HarperCollins Presents Angela Saini’s ‘The Patriarchs’

THE PATRIARCHS: How Men Came to Rule

By Angela Saini

‘By thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.’

In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.

Travelling to the world’s earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.

Despite the pushback against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play—women included—in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present.

ENDORSEMENTS

‘Based on extensive interviews with leading experts, this wide-ranging book injects new life into debates on the origins of patriarchy. Saini shows how much theorising about the roots of gender inequality is a ‘racket,’ resting on shaky assumptions about human biology and social norms, and serving to naturalise what it should seek to question: the penetration of household and family relations by predatory systems of power and exploitation.’—David Wengrow, archaeologist and co-author of The Dawn of Everything

‘This is a truly excellent, important and insightful book. By unpacking the terms ‘patriarchy’ and ‘feminism’, Saini reveals that the words themselves have complex histories. She reminds us to critique every piece of evidence and wade back through centuries of misunderstanding, misrepresentation and mistruths. A glorious work!’—Janina Ramirez, historian and author of Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages

‘Bold, incisive, and beautifully told, The Patriarchs is a truly riveting investigation into the origins and consequences of structural power. The depth and originality of Angela Saini’s thought and research is breathtaking, and world-changing. A phenomenally important and deeply enjoyable book.’—Elinor Cleghorn, feminist cultural historian and author of Unwell Women

‘A deep and incisive look at the historical origins of patriarchal structures we are still fighting today. A must-read for every feminist.’—Rafia Zakaria, author of Against White Feminism

‘I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book. And for such a serious topic, I was surprised to be greatly entertained too. Angela is the best possible guide. A book to buy for many, many people in your life.’—Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland

‘Angela Saini is one of today’s most incisive and important writers about humanity’s troubling turns, twists, and biases. The Patriarchs, a book that is at turns myth-busting, startling, enraging, surprisingly hopeful, and addictively readable, wholly underlines that point. Don’t miss it.’ — Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection

‘In a world sewn together by the myth of permanence, The Patriarchs offers a portal to possibility: the way things are is not necessarily how they could have been. Male supremacy was never inevitable; it was a political choice. Once again, Angela Saini has the receipts. She is scientific journalism at its best—equally engaging and enraging in her forensic denaturalization of power.’ — Alok Vaid-Menon, author of Beyond the Gender Binary

‘The Patriarchs cements Saini’s status as a writer of the highest calibre. Whether Saini is exploring how science views males as superior to females (Inferior), how politics creates non-scientific perceptions of difference and inferiority (Superior), or how the world came to be dominated by men (The Patriarchs), the reader is sure to be informed, infuriated, inspired, and spurred to action by her thorough investigations of how and why bad ideas are recycled and injustice persists.’ — Amy Parish, primatologist, University of Southern California

‘In this disarmingly accessible book, Angela Saini takes the reader on a wide-ranging tour through the nature, history, and present-day manifestations of patriarchy. The prose is sparkling, the information is richly textured, and the insights are plentiful. The Patriarchs is essential reading for anyone interested in how the legacy of the past continues to shape the relations between women and men, and how women have struggled to throw off its yoke.’ — David Livingstone Smith, author of Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization

‘Saini deftly interweaves interviews with experts in genetics, archaeology, history, sociology, and literature, as well as social and legal activists, with nuanced interpretations of key moments in the history of women to understand how oppression becomes normalized and patriarchy almost inevitable. Filled with important stories and the data underlying them, The Patriarchs helps us grapple with the big questions about the deep histories and present battles over power, gender relations, and women’s experiences in a world that often seems bent on keeping us down.’ — Rebecca Futo Kennedy, chair of Classical Studies, Denison University

‘Gripping and beautifully written, Saini’s The Patriarchs is mind-bending. I learned so much about the past and present of patriarchy and notable, diverse matrilineal societies that prove there is nothing inevitable about sexism, domination, or patriarchy. The Patriarchs compels us to look beyond what is and what was, and imagine what could be.’ — Jennifer Shahade, author of Chess Queens

‘Once again, with methodical precision, Angela Saini demolishes yet another notion that underpins our society—patriarchy. She highlights how a male-centric universe is not only unfair and unequal, but it fails the society from reaching its true potential. With meticulous research, scholarly brilliance and lucid writing, Saini leaves us with hope, that change is possible.’ — Salil Tripathi, journalist and author of Offence: The Hindu Case, The Colonel Who Would Not Repent and Detours: Songs of the Open Road

‘Angela Saini is one of her generation’s most important and impactful science writers. And like all of her books The Patriarchs is essential reading. I couldn’t put it down.’ — Sonia Faleiro, journalist and author of Beautiful Thing and Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing

About the Author

Angela Saini is an award-winning science journalist and author of three books, including the critically acclaimed Superior: The Return of Race Science and Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong. Both are on university reading lists worldwide. She presents radio and television programmes for the BBC, and her writing has appeared in The Financial Times, Wired, and National Geographic. In 2022 she was a Logan Nonfiction Fellow in New York and a resident scholar at the Humboldt Foundation in Berlin. In 2020 Angela was named one of the world’s top 50 thinkers by Prospect magazine, and in 2018 she was voted one of the most respected journalists in the UK.

For more information, please write to Shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in

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