An introduction to Christine de Pizan /

This concise, comprehensive scholarly synthesis will be welcomed by those interested in 15th-century literature, especially the booming area--as Margolis (French and medieval studies, Mount Holyoke College) observes--of "Christine studies.. A pioneering professional poet and public intellectual, the late-medieval writer Christine de Pizan (1364/5-1430?) was presumably the first woman to support herself and her family. In recent years (and at last), her oeuvre has been recognized in diverse areas of endeavor: literary criticism, art history, political thought, rhetoric, and particularly women's studies. Margolis argues convincingly, and with wit, that Pizan's gender enhanced her humanistic views in myriad areas--philosophical, scientific, and, of course, literary. The author provides a complete and very accessible account of Pizan's life and times, examines all her works, and scrutinizes her sources and influences. The work is graced with a chronology of her life and influential events, a genealogical chart of the House of Valois, a glossary of terms (e.g., Abelard, allegory, Virgil), some 40 pages of critical bibliography, and a detailed index. Students and researchers of every stripe will want to consult this exhaustive resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. R. Cormier emeritus, Longwood University