Normal Women: Making history for 900 years

Written by Philippa Gregory

Narrated by Philippa Gregory and Hannah Berchtold

The bestselling, critically acclaimed new women’s history book from Philippa Gregory for 2025 – adapted for teen and YA readers!

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH AUDIO AWARDS 2025!

Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s – crinolines and stage coaches, bonnets and balls – a time when women were told they were naturally inferior to men, and must stay at home while men went out to work and have fun.

HUGE MISTAKE! There is so much more to women’s history than bonnets and big dresses! Ordinary women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER – it just didn’t make the history books (written by men!).

Join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the story of ordinary English women, making history for 900 years. Meet farmers, highwaywomen, pirates, ‘female husbands’, slaves, soldiers, criminals, writers, inventors, rioters and more – protesting, working, playing, taking risks, getting rich (and getting even!). Their story is one of ingenuity, diversity, rebellion, survival – and sisterhood.

Adapted by Philippa Gregory from her best-selling, critically acclaimed Normal Women. This edition for younger readers has simplified, age-tailored content, delivered in bitesize sections.

Read by Hannah Berchtold and Philippa Gregory. Shortlisted for Best Audiobook: Young Adult Books at the British Audio Awards (Speakies).

PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (teen edition):

‘Impressively researched, by turns inspiring and chilling … brilliantly told’ – Cressida Cowell

‘This book is redemption for unsung female heroes. Prepare to feel aghast, proud and inspired’ – Geri Halliwell

‘Uplifting and empowering’ – Edwina Dunn, The Female Lead

PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (main edition):

A NEW STATESMEN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

‘A lasting work of social history’ THE TIMES

‘A genuinely new history of our nation’ DAN JONES

‘This celebration of women is a triumph of popular history’ SPECTATOR

'Philippa Gregory uses all her bestseller skills to weave a narrative with pace' ANTONIA FRASER

‘You’ll lose count of the number of things you learn about women and their skewed place in history … the book reframes the past … an essential read’ INDEPENDENT, FIVE-STAR REVIEW

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Feb 27, 2025
• ISBN: 9780008734022

Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory is a historian and novelist renowned for combining rich research with powerful storytelling. Through her writing, she reveals the women history tried to forget – and whose stories are more relevant today than ever. Her novels have sold millions of copies worldwide and been adapted for stage, television and film. In 2023 she published her critically acclaimed non-fiction book Normal Women, a new social history of women in England for 900 years. It has also been adapted as a podcast, teen edition and children's edition. In 2021 Philippa Gregory was awarded a CBE for services to literature and charity. www.philippagregory.com