The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World by Daisy Dunn - Non Fiction - Paperback

Condition: BRAND NEW
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781474615631
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Overview
The Missing Thread is Daisy Dunn's ambitious retelling of 3,000 years of antiquity, told for the first time through the women who lived it. From Minoan Crete to the fall of Rome's Julio-Claudian dynasty, Dunn moves beyond the familiar warlords and emperors to restore queens, priestesses, poets and rebels to the centre of the story, offering readers a genuinely fresh way to understand the ancient world and the people who shaped it.

About the Book
Classical history has traditionally been written as a parade of men: kings, generals and emperors. Where women do appear, they are too often mythologised rather than remembered as real, complex figures. In The Missing Thread, acclaimed classicist Daisy Dunn sets out to correct this imbalance. Spanning three millennia, the book weaves together the stories of remarkable women across the ancient Mediterranean world, including Artemisia, the sole female naval commander in the Graeco-Persian Wars, and Cynisca, the first woman to win at the ancient Olympic Games, alongside more familiar names. Rather than treating these women as footnotes to a male-dominated narrative, Dunn threads their lives through the wider political, cultural and social currents of the age, showing how they influenced events, power and ideas long dismissed as exclusively masculine territory. Drawing on years of classical scholarship, Dunn's prose is elegant, richly detailed and highly readable, making dense historical material accessible to general readers while satisfying those with a deeper interest in the ancient world. The result is a genuinely original history book, one that reframes antiquity without discarding its familiar landmarks, and gives voice to women who shaped events but were written out of the record. It is a book for anyone who thought they already knew the story of the ancient world.

• Fresh, women-centred perspective on 3,000 years of ancient history
• Written by an award-winning classicist and bestselling author
• Combines rigorous scholarship with vivid, accessible storytelling
• Praised by leading historians including Peter Frankopan
• Ideal gift for history lovers, students and fans of classical civilisation
• Brand new UK paperback edition

About the Author
Daisy Dunn is an award-winning classicist and biographer. Born in London, she read Classics at Oxford before gaining a scholarship to the Courtauld for an MA in the History of Art of the Italian Renaissance, and completing a doctorate in Classics and the History of Art at UCL. She is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny and Catullus' Bedspread. She writes for a number of newspapers and magazines and is editor of ARGO: A Hellenic Review.

Why You'll Love This Book
A bold, beautifully written reimagining of ancient history that finally gives women their rightful place at the centre of the story, perfect for readers who love classical history told with fresh eyes and genuine narrative flair.

Please Note: Book cover may vary slightly from image shown. This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed.