I am sorry to say that I really struggled with this book. Historical fiction is definitely my thing and I really like books that explore scholars and the writing of history set against a historical timeline but I really struggled to get into this novel. It feels quite detached at times, as if you are looking at a character rather than feeling with them. I also think that sometimes the research can almost be a hindrance and takes you away from the story and, for me, this is what happened here. I did really want to love it but it did leave me pretty cold which is a shame.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book description forf Cities of Women sounded very promising to me, since I, too, was fascinated by the medieval era. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I was hoping for.

I would have hope to get more of the medieval story instead of a romance in current time. I usually love a dual timeline since it adds so much depths to the story, but here it wasn't.

I also found this book was incredibly well writen and we could really see the amount of research the author has done to write

This book consists of two timelines and multiple POV. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations. There were a lot of descriptions that served no purpose to the story and made me lose interest in the story overall. Some of the dialogues between the characters felt unrealistic and made the story not very believable. Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me.

The premise was very promising, and the book turned out to be beautifully written.

It started with dual POV and dual timeline (which I don't mind). We're introduced to Verity, a historian who focused on women's contribution in medieval era.

I enjoy the dual POV so much especially diving into Beatrice's mind thousands years ago.

I admitted that the book is well researched. However, some ppl might not enjoy the info dumping (I don't mind).

The pace is quite inconsistent to my liking.

If the premise suits your taste, give it a go.

Thank you for the arc, in exchange of honest review 🫶🏽

This books centers on Verity Frazier, a current day professor, who has a new interest in proving that Christine de Pizan, a fascinating published author who advocated for equality for women in medieval France, used a female manuscript illuminator. I learned a lot about the time period, the medieval process of bookmaking, and Christine de Pizan. I enjoyed the parts of the book set in medieval France told from Christine’s and Beatrice/Anastasia’s (the illuminator) perspectives. However, I could have completely done without the current day perspective from Verity. It was okay until she meets and begins a romance with another researcher…. it felt unnecessary, random, and not compelling.

I am grateful to have read this book and learned about Christine de Pizan and more about women’s lives in medieval Europe. The author clearly did a lot of successful research for those topics.

Thanks to NetGalley and Keylight Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this because I love a historical dual-timeline. The timeline bifurcates on present character, Verity, and her academic inspiration from medieval, female scriptor, Christine de Pizan and her illuminator Anastasia. The past timeline is also complicated by a time when women were not recognized for their work, but also the Black Plague.

What really did not work for me was the present romance between Verity & Anastasia, where I vacillated between bored and anger. Not only did I feel this subplot romance not add, but rather took away and made me confused as the conversations were stilted with frequent outbursts.

It's clear the author put in a lot of research behind this book, but the writing seemed to tell more than show.

An absolutely gorgeous cover and framework for the story, especially the switching perspectives between Verity, a modern academic, and Bèatrice, a medieval French artist. This should have been wonderful, but it didn't grab me after the first 50 pages. Hoping to return sometime soon for another go. Thanks so much to the publisher for the ARC.

A fascinating dual perspective and dual time period historical fiction novel, Jones introduces readers to the fascinating medieval authoress Christine de Pizan and her illuminator Anastasia as modern history professor Verity Frazier discovers the possibility of Anastasia’s existence. Readers follow Verity’s personal and research journey across England and France while also exploring what Anastasia’s life in the fourteenth century may have been like as a female illuminator in medieval France. In any dual perspective or dual timeline novel, the characters are the heart of the story, and Jones certainly does the historical figures justice, drawing on current knowledge of Christine de Pizan, the process of medieval illumination, and medieval women’s lives to create the character of Anastasia. Verity, too, is fascinatingly dynamic, with complex emotions and relationships that drive her half of the narrative forward. As for the settings, Jones brings readers back and forth from modern and medieval France while also venturing into England and the United States for other parts of Verity’s story. Jones’ novel about fascinating historical women and a modern woman of history draws fascinating connections on the invisible women of history whose narratives are yet to be published and brought into the light of visibility.

Normally I start my review with a book or two that the book I am review reminds me of. I cannot do this with this book, cause it deserves so much more than that. I LOVED this book. It was unique, in feeling and in story. I loved the way that multiple storylines came together, I loved the way books were incorporated in the story (as a book-lover myself). And I loved how this story is about strong women dealing with life. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is that I feel that at the end the style of the writer and one of the main characters changed with no apparent reason. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone.

I thought this book would be exactly my cup of tea, but I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped. The historical elements were interesting and well-done, but much of the book is taken up by a romance, and I didn't really enjoy that.

This was a very in-depth portrait of the life of Christine de Pizan and Medieval manuscript illumination in general. It was a subject that I knew virtually nothing about going into this book and, unfortunately, I found that it is not a subject that holds much interest for me. I think that medieval history buffs will like this and will appreciate the depth of detail the author provides. I found that there was perhaps too much detailed descriptions especially of buildings. The plot was sometimes bogged down amid descriptions of daily minutiae.

There were multiple POV and two timelines. Our modern protagonist, Verity, has a romance with a very unlikeable woman. Anastasia’s behavior really soured Verity’s plot line for me.

Readers that like thoroughly researched and highly detailed accounts will probably enjoy the scope and depth of this book but it wasn’t for me.

This historical novel is an interesting story about the roles and lives of women in the 14th/15th century, which unfolds through the contemporary story of an American feminist historian, Verity, who travels to London and Paris to search for evidence that it was a woman called Anastasia who illustrated the works of Christine de Pizan, a poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and also known as an advocate for women’s equality.

I loved the telling of Christine and Anastasia’s story, which is beautifully written and Jones transports you back through the wonderfully detailed and descriptive writing about the struggles and resilience of women during that time.

The contemporary parallel story of Verity’s romantic life and her academic struggles to reveal women hidden from history is a stark contrast and not as interesting. At times I felt I was reading two different novels.

On reflection the marked contrast perhaps is reflective of the different times. Or perhaps, Jones just tried too hard to give more of Verity’s story to create the parallels.

Jones is a professor of women’s studies and her debut novel is inspired by Christine de Pizan’s 15th century work titled ‘Book of the City of Ladies’, described as ‘Written in praise of women and as a defense of their capabilities and virtues, the work is a significant feminist argument against the misogynist male writing of the day’.

Thanks to @netgalley and @turnerpub for the ebook in return for an honest review.

If you like historical fiction, particularly set in medieval Europe you will enjoy this. 3.5⭐️

I very much enjoyed the topic of this story and the history of forgotten women appealed very much. The dual time spans worked well, highlighting how little we know about the contribution women made. The narrative of the medieval story worked better for me, I felt the romantic element in the modern story unnecessary and that it did not particularly contribute anything. Overall it was a good holiday read for me as I was travelling through France.

I was intrigued by the historical story in this dual storyline historical fiction. The book focuses on a contemporary historian who decides to try to find the illustrator of Christine de Pizan's Cities of Ladies, and other works written by this 14th and 15th century writer. De Pizan was the court poet and writer for King Charles VI, an uncommon occupation for women of her time, but one of great talent. She also was one of the first recorded advocates for women's equality, included in her political and literary commentaries. I read Cities of Ladies as part of a college course on Renaissance writers and she is a fasciating figure, so I was eager to read this title.

The contemporary story, which focuses on a female historian who is disillusioned with the dissertation topic she is writing, is centered around the search for the artist collaborator who illuminated and painted decorations in the few surviving originals of de Pizan's works. While most artists of the time were men, this story postulates that since de Pizan was a female writer, it would make sense that she would employ a female artist.

I found the chapters that brought de Pizan and her female artist, Anastasia, to life the most compelling and interesting. I actually would have preferred this book to focus solely on the story of these two women as a strict historical fiction title, without the dual history aspect. I found the storyline of Verity somewhat disjointed and hard to follow. The addition of the contemporary Anastasia muddled this even more for me and all of their conversations sounded like something out of a 1950s movie. (Does anyone use "Darling" anymore?) I also had a bit of trouble following the tie-in to William Morris but I wanted more of that story too.

Overall, then, an interesting concept that I thought could have been handled with a bit more finesse to make it a very compelling novel about the "what if's" in the life of an extraordinary writer and champion of women's rights.

I've received a digital copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book was so incredibly interesting, and as someone who has read some of Pizan's work, I was very excited to to learn a bit more about her background, and in general about medieval women in academia. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations. While the premise of the plot sounded intriguing, and indeed it was, it was lost in the countless and unnecessary descriptions of places, objects, daily tasks and actions that serve no purpose to the story at all. For example, there's a whole paragraph that details very thoroughly, how Verity purchased a ticket to the museum, sat down in a chair and used the coatroom. There wasn't anything wrong with these writing-wise, they just felt like filler sentences.
In addition to this I must point out, that some of the dialogues between characters felt really stiff and unrealistic, and not just in the medieval era chapters, but in the modern era chapters as well.
On the other hand, the topic I really enjoyed that this novel touched upon is Verity's struggle with academia, and combining her love of history with her professional work. And of course, that cover is just simply gorgeous!

I received this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. My college library will be purchasing a copy for use in art history and potentially literature classes. I found this novel interesting, but I did not finish reading it in it's entirety. I lost interest at about the 25% mark. However, of the portion I read, I feel that it was well designed and had a very interesting premise. My challenge was not feeling engaged enough with the main protagonist and I struggled to stay interested in her storyline. As we began to follow the historical character, I was more intrigued by her story -- but overall the book did not hold my interest long enough to successfully complete it. This would likely be a good novel for people who are interested in art and historical feminist retellings.

Verity Frazier is at a crossroads, should she forego her own moral integrity to gain tenure in a field she's no longer inspired by, or should she be completely rash and pursue passion and an interesting hunch abroad? I liked this glimpse into the rarefied subject of medieval books, and the romantic academics devoted to it. Even though the setting is 2018, I liked how of-another-era Verity and Anastasia sounded. I enjoyed reading about solid things I could learn about like vellum, blued teeth, and history, more than the little supernatural bits and bobs that veered into magical realism.

Until the ending I felt that Verity was a fully-formed character whose actions and decisions made sense, compared to temperamental Anastasia's; I'll just say the ending came as a surprise to me. In a good way. Kathleen B Jones does a masterful job with all the beautiful settings: northern California, New York, London and Paris. This is a great debut novel, I loved learning she had studied and taught about Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies herself.

Christine de Pizan is one of the few medieval women we know from their own words who wasn’t either a member of a religious order or a member of a royal family. Her works reflect a philosophical mind that wanted to improve the world around her. Illuminated copies of her books are absolutely beautiful; they are treasures from an otherwise appalling century. The beauty of de Pizan’s poetry and the books made to show off that poetry are a central part of Kathleen B. Jones’s novel, Cities of Women. Unfortunately, the inspiration of Christine de Pizan and the Book of the Queen are not enough to elevate an otherwise dull story of two women who have to deal with mundanities in order to have beauty in their lives.

Cities of Women is told in turns by two women, separated by nearly a millennium. Beatrice is a contemporary of Christine de Pizan, although she only meets the celebrated author later in life. Verity is a historian on the verge of stalling out of the tenure track sometime around our present. Beatrice and Verity are very different characters, only really sharing a desire to do justice to the stories of others. Beatrice is an artist in her own right; she uses her talents to illuminate manuscripts before they’re bound and finished. Verity wants to tell the stories of the women she studies (first women of the Paris Commune, then the woman? who might have illuminated the Book of the Queen) but is told to strip her writing of anything that’s not academic and utterly grounded in documented history.

Beatrice’s chapters race through her life. We meet Beatrice as a young girl, just before the Black Death kills her father and younger sisters. Later chapters jump ahead by years as Beatrice becomes the primary earner in her small household before she figures out a way to find enough money to bring herself and her mother to Paris where, she hopes, she can set up shop illuminating manuscripts. Verity’s chapters don’t jump through time the same way. After getting a discouraging message from her department at a California college, Verity goes into a bit of a tailspin before taking a friend’s invitation to go to New York and take some time to think about her next steps. A chance visit to the Morgan Library sends Verity further off her trajectory, to London where she can study illuminated manuscripts in person. Her new quest is to prove that the Book of the Queen was illuminated by a woman—not impossible but there is literally no evidence to prove who the artist was one way or the other.

I struggled with this book, mostly because I was annoyed by Verity and the way that Beatrice’s chapters kept jumping ahead. I found Beatrice to be much more interesting than Verity, in part because Beatrice is much more pragmatic and grounded than Verity. Beatrice not only doesn’t waver in her goals, she also knows how to make and execute a plan. She also doesn’t suffer fools or fall for flatterers. Verity, on the other hand, comes across as much younger than she must be. (She must be in her late 20s or early 30s to have a Ph.D. and be on the first rung of the tenure track.) She lets herself be led by someone who she should definitely have some qualms about while, at the same time, flailing whenever she attempts to explain her newfound fascination with Christine de Pizan and the Book of the Queen. The juxtaposition of the two characters was jarring.

Readers, I’d recommend leaving this one on the shelf.

This is a historian’s historical novel, in every sense of the word. Not surprisingly, is is written by a former academic; Kathleen Jones began her writing career as a political scientist and professor, before turning to literary fiction. Cities of Women is a seamless blend of these two domains of their experience, reflecting a deep respect for the scholarly pursuit of history while offering readers a deeply textured and emotional perspective of the past.

The novel toggles between the modern present and the medieval past, beginning with a tenure track historian’s search for her place in the academia. Verity Frazier then encounters, by chance, that rare glimpse of an undiscovered history. This is the sort of thing historians dream of when they enter archives; Jones portrayal Verity’s hope and desire is palpable — or perhaps that is just my historian’s heart set aflutter. Buried, like so many women of his age, is the presence of a female illuminator, Anastasia.

The unfolding of Verity’s archival adventure draws the reader into a world that is both exotic and familiar. Verity and Anastasia (like us all) live in a patriarchal world, one which fails to take women seriously, which gaslights us, and forces us to make undesirable choices. This is a feminist novel, bringing to the fore these age-old prejudices and the battles women must fight to be heard, seen, remembered.

Then novel also contains more than one beautiful and flawed sapphic romance, highlighting the containment and self-sustaining world of womanhood. This is the beauty of Cities of Women; it is an illumination of women, an honest portrait of women’s struggles and successes, a tale of oppression and empowerment as the two sides of our collective experience. Readers should know this realist capturing of the female experience may trigger; who among us cannot point to some evidence of trauma in our lives?

Indeed, Jones’ characters are as made of flesh as ourselves, so well does her characterization reflect the depth of her historical research and her skill as an author. We can feel Verity’s pain, the elasticity of Anastasia’s tenacity, Christine’s boldness and pride. We can also recognize the women around them, the friends who succumbed to the status quo, the colleagues who share in the frustration of being a woman in a man’s world, the lovers who boost us and tear us down.

The novel revolves around these women and their lives, and as such, being character-driven, moves at a languid pace, stretching the length of lives for some characters and capturing mere months of others. Time, in fact, is fluid in this novel, a kind of ephemeral backdrop; the lives Jones tells us about cut across time, flatten it. Women have then, as now, experienced much the same things.

Dialogue between the characters is seamless, perhaps too much so sometimes; I was left wondering if people really talk like this? But then, the world is wide and there are many in it, so perhaps they do. Or perhaps Jones is referencing the physic unity between women, so One-Of-Mind are we that our words may zipper so flawlessly together. Overall, however, Jones’ prose is splendid, mature, and expressive; it is smooth, flowing, and sensuous in many parts. Readers will find themselves cradled in gorgeous text throughout.

DNF. Sorry, but this is a no for me. I love stories about unknown women in history but I find it so unengaging that I’m just skimming really early on. 3 stars for premise - 1 star for boredom = 2 stars.