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“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
—Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, 1818
Historically, women (and people of color) have been sorely underrepresented on many reading lists. To help change that, we're highlighting women authors who more than deserve your attention.
Discover classic women authors who flew under the radar with male pen names, and re-discover those who broke the mold and dominated their genres (hello, Agatha Christie!) or invented new ones (see: the history of Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein).
You can also browse books by Black women, by early Irish female writers, or even books by royal women. For more modern and global women’s fiction, we suggest books that pass the Bechdel test, books by Elena Ferrante, and even books by women crime writers. Regardless of what you’re looking for, all of the recommendations below will add some much-needed feminine perspective to your reading list.
"Do we turn on others, or toward others? Do we share our awakening, or only our despair?"
By Alice Walker
Because you need something to hold you over until her next book.
By DeAnna Janes
Question everything—especially your own assumptions.
Because the wizarding world doesn’t have to end at Hogwarts.
By DeAnna Janes
Discover the heartfelt work of this under-appreciated author.
By Jane Carter
We're still taking our cues from our literary kid-heroes.
Discover the story behind Jane Eyre in Juliet Barker's astounding biography, The Brontës.
Who's your favorite Heathcliff and Rochester?
For its 50th anniversary, Jacqueline Susann's misunderstood novel gets a re-read.
These books are sure to set you on your way to "shelf" awareness.
By DeAnna Janes
If girl squads were a thing in the past, these gals would put Taylor and her supermodels to shame.
By DeAnna Janes
Ireland was home to some of the most forward-thinking female writers.
By Cailey Hall
A celebration of Octavia Butler's groundbreaking science-fiction novel.
Love means never having to say you're sorry for exhuming your dead wife's corpse.
By Cailey Hall
Fight reductive HEA (Happily Ever After) with Charlotte Brontë's last, best, novel.
By Cailey Hall
Is the controversial work of Ayn Rand worth revisiting? You decide.