The Book of Margery Kempe

A remarkable medieval woman’s life and the earliest surviving autobiography in English, now updated with new material

The story of the eventful life of Margery Kempe – medieval wife, mother, businesswoman, pilgrim and visionary – is the earliest surviving autobiography in English. Here Kempe recounts in vivid, unembarrassed detail the madness that followed the birth of the first of her fourteen children, the failure of her brewery business, her dramatic call to the spiritual life, her vow of chastity and pilgrimages to Europe and the Holy Land. Margery Kempe could not read or write, and dictated her story late in life: a remarkable portrait of a woman of unforgettable character and courage. This fully updated edition of Barry Windeatt’s modern English translation includes a new introduction, notes and scholarly apparatus.

Translated with a new introduction by Barry Windeatt