From the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited for political, nation-building ends. From Joan of Arc to Lady Godiva, Isabella of Castile to Catherine of Siena, famous medieval women have become national icons, their legends burnished and celebrated. But over the centuries their lives have been exploited, their stories twisted and weaponised.

Searching for the real women behind the legends, bestselling historian Janina Ramirez reveals how history is often hijacked to serve the ideological and political agendas of the present.