Join celebrated historian, broadcaster and bestselling author, Janina Ramirez as she talks about her new book, Legenda, her brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been misrepresented and co-opted over centuries for political, nation-building ends.
In LEGENDA, Professor Janina Ramirez peels back the layers of time to reveal how the identities of women have been co-opted by those intent on crafting national identities. Their names are well-known, and summaries of their achievements have been recited in classrooms for decades, but medieval women like Joan of Arc, Lady Godiva and Isabela of Castile have been misrepresented, their stories twisted and weaponised. Meanwhile, ground breaking 18th and 19th-century women who blazed a trail through revolutionary Europe have been forgotten, their legacies too easily dismissed or ignored. Questioning established narratives and searching for the real women behind the legends, Ramirez interrogates what defines a nation and who gets to build it, shining a light on how history is so often hijacked to serve the ideological and political interests of the present.
We’re delighted to be hosting this event to celebrate the publication of Legenda and look forward to a fascinating evening of historical insight as Janina Ramirez shines a powerful spotlight on the women medieval history too often ignored.
Professor Janina Ramirez is a Sunday Times bestseling author, an Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster and researcher. She has presented and written over 30 hours of BBC history documentaries and series on TV and radio, and written seven books for children and adults. Her book Femina was an instant Sunday
Times bestseller.
Tickets: £12 without book (Admits One, ticket redeemable against a signed copy of Legenda) or £25 with book (Admits One, includes a signed copy of Legenda)