Christine de Pizan (1364-1430)

Born in Venice, she is the first French woman to have lived off her work. The death of her husband puts her in financial difficulty. However, she will not remarry, nor will she join a convent. In 1405, the publication of “La Cité des Dames”, first feminist book in French history. Clever, she uses the bible to introduce each of her essays to bypass censorship.