Christine de Pizan: Europe’s First Professional Female Writer

Sometimes, while wandering in unexpected places, we stumble upon voices that seem to have been waiting for us. That is how I first encountered Christine de Pizan, not in a history book, but while browsing Project Gutenberg.

Born in Venice around 1364, Christine moved to France as a child when her father, Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano, was invited to serve as astrologer and scholar at the court of Charles V. Thanks to him, she had something rare for a girl of her time — access to books, ideas, and learning.

At fifteen, she married Estienne de Castel, a court secretary. Their marriage was a happy one, but after just ten years she was left widowed, with her mother and three young children to support. Out of grief and necessity, Christine turned to writing. Out of that choice, she became something extraordinary: Europe’s first professional female writer.

Christine de Pizan (sitting) lecturing to a group of men standing photography The British Library Board, Harley a compendium of Christine de Pizan’s works commissioned in 1413, produced by her scriptorium in Paris.

The Gift of Her Pen

Christine began with poems of mourning, ballades written to the memory of her husband. They touched hearts and brought her recognition. From there, her voice grew: ballads, rondeaux, and lays, always infused with sincerity. Her talent carried her words into the hands of dukes, queens, and princes.

She did not stop at poetry. Her prose works reveal both imagination and courage. In The Book of the City of Ladies (1405), she envisioned an allegorical city built of women’s achievements, stone by stone, guided by the voices of Reason, Rectitude, and Justice. In its companion, The Treasure of the City of Ladies, she offered women practical counsel on living with dignity and strength, no matter their station in life.

And Christine kept writing: reflections on her own life, a biography of King Charles V, and volumes that displayed a dazzling range of knowledge and insight. Her pen had become both her livelihood and her legacy.

A Voice for Her Time

Her life unfolded during political upheaval. After France’s devastating loss at Agincourt in 1415, Christine retired to a convent. Yet even there, her voice was not silent. In 1429, she wrote a final profound poem: Le Ditié de Jehanne d’Arc.

It is a joyous hymn to Joan of Arc’s early victories and the only French poem about Joan written while she was still alive. What a closing chapter: a woman writer, celebrating a woman warrior.

Why Christine Still Matters

Christine’s story holds within it both privilege and loss. She began with the advantages of a father’s library at the French court, yet she endured widowhood, financial struggle, and the responsibility of raising children. Out of these contrasts came a voice that still astonishes us today.

Her words still speak with clarity and conviction:

“If it were customary to send little girls to school and to teach them the same subjects as are taught boys, they would learn just as fully and understand the subtleties of all the arts and sciences.” The Book of the City of Ladies

“This is the beginning of the book that Dame Christine de Pisan made for all great queens, ladies and princesses. And first, how they ought to love and fear God.” The Treasure of the City of Ladies (Penguin Classics translation)

Christine’s city of ladies was not just allegory. It was prophecy. In it. She gave women a place of belonging. Six centuries later, we can still walk through those gates and hear her voice: courageous, wise, and profoundly human.

Until the next page turns,

Rebecca

#christineDePizan #courtlyLiterature #fictionSalon #medievalLiterature #nonFictionSalon #projectGutenberg #rebeccasReadingRoom

Embracing the Unknown: A Reading in Bardo by Pema Chödrön

Stepping onto the English shore after the Norway voyage, I thought of Prema Chödrön’s words in Embracing the Unknown. She writes that the uncertainty of transition is not to be feared, but welcomed — for it is in that open space, the Bardo, that transformation begins.

Tibetan teaching describes Bardo as the state between death and rebirth, but its wisdom stretches far beyond.

Embracing the Unknown by Pema Chödrön

The Tibetans describe six bardos: the bardo of birth and living, the bardo of meditation, the bardo of dreaming, the bardo of dying, the bardo of the luminous reality (after death), and the bardo of becoming (rebirth). But the spirit of Bardo reaches beyond doctrine: it is the recognition that life is made of thresholds.

Travel itself is a kind of Bardo: leaving behind the familiar, moving into landscapes that are not yet our own. Reading, too, places us in bardos. We open a book and step into pages suspended between what we know and what we are about to discover.

Norway was more than a journey across seas; it was a passage through time and story. Mountains folded into mist, fjords opening like pages of an old manuscript, legends whispering through villages — each moment asked me to inhabit the in-between. Now, at the voyage’s end, I see that endings are never simple closures. They are beginnings in disguise, inviting us to carry their presence into whatever comes next.

Like a beloved book, the Norway adventure has ended on the page, but it continues within me. And so I return to the Bardo, to the in-between, not with fear but with gratitude — ready to read what waits beyond the threshold.

I wonder, dear reader, what books or journeys have brought you into your own bardos — those luminous pauses where endings become beginnings? Perhaps you, too, carry within you a story that has not yet finished speaking.

Rebecca

Anyone who stands on the edge of the unknown, fully in the present without reference point, experiences groundlessness. That’s when our understanding goes deeper, when we find that the present moment is a pretty vulnerable place and that this can be completely unnerving and completely tender at the same time.

Prema Chödrön

#EmbracingTheUnknown #Meditation #NonFiction #NonFictionSalon #PremaChödrön #RebeccaSReadingRoom #SacredWritings

The Power of Nonfiction: Lessons from Salt by Mark Kurlansky

I’ve always loved walking—it clears the mind and opens the heart. And when I walk with an audiobook, the world around me becomes part of the story. Footsteps, wind, voices, and ideas move together in rhythm, transforming reading into a kind of journey. These walks become my personal “OnTheRoad Book Club” where the books themselves became loyal walking companions and book club members.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky was a non-fiction book that walked beside me.

I have learned over the years that nonfiction doesn’t ask us to escape the world—it asks us to see it more clearly. When I read nonfiction, I approach facts not as footnotes, but as echoes of real lives, real choices, and real consequences. I listen for the stories behind the statistics, the humanity beneath the history. It means reading slowly. With questions. With curiosity. It means allowing myself to be changed—not just informed—by what I discover.

When a nonfiction book walks beside me, it becomes more than knowledge. It becomes memory, insight, and sometimes, a quiet call to action.

My father loved nonfiction, and he encouraged me to read with critical thinking. That may be the most enduring lesson he passed on to me—not just to absorb information, but to weigh it, question it, and carry it forward with care. It’s what turns reading into understanding—and understanding into wisdom. Salt – A World History by Mark Kurlansky gave me much to consider.

Drawn by a Salt Shaker

Looking back, it seems strange that what first drew me to “Salt” was the simple cover. A lone salt shaker. Unassuming, familiar, domestic. What I didn’t know then was that the book would open the door to a sprawling, unforgettable history. Perhaps, that’s the magic of nonfiction done well—it begins in the ordinary and leads you into the extraordinary.

I read Salt many years ago, on a plane en route to one of my adventures. But I didn’t finish it in one go. I returned to it over time—in airports, public transit, quiet evenings, and coffee-scented mornings. This is one of those books you live with. It walks beside you, not just as information, but as a persistent thought. A reminder that what seems simple often holds the weight of millennia.

Salt in the Story of the World

Salt is now common, cheap, and ever-present—but that wasn’t always the case. Kurlansky reminds us:

“Salt is so common, so easy to obtain, and so inexpensive that we have forgotten that from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities in human history.”

Before the 20th century, salt’s value was both strategic and symbolic. Governments regulated it. Cities formed around it. Rebellions erupted when its price became oppressive. (I was surprised to discover that Canada, is the world’s sixth largest producer—with Ontario supplying much of America’s demand.)

Salt is more than a seasoning! Salt enabled food to last, to travel, to nourish armies and explorers alike. Salt was once currency, its value foundational to roads, markets, and empire. From the French Revolution to the American colonies, salt taxes sparked unrest.

Mark Kurlansky positioned salt as a global storyteller.

Salt in Sacred Rituals
From ancient offerings to protective circles, salt has been used for purification in Jewish, Christian, Shinto, and Buddhist traditions.

Salt in Our Language
The word salary comes from salarium, the Roman soldier’s allowance to purchase salt. Even expressions like “worth your salt” reflect its historic value.

Salt Sparked Early Tech
Ancient China used brine drilling techniques—powered by bamboo piping and natural gas—to extract salt more than 2,000 years ago. These were some of the earliest examples of industrial engineering.

Salt as Political Power
In pre-revolutionary France, the gabelle (salt tax) was deeply resented and became a symbol of class injustice. Similarly, British control of salt in India inspired Gandhi’s 1930 Salt March—a peaceful protest that shifted the tide of colonial resistance.

Salt with a Sense of Place
Not all salt tastes the same. Kurlansky explores regional varieties like fleur de sel in France, moshio in Japan, and volcanic black salt from India—each holding its own story of land and labour.

This is not a book to finish in a weekend. It’s a book to savour. I recommend reading it with a pen in hand—or a pot on the stove, for there are recipes interspersed with history, politics, science, commerce, fashion, and dining rituals.

Mark Kurlansky, a James Beard Award winner, is an excellent guide into the unexpected depths of Salt: A World History. With a blend of wit, research, and storytelling, he transforms salt into an unforgettable journey through time. He ends with a haunting truth: “We once lacked salt but had an abundance of fish. Now we have an abundance of salt, and very little fish.” This contrast between scarcity and excess is a mirror of our time. Salt becomes not just a mineral, but a metaphor.

My greatest takeaway from Salt: A World History is this: what seems ordinary is often essential—and what we take for granted may hold the key to understanding how we live, who we are, and what we must protect. Nonfiction like this doesn’t simply inform—it awakens.

Thank you for sharing this moment with me in my reading room,

Rebecca

#MarkKurlansky #NonFiction #NonFictionSalon #RebeccaSReadingRoom #SaltAWorldHistory

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (Read via Blinkist)

“This was the story of a family that had engineered a crisis, and then proceeded to profit from it, quietly, in the shadows, for decades.”

Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain

Recently, we visited family in Alberta. While in the Edmonton airport waiting to board the plane back to Vancouver, I spotted Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe on a bookstore shelf. The title caught my eye immediately—but I knew I wouldn’t have time to add it to my already overflowing “to be read” stack this year. Still, something about the story called out to me. I wanted to know more—right away. So I turned to my Blinkist account, hoping there would be a concise overview that could hold me over until I could read the full book. Thankfully, there was.

As a nonfiction work with weighty themes and detailed history, I knew this book would require time and focus. But reading the summary gave me a powerful introduction—and reminded me just how valuable short-form reading can be in today’s busy world.

Empire of Pain traces the rise and reckoning of the Sackler family—one of the wealthiest and most influential dynasties in America. Known for their philanthropy in the arts and sciences, the Sacklers amassed their fortune through Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin. What begins as a story of ambition and innovation turns into a devastating chronicle of greed, manipulation, and the profound human cost of corporate negligence.

Reading it through Blinkist allowed me to grasp the core narrative and major takeaways in a condensed yet powerful format. In today’s fast-moving world, these shorter readings help us explore a broad range of ideas and histories, especially when deciding which stories warrant deeper engagement. The summary gave me the foundation—and the motivation—to seek out the full version of the book, where I know the nuance and investigative depth will offer even more insight.

The crisis of opioid addiction has touched millions, and Empire of Pain reveals the deeply personal and political forces behind it. This book is not only about a single family’s fall from grace—it’s about accountability, ethics, and how power can reshape public health, often with tragic consequences.

For readers who want to stay informed but are pressed for time, Blinkist is a wonderful tool. It opens the door to critical conversations and, as in this case, guides us toward longer works that demand our full attention.

In a time when headlines come and go so quickly, staying informed through books—whether in full or in summary—helps us deepen our understanding of the world and engage more thoughtfully with the stories shaping our lives.

I’m currently away on a brief blog break, so comments are turned off for now. Thank you for visiting Rebecca’s Reading Room—your presence here is always cherished. I look forward to reconnecting with you soon. 🌿

Rebecca

#Blinkist #bookReview #books #CorporateHistory #EmpireOfPain #fiction #InvestigativeJournalism #NonFiction #NonFictionSalon #Nonfiction #PatrickRaddenKeefe

Celebrating Earth Day with Henry David Thoreau

Thank you for joining me in Celebrating Earth Day 2025!

Earth Day serves as a platform to educate people about environmental issues, promoting awareness of topics such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. This year’s theme, OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, urges us all to unite in the pursuit of renewable energy. As we face the pressing challenges of climate change, it’s crucial to respond to the call to action.

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia Walden Earth Day 2025

Each year on Earth Day, I read from Henry David Thoreau’s famous work, Walden. My copy of Walden was a gift from my father which allows me to celebrate Earth Day by remembering our “Walden” conversations from years past. Dad agreed with Thoreau’s insights on living within our world: the importance of simplicity, self-sufficiency, and a deep appreciation for the natural environment that surrounds us. The changing seasons, the sounds of the forest, and the rhythms of life serve as a reminder of the interconnectedness of all living things.

https://youtu.be/K2D-2O4Kp2M?si=c8jOPDJ1HyH5tsDf

Thoreau’s words encourage us to reflect on our relationship with nature and to embrace a lifestyle that harmonizes with the beauty and tranquility of the world. When we slow down and appreciate the small wonders of life, we begin to understand the vital role that nature plays in our well-being.

In this age of rapid change and growing environmental challenges, Thoreau’s words resonate even more. They inspire us to seek solace, clarity, and purpose in nature, reminding us that our survival is intrinsically linked to the health of the planet.

By recognizing Earth Day, we acknowledge the importance of preserving our planet for future generations and affirm our commitment to nurturing the Earth.

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia

https://anchor.fm/s/4e4af350/podcast/rss

#BeaconHillPark #BritishColumbia #HenryDavidThoreau #NonFiction #NonFictionSalon #RebeccaSReadingRoom #Victoria #Walden