A History of Women in 101 Objects: A walk through female history

(Paperback, Main)

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A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023

This is a neglected history. Not a sweeping, definitive, exhaustive history of the world but something quieter, more intimate and particular. A journey, picked out in 101 objects, through the fascinating, too-often-overlooked, manifold histories of women.

Open up this cabinet of curiosities and you'll find objects that have been highly esteemed and others that are humble and domestic. Some (like a sixteenth century glass dildo) are objects of female pleasure, some (a thumbscrew) of female subjugation. There are artefacts of women celebrated by history and of women unfairly forgotten by it; examples of female rebellion and of self-revelation; objects that are inspiring, curious or (like radium-laced chocolate) just fundamentally ill-conceived. In this compendium, Annabelle Hirsch reveals a new history - teeming, unexpected, witty and always illuminating.

Reviews

'An ambitious project, wide in scope, idiosyncratic in approach . . . The power of this book is cumulative; read as a whole it becomes increasingly affecting. At its heart it is about female pain, female bravery and female creativity' - Sunday Times

'Hirsch provides a rich, subversive take on history . . . The scope and delicious imaginative leaps of Hirsch's work, translated from German by Eleanor Updegraff, start to work their magic. I guarantee many readers will be exposed to something new' - Financial Times

'Whimsical, fun and witty. Annabelle Hirsch's book is a like a treasure hunt through history, culture, politics, fashion and art' - ANDREA WULF

'A reminder, lest we forget, that women are and have always been, whether quietly or vociferously, on the periphery or centre stage, the engine, the glue, the inspiration behind it all' - GILLIAN ANDERSON

'I adored this book! Hirsch's intimate observational gifts turn that world into a rousing, living record of all that we have wrestled with' - OLIVIA COLMAN

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Author Bio

Annabelle Hirsch, born in 1986, has German and French roots. She studied art history, dramatics and philosophy in Munich and Paris, and works as a cultural journalist for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and various other magazines. She writes short stories and translates French literature. She lives between Rome and Berlin.

Eleanor Updegraff was born in London and studied English Literature, German and Russian at Durham University. She is a literary translator and author, ghostwriter and editor, and reviews books for various publications online and in print. She has lived in Vienna since 2015.