Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Women's Work

  • The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times
  • By: Elizabeth Wayland Barber
  • Narrated by: Donna Postel
  • Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Women's Work

By: Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Narrated by: Donna Postel
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.

Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.

Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.

Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated newer archaeological methods - methods she herself helped to fashion. In a "brilliantly original book" (Katha Pollitt, Washington Post Book World), she argues that women were a powerful economic force in the ancient world, with their own industry: fabric.

©1994 Elizabeth Wayland Barber (P)2019 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Short History of the World According to Sheep cover art
The Fabric of Civilization cover art
When They Severed Earth from Sky cover art
Embroidering Her Truth cover art
Fibershed cover art
You Don't Belong Here cover art
The Joy of Sweat cover art
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings cover art
Broad Band cover art
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China cover art
The Deep Learning Revolution cover art
10 Super Asian Women Who Shaped History, Volume 1 cover art
The Lions of Fifth Avenue cover art
Buried cover art
Pirate Women cover art
Helen of Troy cover art

What listeners say about Women's Work

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

completely enjoyable

I really loved this book, such a great deep dive into woman's history without feeling niche or dry.
managed to balance a large volume of information without feeling overwhelming or preaching. I was genuinely disappointed to finish the book. the narrator was also good, very chill.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting listen

loved this book and leaning alot more than just the role of women in society past. thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!!

What a wonderful, revealing and extensive history of textile creation! That originally textiles (and before that strings) would mainly have been made by women is what you would have expected, but learning how this creative endeavours affected and influenced the communities is enlightening and mind blowing!!

Thank you so much for writing this book, I’m ashamed to say I have only come across it now, on its 30th anniversary, but better late than never!!

I plan on buying the book soon as I want to enjoy leafing through the pages on my second read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

facinating

just engrossed it was facinating to hear the history of fibre and looms brilliant. book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting but best enjoyed in graphic form

This is a very visual book. Not sure if it's that suited to the audio format. Otherwise very interesting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not as great as expected

I took a long time to get through this one, I expected to love it due to the title. The story teller didn't grab me with their telling of it. Disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful