What do readers think of The Missing Thread?

“The Missing Thread: A Women’s History of the Ancient World” by Daisy Dunn, a classicist, uses feminism as a tool to tell more about antiquity than the average person knows. Women found a role despite many obstacles. History refers to them as “weavers”, for example, without acknowledging those who set up businesses with savvy and foresight, even when the law referred to them as “less-than.”

Dunn tells the stories through Rome, Greece, and Persia, and will challenge your prior knowledge. When the three empires intertwine, you really learn new things. I should have known, but mostly male doctors using feminine as an excuse to request more sex from barely post-pubescent girls shocked me. Having a cooped wife at your every whim seemed convenient.

As a Latin teacher, I wanted to use this in class. Still, the graphic information about self-pleasure objects, forced abstinence, rampant rape, and self-serving recommendations for feminine health make for very adult content. It’s a shame, because the information about the political maneuvers behind the scenes in a time of limited power inspired me to have ambition.

Without giving away the “ending”, I will say that we travel from about 400 B.C. to the time of Caesar and Cleopatra, the latter demonstrating the way to wield influence. This allure extends to Livia and Octavia and shows how history books focus too much on the battlefields and not enough on the minds that affect change and political power.

If you love history, you need to read this book because there are facts that may have eluded you. Dunn has put her education to use and spews deep knowledge. Even if ancient history is not your thing, you will leave with an appreciation for those who study it for a living and always manage to find new, relevant facts.