Helen Carr picks Christine de Pizan at the Gloucester history festival

Helen Carr picks Christine de Pizan at the Gloucester history festival

January 28, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

Helen Carr discusses the life and impact of Christine de Pizan with biographer Charlotte Cooper-Davis at the Gloucester History Festival.

Christine de Pizan was born in Italy but most of her life was spent in Paris, where her father was astrologer to the King of France. After her husband died she was left alone to bring up her three children. Christine's most famous work is The Book of the City of Ladies, and historian Helen Carr says she has been inspired by her ever since seeing one of her manuscripts in the British Library. Joining her on stage at the Gloucester History Festival is Christine's biographer Charlotte Cooper-Davis for a lively recording about an important character who was definitely ahead of her time. The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde

People in this episode

Host: Helen Carr

Guest: Charlotte Cooper-Davis

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Studios

Books & works: The Book of the City of Ladies

Places: Italy, Paris

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