Margery Kempe: The Book of Margery Kempe

Margery Kempe was an important cultural figure in late medieval England. She made critical contributions to English religious life through her mystical, individualistic spirituality and was an early pioneer in the tradition of autobiographical writing. Kempe is primarily remembered for authoring The Book of Margery Kempe. Regarded by scholars as the first autobiography written in the English language by a woman, Kempe’s words offer a novel interpretation of religious life and position faith as an intensely personal and subjective experience.