The Missing Thread

A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It

By: Daisy Dunn

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Paperback | 26 August 2025 | Edition Number 1

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480 Pages

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19.6 x 13.0 x 3.1

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'A brilliant concept, executed with enviable elegance' Lucy Worsley

'A gem of a book. Thanks to Daisy Dunn's elegant and lively retelling of history, the women of the ancient world are restored to the centre of the story of classical antiquity. It was a joy to read.' Peter Frankopan

Spanning 3,000 years, from the birth of Minoan Crete to the death of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome, a magisterial new history of the ancient world told, for the very first time, through women.

For centuries, men have been writing histories of antiquity filled with warlords, emperors and kings. But when it comes to incorporating women aside from Cleopatra and Boudica, writers have been more comfortable describing mythical heroines than real ones. While Penelope and Helen of Troy live on in the imagination, their real-life counterparts have been relegated to the margins. In The Missing Thread, Daisy Dunn inverts this tradition and puts the women of history at the centre of the narrative.

These pages present Enheduanna, the earliest named author, the poet Sappho and Telesilla, who defended her city from attack. Here is Artemisia, sole female commander in the Graeco-Persian Wars, and Cynisca, the first female victor at the Olympic Games. Cleopatra may be the more famous, but Fulvia, Mark Antony's wife, fought a war on his behalf. Many other women remain nameless but integral. Through new examination of the sources combined with vivid storytelling Daisy Dunn shows us the ancient world through fresh eyes, and introduces us to an incredible cast of ancient women, weavers of an entire world.

About the Author

Daisy Dunn is an award-winning classicist and author of seven books. Her most recent, Not Far From Brideshead: Oxford Between the Wars (2022), was selected for Radio 4's Open Book and longlisted for the Runciman Award. Her previous book, In The Shadow of Vesuvius, was an Editor's Choice in the New York Times and a book of the year in many publications. Daisy read Classics at Oxford before receiving a Masters from the Courtauld Institute and PhD from UCL. She is also a cultural columnist and editor of ARGO: A Hellenic Review.
She lives in London.

Industry Reviews

A brilliant concept, executed with enviable elegance. People will go to college to study the ancient world because of this book. Brava, Daisy Dunn! - Lucy Worsley

Groundbreaking... Dunn's barnstorming book explores the stories of dozens of women... as well as being a well-researched and elegantly written counterpoint to the way men have dominated the histories of antiquity, she has an eye for the quirky, revealing detail. - Independent

A bold and ambitious book... Dunn fills The Missing Thread with brilliantly drawn pen-portraits... a wonderful book: informative, thought provoking, and a pleasure to read. - The Telegraph

With wonderful lightness of touch, Daisy Dunn has rewritten the history of the ancient world. Coming out of the shadows, so many human faces, from Homer to Agrippina, from Lucretia to Cleopatra. Our vision of antiquity will never be quite the same again. As with all her previous books, Daisy Dunn has constructed an utterly compelling narrative. The men are not neglected, but they stand aside to reveal the neglected other half of the human race. - AN Wilson

A gem of a book. Thanks to Daisy Dunn's elegant and lively retelling of history, the women of the ancient world are restored to the centre of the story of classical antiquity, rather than being kept in the shadows. It was a joy to read. - Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

I loved this radical new take on the familiar stories of the ancient world we all think we know . . . it sparkles with fresh ideas - Anne Sebba, author of Ethel Rosenberg

Beautifully written, witty and wry . . . Shine[s] light on the power and influence women have wielded through the ages - Michael Scott, author of X Marks the Spot

No thread is left hanging, let alone missing, in Dunn's closely woven tapestry of ancient women's history. Brilliantly conceived and written - Paul Cartledge, author of Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece

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