author
Bertha Eckstein-Diener
1874–1948
A bold Austrian writer and travel journalist, she explored myth, history, and women’s lives with unusual range. Best known for Mothers and Amazons, she helped open up cultural history from a female point of view.
1 Audiobook
Die Kegelschnitte Gottes
by Bertha Eckstein-Diener
About the author
Born in Vienna on March 18, 1874, Bertha Eckstein-Diener was an Austrian writer, travel journalist, and feminist historian who also wrote under the names Helen Diner and Sir Galahad. She is remembered for bringing women to the center of cultural history at a time when that was still rare.
Her best-known book, Mothers and Amazons (published in 1930; later in English as Mothers and Amazons: The First Feminine History of Culture), is often described as the first cultural history focused on women. Alongside her historical and journalistic work, she wrote more broadly on literature and culture, drawing on wide reading and extensive travel.
Eckstein-Diener died in Geneva on February 20, 1948. Today, she stands out as an adventurous, independent voice whose work connected feminism, history, and storytelling in a way that still feels striking.