author
Eileen Power
1889–1940
A lively medieval historian who helped make economic and social history feel human, vivid, and relevant. Her books and broadcasts opened the Middle Ages to general readers by focusing on ordinary lives as well as big institutions.
2 Audiobooks
Medieval People
by Eileen Power
Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535
by Eileen Power
About the author
Born in Cheshire in 1889, Eileen Power studied history at Girton College, Cambridge, and went on to become one of Britain’s best-known economic historians and medievalists. She later taught at the London School of Economics, where she became Chair in Economic History in 1931.
Power was admired for writing history in a warm, accessible way. Rather than treating the Middle Ages as only a story of kings and battles, she paid close attention to trade, work, daily life, and the experiences of women. Books such as Medieval People helped bring scholarly history to a wide audience.
She also reached listeners beyond the classroom through BBC radio talks, showing a gift for explaining serious ideas clearly. She died in 1940, but her work is still remembered for making medieval history feel alive and for helping shape the study of social and economic history.