The Missing Thread

A Women's History of the Ancient World

By: Daisy Dunn

Narrated by: Daisy Dunn, Jenny Funnell

A dazzlingly ambitious history of the ancient world that places women at the center—from Cleopatra to Boudica, Sappho to Fulvia, and countless other artists, writers, leaders, and creators of history

Around four thousand years ago, the mysterious Minoans sculpted statues of topless women with snakes slithering on their arms. Over one thousand years later, Sappho wrote great poems of longing and desire. For classicist Daisy Dunn, these women—whether they were simply sitting at their looms at home or participating in the highest echelons of power—were up to something much more interesting than other histories would lead us to believe. Together, these women helped to make antiquity as we know it.

In this monumental work, Dunn reconceives our understanding of the ancient world by emphasizing women's roles within it. The Missing Thread never relegates women to the sidelines and is populated with well-known names such as Cleopatra and Agrippina, as well as the likes of Achaemenid consort Atossa and Olympias, a force in Macedon. Spanning three thousand years, the story moves from Minoan Crete to Mycenaean Greece, from Lesbos to Asia Minor, from the Persian Empire to the royal court of Macedonia, and concludes with Rome and its growing empire. The women of antiquity are undeniably woven throughout the fabric of history, and in The Missing Thread they finally take center stage.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that includes maps, charts, and photos of artifacts from the printed book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Daisy Dunn (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A sweeping history thrumming with energy…. Dunn’s deft sleuthing uncovers long-overlooked realities…. Wars, rivalries, and invasions made women central to political alliances, and Dunn details their adept machinations as they moved boldly or plotted secretly. Besides familiar names, such as Cleopatra, Fulvia, and Lucretia, [Dunn] introduces scores more of prodigious prowess and influence…. Her erudition is impressive, and her narrative is consistently animated.”–Kirkus Reviews *starred review*

“Revelatory… an epic act of noticing… [in The Missing Thread] narratives of political and military ambition–the bloody internecine battles of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, for example–become more clearly explorations of intense familial and inter-personal dynamics, laced with division and rancour, rage and loathing–but also grief and longing, loyalty and love. It is all so utterly and desperately human. Ultimately, the book asks the question: what does it mean to participate in history?”–The Spectator (UK)

“Fresh, detailed… an engaging and well-researched history that brings ancient women to life.”–Booklist

So comprehensive!

Dan provides an almost exhaustIve Compendium of information and commentary. Extraordinarily well put together, It’s text challenges all that we know that comes from the male view of history.

How little is actually known about women of antiquity and how much is surmised, guessed really.

The reader’s pronunciation was unusual and inconsistent, often difficult to follow. I appreciated the author’s giving both the ancient name and more current names of cities and areas.

Great read!

Very well researched. I was amaze
d by the details. Worth the read. Highly recommend to anyone interested in women’s voices that have been excluded from history.

Learning the names

A corrective to my own, long ago classical education, and I’m sure I will reread this.

Not quite what I expected

I qualify my review saying that I don't have much background in the more traditional or male centered versions of ancient history covered in this book. The book felt like a very detailed whirlwind tour through ancient history with female figures incerted in where they were presumably left out in the past. This is fine, but I was expecting the book to contain more analysis of the broader theme of women in this part of history, especially as compared to what we might conclude from previous accounts. I finished feeling as though I knew more about ancient history in general, but don't feel I gained clear insights on the "missing thread" and how the exclusion of women from previous accounts might change conclusions about both historical events and the roles of women more generally.