic. She equates marriage to slavery—a comparison so absurd that even she acknowledges its ridiculousness when quoting a women’s rights organizer who made the same claim. Her coverage of abortion is full of unsubstantiated assertions, such as the claim that 15% of maternal deaths in the 1940s were due to illegal abortions—a number that seems heavily inflated and unsupported by evidence.

The author sneers at women in power such as Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher likening the task of running a country to running a home, and takes issue with the notion that women’s skills in politics are deft organization and able management (even though she documented this in her coverage of history in the Middle Ages). The fact that both women were able to showcase family and domestic life alongside their lives in politics is distasteful to her, and she remarks that Margaret Thatchers 1976 speech highlighting her feminine softness and her feminine authority “I stand before you tonight in my green chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my fair hair gently waved. The Iron Lady of the Western World? Me? A cold war warrior? Well, yes- if that is how they choose to interpret my defense of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life…” as making her “queasy”. The typical feminist double standard, shrieking for women to be in power and then being degrading and disrespectful still more when they are, but not repeating the Marxist feminist lines.

We get claims from the author that new technology like the gas stove made women’s lives harder because it raised expectations of housework. She also mentions the rise of child psychology and somehow ropes in the idea that firm discipline and sleep training was introduced as a mechanism to train children from birth to be good workers.

She is disgusted at the idea that housewives and mothers have anything to contribute to a functional society implying that women who choose to do so- and do so well, are subjugated by men. She takes issue with research on attachment theory, and the idea that mothers and children have an innate attachment to each other- although she seems to have no issue at all throughout the book accepting the quack “science” behind theories for transgenderism.

She even dedicates a section to defending “transgender women” in prisons, including those with intact male genitalia, claiming they face greater risks in male prisons and downplaying the dangers they pose to female inmates. She claims that risk of rape in prison is not higher for the female prisoners housed with them and that they are in danger in men’s prisons. She writes, “Incidents of self harm are a far more frequent occurrence than any relating to transgender people in prisons and are a far greater danger to women. But it is of less interest to people who like a moral panic about women” This erases anything and everything she was trying to claim about the system not listening to rape and assault victims through the ages, and is not in fact a women’s issue, at all. People suffering from gender dysphoria, males choosing to identify as the opposite sex are not in fact- women. Giving them and their rights, especially in a discussion about prison (an area of limited “rights” by its penal nature) takes away from the argument she has been making about women, their place in society and the ills done to them through the centuries. This completely undermines her earlier arguments about the system’s failure to protect women from violence and effectively erases the very women she claims to champion. The author also quotes the statistics that a higher percentage of incarcerated prisoners tend to be from non-white backgrounds, not taking into account the percentage of crimes committed by those demographics, which at this point should be expected, given the tone of the book but is still disappointing.

Gregory also makes dubious claims about modern events. For instance, she notes that “the 1950s also saw increased immigration from India and Pakistan and attacks, verbal and physical, on people of color, expressing an imaginary belief in white superiority, which continues to this day.” However, while she uses the 1950s as a springboard, she quickly shifts to modern-day Britain to claim that ordinary citizens are “expressing belief in white superiority.” I find it incredibly difficult to believe that anyone in modern Britain holds such views—and she fails to mention the crimes and attacks on white citizens committed by members of the same immigrant groups. Notably, she completely ignores the recent child rape scandal involving a ring of Pakistani men on young girls and the numerous stabbings, attacks and unrest caused by radicalized Muslims and minorities, often from African or Middle Eastern backgrounds, admitted to Britain on asylum. This selective outrage and omission reveal a lack of objectivity in her analysis.

Her discussion of abortion further descends into wild, unfounded claims. Gregory asserts that anti-abortion activists are divided into two groups: those who want to support mothers and those who want “there to be more white babies.” While I can’t speak with authority on British statistics, I know that in America a large percentage of those seeking or obtaining abortions are from non-white demographics. If abortion were made illegal, it would likely result in more births among minorities—a fact that is not even noted or considered by the pro-life side as life is life, regardless of race. Furthermore, abortion in the 20th century was popularized and spread by eugenicists intent on ensuring that minority women did not procreate—a reality that Gregory either ignores or chooses to spout as complete absurdity.

Her treatment of religion is equally troubling. Gregory complains that while Pope Pius XII ruled that Mary went directly to Heaven upon her death, “it made no difference to other Christian churches, including the Church of England, where there were no figures of women to equal God the Father, God the Son or God the Holy Ghost…” This statement is gross and sacrilegious, revealing a clear lack of respect and understanding for Christian theology. She also takes huge issue with the fact that women were, for a long time, not allowed to be vicars in the Church of England. When challenged with the argument that if Jesus wanted a woman apostle, he would have called one, her response is a dumb rejoinder—“he called mostly fishermen so clearly he wanted mostly fishermen.” She further notes that many prior (i.e., pagan) religions employed priestesses, asking why all monotheistic religions practice exclusively with men. Not because God is the one true God and a God of order, but because it’s clearly just sexism, according to her. This oversimplification of centuries of theological debate is as naive as it is insulting.

Finally, the entire afterword of Normal Women turns into a harangue on the virtues of transgender and non-binary identities. Gregory asserts that “gender and sexuality are a spectrum” and that “strength comes from physique and training—for all sexes.” She writes against women who don’t want to share restrooms and locker rooms with males “identifying as women,” claiming that everyone’s safety is more at risk from “badly behaved men, falsely proud of their maleness and the privilege they think it confers on them…” It’s absolutely wild for a book that purports to champion the cause of women to so forcefully promote the rights of cross-dressing men over actual biological women.

Ultimately, Normal Women fails to live up to its premise. Instead of providing a coherent, well-researched account of women’s lives through history, Gregory has created a soapbox for her ideological beliefs. The book is riddled with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and contradictions, making it a frustrating read for anyone seeking a balanced perspective.

If you’re looking for an honest exploration of women’s history, this is not the book for you.