Review of Women and Power by Mary Beard
Women and Power gives a drily humorous, witty portrayal of how the powerful women of history have been treated and how their voices have been muffled by men and misogyny. From Penelope being told to be silent by her own son in Homer's Odyssey to an account of a woman 'barking' or 'yapping' in a Roman forum in the first century A.D, to examples of modern female politicians being suppressed by male ones, Mary Beard shows how women have been thought of by men as unimportant and incapable of thinking for themselves for thousands of years.
I enjoy Mary Beard's documentaries, so I was very interested to read this book - and I was drawn to the title. I was expecting a witty, comprehensive, powerful portrayal of the history of women, and this book did not disappoint me! My emotions varied from page to page, going from amusement, to shock, to indignation, to anger and then back again. I would recommend this book to anyone aged above 13 who is interested in the history of powerful women and feminism. A brilliant read that I will definitely come back to.
