In Her Words: Women’s Fiction Highlights

Updated February 26, 2023
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Agnes Grey
Brontë Anne
When her family becomes impoverished after a disastrous financial speculation, Agnes Grey determines to find work as a governess in order to contribute to their meagre income and assert her independence. But Agnes's enthusiasm is swiftly extinguished as she struggles first with the unmanageable...
Bitch Planet. Vol. 1 triple feature
DeConnick, Kelly Sue
DECONNICK & DE LANDRO PRESENT: The TripleFeature! Ripped directly from the worldof BITCH PLANET, a crack team of creators spin fifteen teeth-clenching tales ofrage, revolution and ridicule.
A room made of leaves : a novel
Grenville, Kate
What if Elizabeth Macarthur-wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney-had written a shockingly frank secret memoir? And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it? That's the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves, a playful...
Circe
Miller, Madeline
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun...
Little women
Alcott, Louisa May
A beautiful new Deluxe Edition of Alcott's beloved novel, with a foreword by National Book Award-winning author and musician Patti Smith. Nominated as one of America's most-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. Little Women is recognized as one of the best-loved...
Moxie
Mathieu, Jennifer
MOXIE movie launching on NETFLIX on 3rd March 2021, directed by and starring Amy Poehler. 'I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!' Zoella '... this is my new favorite book. I'm proud to be a Moxie girl!' Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places...
Cut
White, Susan
The bell jar
Plath, Sylvia
A student from Boston wins a guest editorship on a national magazine, and finds a new world at her feet. Her New York life is crowded with possibilities, so the choice of future is overwhelming. She is faced with the perennial problems of morality, behaviour and identity.
Does My Body Offend You?
Cuevas, Mayra
A timely story of two teenagers who discover the power of friendship, feminism, and standing up for what you believe in, no matter where you come from. A collaboration between two gifted authors writing from alternating perspectives, this compelling novel shines with authenticity, courage, and...
Enola Holmes and the black barouche
Springer, Nancy
Enola Holmes is back! Nancy Springer's internationally bestselling series and breakout Netflix sensation returns to beguile readers in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche.
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
_______________'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairytale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer'A...
Pandora's jar : women in the Greek myths
Haynes, Natalie
'Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to!' - Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale The Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do...
No hearts of gold
French, Jackie
SOME GIRLS ARE BORN TO BE LOVED, SOME ARE BORN TO BE USEFUL, AND SOME ARE BORN TO BE BAD ... Indulged and wealthy Kat Fitzhubert is sold in an arranged marriage to a colony across the world. Lady Viola Montefiore is the dark-skinned changeling of a ducal family,...
Scary monsters
De Kretser, Michelle
From the twice-winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Scary Monsters is an affecting, profound and darkly funny exploration into racism, misogyny and ageism.
Ship of Destiny
Hobb, Robin
The triumphant conclusion to the magnificent Liveship Traders series. The dragon, Tintaglia, has been released from her wizardwood coffin, only to find that the glories of her kingdom have passed into ancient memory. Meanwhile, Malta Vestrit navigates the acid flow of the Rain Wild...
The bee and the orange tree
Ashley, Melissa
The brightest star
Harcourt, Emma
A thirst for learning and a passion for astronomy draw an extraordinary young woman deep into the intellectual maelstrom, political complexities and religious extremism of Renaissance Florence. This beautifully crafted novel will appeal to readers of Karen Brooks' The Good Wife of Bath and Pip...
Boss girl
Rogers, Hilary
Girltopiaas everyone now calls the cityis in the grip of a strange virus that affects only men and boys. In the race to find a cure for the virus, Clara and her bestie Arabella have a secret to keep. And its a big secret. When Clara starts receiving strange messages from a mysterious group called...
The women could fly
Giddings, Megan
Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother's disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge, because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behaviour raises...
The personal librarian
Benedict, Marie
The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Good Morning America* Book Club Pick! Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post "Historical fiction at its best!"* A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan's personal librarian,...
The mercies : a novel
Hargrave, Kiran Millwood
After the men in an Arctic Norwegian town are wiped out, the women must survive a sinister threat in this "perfectly told" 1600s parable of "a world gone mad" (Adriana Trigiani).   Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on...
Vox
Dalcher, Christina.
'This book will blow your mind' PRIMA 'Disturbing' LEE CHILD 'A petrifying reimagining of The Handmaid's Tale' ELLE 'Left me speechless' DAILY MAIL 'Terrifying' RED 'A novel ripe for the #MeToo era' VANITY FAIR 'Extraordinary' LOUISE O'NEILL 'The...
When women were dragons a novel
Barnhill, Kelly Regan
A GOODREADS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A fiery feminist fantasy tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman's place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.   ...
Goddess
Ramirez, Janina
This empowering collection brings together 50 Goddess' from Nut, the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Sky to Medusa to Papatuanuku the Maori Earth Goddess.
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE "A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with...
Hag : forgotten folktales retold
'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday Times DARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID. Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same...
Ella enchanted
Levine, Gail Carson.
This beloved Newbery Honor-winning story about a feisty heroine is sure to enchant readers new and old.  At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift--the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off...
Not safe for work
Kaplan, Isabel
Pre-order this compulsively readable debut novel about a young woman trying to succeed in Hollywood without selling her soul - perfect for fans of Sweetbitter, My Dark Vanessa and Exciting Times 'A frank study of the psychological, and at...
Hag-seed : The tempest retold
Atwood, Margaret Eleanor
The 'riotous, insanely readable' (Observer) retelling of The Tempest from the 2019 Booker Prize-winning author of THE TESTAMENTS. 'Riotous, insanely readable and just the best fun...'Observer Felix is at the top of his...
Her body and other parties : stories
Machado, Carmen Maria
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction "[These stories] vibrate with originality, queerness, sensuality and the strange."--Roxane Gay "In these formally brilliant and emotionally charged tales, Machado gives literal shape to women's memories and...
Ithaca
North, Claire
From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It's time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . "North...
Madam
Wynne, Phoebe.
'Rebecca meets The Secret History. Gloriously dark, gloriously gothic' Sara Collins, Costa First Novel Award-winning author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton For 150 years, Caldonbrae Hall has loomed high above the Scottish cliffs as a beacon of...
The secret wife
Lamprell, Mark
In 1961, on the day that Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to rocket into outer space, Edith Devine moves into her brand-new suburban home-and meets her new neighbour, Frankie Heyman. Frankie is a glamorous, sophisticated foil to the quiet, clever Edith, and the two housewives become firm friends...
Mrs Dalloway
Woolf, Virginia
A brand new series of five of Woolf's major works, in beautifully designed hardback editions On a June morning in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party and remembering her past. Elsewhere in London, Septimus Smith is suffering from shell-shock and on the brink of madness. Their days...
The women's pages
Purman, Victoria
From the bestselling author of The Land Girls comes a beautifully realised novel that speaks to the true history and real experiences of post-war Australian women. Sydney 1945 The war is over, the fight begins. The war is over and so are the jobs (and freedoms) of tens...
Ship of magic
Hobb, Robin
This is the first in a new series set in the land south of Buckkeep. The story deals specifically with the fate of Althea Vestrit, who, on her father's death, finds that she will not inherit the family liveship that she had expected.
Salt slow
Armfield, Julia
'Armfield is an enormous, gut-wrenching talent.' Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under'salt slow is exemplary. A distinct new gothic, melancholy, powerful and poised.' China Miéville, author of The City & The CityThis collection of short stories is about women and their experiences in society,...
The witch's heart
Gornichec, Genevieve
Angrboda's story begins where most witch's tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to give him knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into a remote forest. There she is found by a man Loki, and her initial distrust grows into a...
The Black Coats
Oakes, Colleen
ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE. IF YOU HURT US, WE'RE COMING FOR YOU. Moxie meets Female of the Species in this powerful, thrilling, and deeply resonant novel about a secret society of girls who plot revenge on the men who hurt them. The enigmatic Black Coats have been exacting...
Lacuna
Snyckers, Fiona.
Winner of the Sala Novel Award Winner of the Humanities and Social Sciences Award for the Novel A cry for reparations for Lucy Lurie. She is the victim of an act of terrible sexual violence that devastes her life. Afterwards, she becomes obsessed with the author John Coetzee, the man...
Spinning silver
Novik, Naomi
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "One of the year's strongest fantasy novels" (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted.NEBULA AND HUGO AWARD FINALIST * NAMED ONE OF PASTE'S...
Ophelia : Queen of Denmark
French, Jackie
Following on from I AM JULIET (August 2014), this is the second title in a new series for young people that focuses on the reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic and enduring plays. Ages: 10+ She is the girl who...
Bridget Crack
Leary, Rachel
Van Diemen's Land, 1826. A desperate convict flees into the wilderness. But the land that hides her will show her no mercy. A brilliant literary debut from a writer of rare talent.
The case of the bizarre bouquets
Springer, Nancy
Don't miss Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess! Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Enola Holmes--younger sister to Sherlock Holmes--is back on another case! Everyone knows Dr....
The case of the cryptic crinoline
Springer, Nancy
Don't miss Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess! Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Enola Holmes--younger sister to Sherlock Holmes--is back on another case! Enola Holmes's landlady,...
Cicada
McKinnon, Moira
A stunning novel of terror, love and survival in the most inhospitable country on earth. A white-knuckle chase story like no other - suspenseful, lyrical and breathtaking in equal measure. The literary debut novel of 2014.
The color purple
Walker, Alice
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick Winner of the Pulitzer Prize * Winner of the National Book Award   Published to unprecedented acclaim,The Color Purple established Alice Walker as a major voice in...
Gender swapped fairy tales
Fransman, Karrie
Imagine a world where kings prick their fingers as they sew, wolves wear heels, and princesses race to rescue sleeping princes...
The dictionary of lost words
Williams, Pip
Gender swapped Greek myths
Fransman, Karrie
A new captivating, inspiring, and totally perspective-shifting volume from the wife and husband team behind Gender Swapped Fairy Tales.
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, V. E.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah...
The end of men
Sweeney-Baird, Christina
'A FIERCELY INTELLIGENT PAGE-TURNER' PAULA HAWKINS 'WRITTEN PRE-COVID - GRIPPING, SCARY AND PERSUASIVE' IAN RANKIN 'THE STUFF THAT CLASSICS ARE MADE OF' A.J. FINN 'GRIPPING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. WHAT A DEBUT!' SARAH...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
One of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time: A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution--from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (The New York Times). * Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth...
Six of crows
Bardugo, Leigh
See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Meet Kaz Brekker and his crew: Jesper, Inej, Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, on the heist of a lifetime in Six of Crows from #1...
Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 = Palsip yi nyeon saeng Kim Jiyeong
Cho, Nam-ju
A GUARDIAN 'ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR 2020'  A RED MAGAZINE 'CAN'T WAIT TO READ' BOOK OF 2020   THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY SELLING SOUTH KOREAN SENSATION THAT HAS GOT THE WHOLE WORLD TALKING Kim Jiyoung is a...
The lost sisterhood : a novel
Fortier, Anne
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Juliet comes a mesmerizing novel about a young scholar who risks her reputation--and her life--on a thrilling journey to prove that the legendary warrior women known as the Amazons actually existed.   Oxford lecturer Diana...
The priory of the orange tree
Shannon, Samantha
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.'Epic' Guardian'Majestic' Daily Mail'The new Game of Thrones' StylistAn enthralling, epic fantasy about a world on the...
Joan makes history
Grenville, Kate
No Marketing Blurb
The once and future witches
Harrow, Alix E.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Glorious . . . a tale that will sweep you away' Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Tiger 'A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women' Laini Taylor,...
The Penelopiad
Atwood, Margaret
"Homer's Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelope's...
Daughter of the forest
Marillier, Juliet.
A magnificent saga set in the Celtic twilight of 10th century Ireland, when myth was law and magic was a power of nature, brilliantly brought to life: the legendary story of an evil stepmother opposed by a seventh child. A wicked woman, an evil curse, and a love that must triumph over...
Violeta
Allende, Isabel
_______________THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM LITERARY LEGEND ISABEL ALLENDE_______________'Epic, beautifully crafted . . . Gripping from start to finish' DAILY TELEGRAPH'A moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of...
Know my name
Bullock, Natasha
Know My Name brings together a range of works by women (cis and trans) that shed light on diverse ways of considering the stories of Australian art. With profiles and essays on more than 150 women artists written by 115 women writers,...
Ines of my soul
Allende, Isabel.
A passionate tale of love, freedom, and conquest from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende. Born into a poor family in Spain, Inés Suárez, finds herself condemned to a life of poverty without opportunity as a lowly seamstress. But it's the...
Louisa May Alcott's Little women
Archer, Mandy
BabyLit Storybooks are a great way to introduce young readers to the classics, with easy to read storylines and bright illustrations. They are part of the bestselling BabyLit series, which provides a literary education for your brilliant children. BabyLit® primers have become...
Island beneath the sea : a novel
Allende, Isabel.
"Allende is a master storyteller at the peak of her powers." -- Los Angeles Times From the sugar plantations of Saint-Domingue to the lavish parlors of New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century, the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende (Inés of...
Home fire
Shamsie, Kamila
_______________WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZEA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN, EVENING STANDAND AND NEW YORK TIMES_______________'The book for our times' - Judges of...
Women talking
Toews, Miriam
The internationally bestselling novel based on real events. Now a major motion picture from writer/director Sarah Polley, starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, with Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand. "This amazing, sad, shocking, but touching novel, based on a real...
Who is Vera Kelly?
Knecht, Rosalie
New York City, 1962. Vera Kelly is struggling to make rent and blend into the underground gay scene in Greenwich Village. She's working night shifts at a radio station when her quick wits, sharp tongue, and technical skills get her noticed by a recruiter for the CIA. ...
Liberation
Kealey, Imogen
Louis & Louise
Cohen, Julie
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi
A dark enchantment blights the land in the award-winning Uprooted - a captivating fantasy inspired by fairy tales and steeped in Slavic folklore from Naomi Novik, author of the Scholomance trilogy and the Temeraire series. 'A great heroine, new takes on old myths and...
The Underground Railroad
Whitehead, Colson
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * A magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. * Now an original Amazon Prime Video series directed by...
Revenge of the sluts
Walton, Natalie
Double standards are about to get singled out. In this stunning debut, author Natalie Walton tackles privacy and relationships in the digital age. As lead reporter for The Warrior Weekly, Eden has covered her fair share of stories at St. Joseph...
The tomb of Hercules
McDermott, Andy.
From the author of THE HUNT FOR ATLANTIS, comes an electrifying new novel. Nina Wilde is on the hunt for the Tomb of Hercules. Studies of an ancient text have convinced archaeologist Nina Wilde that a tomb containing the remains of legendary warrior Hercules may actually exist. If she can...
Long Bay
Limprecht, Eleanor
Set in Sydney in the first decade of the 1900s, Long Bay is based on the true case of a young female abortionist who was convicted of manslaughter and served out her sentence in the newly opened Long Bay Women¿s Reformatory ¿ the first of its kind in Australia. The woman, Rebecca Sinclair, was...
Royal rebel : the life of suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh
Rai, Bali
Rebel, Princess, Suffragette: this is the incredible true story of the life of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, a forgotten heroine of the early twentieth century. Rebel, Princess, Suffragette: this is the incredible true story of the life of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, a forgotten...
The testaments
Atwood, Margaret
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE * The Testaments is a modern masterpiece, a powerful novel that can be read on its own or as a companion to Margaret Atwood's classic, The Handmaid's Tale. More than fifteen years after the events of...
Sherwood
Spooner, Meagan
Fans of Danielle Paige, Marissa Meyer, and Alex Flinn will devour New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner's next fierce fairy tale-inspired story, which Illuminae author Amie Kaufman calls "a kick-ass, gender-flipped feminist retelling." Robin of Locksley is dead.<...
The red tent
Diamant, Anita
In this modern classic interpretation of the biblical story of Dinah, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of The Red Tent, a New York Times bestseller and the basis of the A&E/Lifetime mini-series. Twentieth Anniversary...
The case of the left-handed lady
Springer, Nancy
Don't miss Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess! Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Enola Holmes--younger sister to Sherlock Holmes--is back on another case! Enola Holmes is...
The cotton town girls
Fleming, Leah
A heart-warming story of female friendship in the tumultuous days of the Suffragette movement... Sophia Seddon and Grace Thompson are poles apart - the one a member of the notorious Seddons of Plover Street, the other the vicar's spoilt only child. But their...
The case of the gypsy good-bye
Springer, Nancy
Don't miss Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess! Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Enola Holmes--younger sister to Sherlock Holmes--is back on another case! As Enola searches...
The drover's wife : the legend of Molly Johnson
Purcell, Leah
Deep in the heart of Australia's high country, along an ancient, hidden track, lives Molly Johnson and her four surviving children, another on the way. Husband Joe is away months at a time droving livestock up north, leaving his family in the bush to fend for itself. Molly's children are her world,...
The girl and the goddess : a modern myth
Gill, Nikita
*BRITISH BOOK OF THE YEAR* EasternEye Picked as as one of STYLIST'S *BEST AUTUMN READS OF 2020* 'A much-needed escape into a lyrical world' Let her be a little less human, a little more divine Give her heart armour so it...
The long, long afternoon
Vesper, Inga
A gripping and beguiling debut reading group mystery for fans of Tigers in Red Weather and Tangerine.
The princess and the suffragette
Webb, Holly
It is 1913, nine years after the end of A Little Princess saw Sara Crewe escape Miss Minchin's orphanage. Lottie, the smallest girl from the original story, learns about the Suffragette movement from Sara, who returns to visit from time to time. Soon Lottie finds herself sneaking out of the...
Wild, fearless chests
Beaumont, Mandy
She is the explosion, the clamour, the thunder. She is the beat, the rage. She is every piece of violence imagined on the skin. She is the near miss. She is the woman you once were, the woman you could be, the woman you are. She is a triumph of our shared history, is every one of you, is your...
Tinker, tailor, schoolmum, spy
Brann, Faye
'I just loved this book... put on a smile on my face' Libby Page, The Lido 'Naturally funny... page turning, smart and sassy' Helen Lederer, comedian, author and founder of the CWIP Prize 'Fresh and different... and skilfully written' Yomi...
The secret of Excalibur
McDermott, Andy.
The third thrilling adventure thriller featuring archaeologist Nina Wilde, in which Nina must find Excalibur, King Arthur's beloved sword. Said to make whoever holds it unstoppable in battle, the sword Excalibur has been coveted across the ages, and thought lost for...

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