The Crone

A scholarly study of older women in pre-patriarchal societies, from the author of The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets .

"A useful and thought-provoking guide, pointing the way to a more humane future by enhancing our understanding of the past and present." — Los Angeles Times

A probing account of the honored place of older women in ancient matriarchal societies restores to contemporary women an energizing symbol of self-value, power, and respect.

"Ms. Walker takes the reader on another richly detailed, peripatetic journey through history never covered in textbooks." — The Kansas City Star

"A strong affirmation of women's power to say no to out-of-control patriarchal power. [Walker] encourages women to . . . develop a new moral system in an otherwise doomed world." — Yoga Journal

"A very spiritually satisfying book . . . about the repression, denial, and punishment of wisdom among "older" women. . . . The book is also about how much we need such wisdom if we are to survive as a species." —Phyllis Chesler, author of Women & Madness