Yesterday I pulled it off the shelf and was fascinated anew by its blend of scholarship and surprisingly assertive proto-feminism. de Pizan, daughter of a Venetian court astronomer, married at 15 and was widowed (with three children!) at 25. She turned to writing to support herself, her children, a niece and her aged mother.
The Book of the City of Ladies describes her plain astonishment at the poor opinion of women put forth by intellectuals in her day. She strongly feels this is contradicted by common sense, if nothing else (I am at Starbuck so I can't provide the direct quote). Much of the rest of the book is taken up with examples of virtuous women from classical antiquity and the Bible. I certainly envy her the cheerful confidence with which she discusses her examples. (I suppose in the 14th century it was a lot easier to be sure you had consulted all available sources! Those were the days ...)
Another thing I enjoy about her book is the anecdote at the beginning, which is strikingly reminiscent of a modern personal essay. I can quote that bit from the text sample at Amazon: "One day I was sitting in my study surrounded by books of different kinds, for it has long been my habit to engage in the pursuit of knowledge. My mind had grown weary as I had spent the day struggling with the weighty tomes of various authors whom I had been studying for some time."* I assume most of my readers know what that's like.
* tr. Rosalind Brown-Grant Pin It
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