The Book of the Mutability of Fortune

Geri Smith’s full English version of Christine de Pizan’s monumental universal history, the Mutacion de Fortune, is a feat of Herculean proportions. This prose translation of the great majority of this mostly verse composition, completed with an elegant summary of the less prominent passages, makes the work available to English-language readers. Smith follows the original Middle French with precision and delightfully captures the often piquant quality of Christine’s turns of phrase. The division of the text into short segments facilitates reference to Suzanne Solente’s critical edition. Footnotes summarize Solente’s key findings while providing a valuable repertory of subsequent studies related to specific passages. Smith’s translation is an impressive milestone in the dissemination of Christine de Pizan’s works. 

Christine Reno
Vassar College, Emerita, French and Francophone Studies

“Geri Smith’s full English version of Christine de Pizan’s monumental universal history, the Mutacion de Fortune, is a feat of Herculean proportions. This prose translation of the great majority of this mostly-verse composition, completed with an elegant summary of the less prominent passages, makes the work available to English-language readers. Smith follows the original Middle French with precision and delightfully captures the often piquant quality of Christine’s turns of phrase. The division of the text into short segments facilitates reference to Suzanne Solente’s critical edition. Footnotes summarize Solente’s key findings while providing a valuable repertory of subsequent studies related to specific passages. Smith’s translation is an impressive milestone in the dissemination of Christine de Pizan’s works.”
  ~Christine Reno, Vassar College