#eileen power

[quickquotesbyfalkner]

In the early Middle Ages what passed for contemporary opinion came from two sources - the Church and the aristocracy. In other words, the ideas about women were formed on the one hand by the clerkly order, usually celibate, and on the other hand by a narrow caste, who could afford to regard its women as an ornamental asset, while strictly subordinating them to the interests of its primary asset, the land. Indeed, it might with truth be said that the accepted theory about the nature and and sphere of women was the work of the classes least familiar with the great mass of womankind.

Eileen Power, from Medieval Women (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975) p.9

[oldshrewsburyian]

Hullo, I hope you are well. I do not know if you accept book recommendations but I think you might enjoy the novel Square Haunting by Francesca Wade. Take care and stay safe. xx

Hello, how kind! I reciprocate wishes for your continued good health (one of my favorite human rituals of these trying times, to be honest.)

I presumed that Square Haunting would turn out to be a murder mystery set in Bloomsbury (very much my sort of thing,) and it turns out to be not a novel, but a group biography of interwar women writers! You are quite right in thinking this is relevant to my interests. I tend to be chary when it comes to popular histories, but am cautiously encouraged by the reviews of this one.

[oldshrewsburyian]

Almost all that is worth knowing has to be mined like precious metals out of a rock; and for one nugget the miner often has to grub for days underground in a mass of dullness; and when he has got it he has to grub in his own heart, or else he will not understand it.

Eileen Power, Medieval People (1924)

[kaggsy59]

A sublime account of some pioneering womens' lives over @ShinyNewBooks #squarehaunting @francescawade @FaberBooks

A sublime account of some pioneering womens’ lives over @ShinyNewBooks #squarehaunting @francescawade @FaberBooks

In between reading some absolutely marvellous books for our #fitzcarraldofortnight, I spent many happy hours this month reading a fantastic new books from Faber and Faber – “Square Haunting”, by Francesca Wade.

The book is a look at the lives of five inspirational and pioneering women at a point where they intersect; all five spent time living in Mecklenburgh Square, Bloomsbury and all had…

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[anegregiousexposition-blog]

It might with truth be said that the accepted theory about the nature and sphere of women was the work of the classes least familiar with the great mass of womankind

Eileen Power, M.M Postan (ed.), Medieval Women, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974)

[crooks-lovers]

Eileen Power

[landscape-stories-workshop]

Situata nel punto più interno dell'Adriatico, a metà strada fra Oriente e Occidente, sull'unico grande itinerario marittimo del commercio medievale; porto mediterraneo, eppure così a nord da trovarsi quasi nel cuore dell'Europa; Venezia era il punto su cui convergevano tutte le vie di traffico terrestri e marittime che potessero essere percorse da bestie da soma o solcate da navi. [...] Ma se la geografia aveva dato a Venezia una posizione senza pari, i Veneziani fecero il resto. Per tutti i primi anni della loro storia sfidarono Costantinopoli a oriente, e il Papa e il Sacro Romano Imperatore a occidente: a volte rivolgendosi a uno, a volte all'altro, ma sempre ostinatamente attaccati alla loro indipendenza... [...] Capaci, se minacciati, di ritirarsi nelle loro isole [...] Consapevoli sempre che, per essi, l'avvenire si trovava sul mare e in quelle terre orientali il cui calore si era insinuato nella loro civiltà e aveva scaldato il loro sangue. Erano occidentali e orientali insieme, questi veneziani: cuori caldi nell'amare e nel conquistare, teste fredde nel progettare e nel governare.

Eileen Power