Legenda

The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe

Janina Ramirez

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

W H Allen
06 November 2025

Regional & national history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Medieval history

A brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been misrepresented and co-opted over centuries for political, nation-building ends. By Professor Janina Ramirez, bestselling historian and author of FEMINA

From the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited over centuries for political, nation-building ends.

In LEGENDA, bestselling historian 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 Isabella 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.

PRAISE FOR JANINA RAMIREZ- 'Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character' DAN SNOW

'Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez's themes are interwoven with a conssumate skill' TOM HOLLAND

'Passionate, provocative and brilliant' LUCY WORSLEY

'Janina Ramirez is a born storyteller . . . This is bravura narrative history underpinned by passionate advocacy for the women whom medieval history has too often ignored or overlooked' DAN JONES

'Skillfully brings out from the shadows the lives of women who ruled, fought, traded, created, and inspired' CAT JARMAN

'Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended' CAITLIN MORAN

By: Janina Ramirez
Imprint: W H Allen
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9780753560419
ISBN 10: 0753560410
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 06 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Professor Janina Ramirez is a Sunday Times bestselling 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.

Reviews for Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe

This is a history like no other, a top-down story of nationhood and mythology, a dazzling assessment of the past through the lens of the present and a rallying cry for the importance of history. Most of all, it's a plea to consider the real flesh-and-blood women who made the world rather than their sanitised, mythologised counterparts. A fabulous, invigorating and beguiling read -- Kate Mosse Breathtaking and urgent. From dismantling assumptions about legendary women's assigned roles as mothers of nations to re-instating them as powerful agents of change, Ramirez expands our understanding of womanhood. This book is a tour de force -- Olivette Otele Sensational! Janina Ramirez is writing women back into history one by one -- Lauren Laverne Janina Ramirez fearlessly deconstructs the dangerous historical myths and legends that have been shameless created to stoke division and hatred, finding complexity, truth and inspiration in this stunning - and shockingly relevant - new analysis of medieval history -- Alice Roberts