DEATH COMES TO THE MAIDEN Sex and Execution 1431-1933

Hardback. In 1791, the French feminist Olympe de Gouges wrote that 'as women have the right to take their places on the scaffold, they must also have the right to take their seats in government'. In this book the author explores the issue of women's rights through the history of female execution, concentrating on 3 major periods of European history : the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the French Revolution. She reveals the sexual prejudices and humiliation experienced by women condemned to death. In an attempt to uncover the historical truth behind such figures as Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn and Charlotte Corday, Dr Naish goes beyond biography to consider their deaths in symbolic terms anbd stresses the tragic, sacrificial and erotic literary viewpoint of such writers as Genet, Schiller, Yourcenar and Brecht. Chapter headings include : Burials and Burning; Beheading; Hanging; Dame Guillotine; The Art of Immolation. Illus., Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 274pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. F. in Nr. F. dw.