The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It

The Missing Thread is a groundbreaking new history of the ancient world told through the eyes of women, spanning 3,000 years from Minoan Crete to the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome. It challenges the traditional male-dominated narrative and brings the women of history to the forefront.
The Missing Thread is a groundbreaking new history of the ancient world told through the eyes of women, spanning 3,000 years from Minoan Crete to the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome. It challenges the traditional male-dominated narrative and brings the women of history to the forefront.

Format: Hardback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 23 May 2024
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

A brilliant concept, executed with enviable elegance - Lucy Worsley A gem of a book. Thanks to Daisy Dunn's elegant and lively retelling of history, the women of the ancient world are restored to the center of the story of classical antiquity. It was a joy to read - Peter Frankopan Longlisted for The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2025 Spanning 3,000 years, from the birth of Minoan Crete to the death of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome, a magisterial new history of the ancient world told, for the very first time, through women. For centuries, men have been writing histories of antiquity filled with warlords, emperors, and kings. But when it comes to incorporating women aside from Cleopatra and Boudica, writers have been more comfortable describing mythical heroines than real ones. While Penelope and Helen of Troy live on in the imagination, their real-life counterparts have been relegated to the margins. In The Missing Thread, Daisy Dunn inverts this tradition and puts the women of history at the center of the narrative. These pages present Enheduanna, the earliest named author, the poet Sappho, and Telesilla, who defended her city from attack. Here is Artemisia, sole female commander in the Graeco-Persian Wars, and Cynisca, the first female victor at the Olympic Games. Cleopatra may be the more famous, but Fulvia, Mark Antony's wife, fought a war on his behalf. Many other women remain nameless but integral. Through new examination of the sources combined with vivid storytelling, Daisy Dunn shows us the ancient world through fresh eyes and introduces us to an incredible cast of ancient women, weavers of an entire world.

Weight: 752g
Dimension: 241 x 162 x 40 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474615617