Books About Strong/Pioneering Women

[twinkle]

Hello everyone!

 

My friend texted me yesterday about the film Chanel and commented on how it's a good example of how women can change the world without having been born into an advantageous position or hiding behind a man. Which got me thinking about books - whether fictional or non-fiction - about strong women who have stood up for what they believe or changed the world in their own way. Can you think of any good reads?

 

Happy reading

[momo]

Maggie Tulliver in George Eliot's 'Mill on the Floss'. She has always been one of my favourite characters. She rebelled against the restraints of the society she lived in. It is supposed to be one of Eliot's most autobiographical novels

 

As a girl, Maggie would not have generally had access to many books, but her father indulged her by giving her some. I always wonder what Maggie would have made of modern society, with our easy access to books.

 

"...everybody in the world seemed so hard and unkind to Maggie: there was no indulgence, no fondness, such as she imagined when she fashioned the world afresh in her own thoughts. In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one happy, and who did not show their kindness by finding fault. The world outside the books was not a happy one Maggie felt. If life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie?"

Edited March 14, 2012 by momo

[Kell]

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She grew up heading further and further west with her family, facing hardships of all kinds, then married a farmer and had to work even harder just to get by. Excellent series by an inspiring woman!

[Roland Butter]

Elsie and Mairi Go To War by Diane Atkinson is the story of how two very unconventional women, who met through a shared love of motorcycles, set up their own nursing service, independent of the authorities, and right up in the front line on the Western Front, during the First World War. Highly recommended - it's a great read.

[Chrissy]

'Gone To Soldiers' by Marge Piercy is a fabulous read, with the stories of many women being told over the course of the book. I will quote an Amazon reviewer,

 

This is a brilliant saga about WW2 from a female perspective. There are countless books about men at war. This deals with the women. Those who suddenly found a place in the working market, those who were trusted to fly the planes only men flew before the war (and after). The women at the front and back home. In the USA, the UK and France. A true masterpiece. Read it!

[vodkafan]

I read a Norwegian book set in the 19th century a while back called Dana's Book. It was weird but the woman certainly did change her own world and that of a few people around her. She kills her husband in the first couple of pages.

Edited March 14, 2012 by vodkafan

[poppy]

I loved The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley.

 

From Google -

 

In an open cart Elspeth Huxley set off with her parents to travel to Thika in Kenya. As pioneering settlers, they built a house of grass, ate off a damask cloth spread over packing cases, and discovered -- the hard way -- the world of the African. With an extraordinary gift for detail and a keen sense of humor, Huxley recalls her childhood on the smart farm at a time when Europeans waged their fortunes on a land that was as harsh as it was beautiful. For a young girl it was a time of adventure and freedom, and Huxley paints an unforgettable portrait of growing up among the Masai and Kikuyu people, discovering both the beauty and the terrors of the jungle, and enduring the rugged realities of the pioneer life.

[poppy]

Elsie and Mairi Go To War by Diane Atkinson is the story of how two very unconventional women, who met through a shared love of motorcycles, set up their own nursing service, independent of the authorities, and right up in the front line on the Western Front, during the First World War. Highly recommended - it's a great read.

'Gone To Soldiers' by Marge Piercy is a fabulous read, with the stories of many women being told over the course of the book. I will quote an Amazon reviewer,

 

This is a brilliant saga about WW2 from a female perspective. There are countless books about men at war. This deals with the women. Those who suddenly found a place in the working market, those who were trusted to fly the planes only men flew before the war (and after). The women at the front and back home. In the USA, the UK and France. A true masterpiece. Read it!

 

I love the sound of these two books.

 

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She grew up heading further and further west with her family, facing hardships of all kinds, then married a farmer and had to work even harder just to get by. Excellent series by an inspiring woman!

 

A most enjoyable series, didn't read these until I was an adult, but loved them just the same.

[frankie]

A great thread!

 

Two books come to mind:

 

A biography of Emmeline Pankhurst (which I've not read yet, unfortunately) who, according to wiki, was 'a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote'.

 

She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler:

"Set in the American Southwest during the 13th century, Shuler's absorbing first novel portrays Kwani, an intrepid young Pueblo Indian of the Anasazi tribe whose fortitude is severely tested. The daughter of a Viking invader, Kwani is exiled from her clan because her blue eyes mark her as a witch. She is found by Kokopelli, a charismatic Toltec nobleman renowned as a magician, teacher and healer. Dazzled by his mystique, Kwani willingly accompanies Kokopelli to the Eagle Clan's encampment, where he makes her his mate, later leaving her with the tribe during his arduous winter travels. Kwani assumes the honorary title of She Who Remembers, keeper of tribal secrets and spiritual powers. Once again, however, she is accused of being a witch and is driven away just as Kokopelli returns [...]" (amazon)

 

I read that book as a teen a few times and absolutely loved it. I believe they are similar to the sort of books that Jean M. Untinen-Auel writes but for some reason the latter is more well-known.

Edited March 15, 2012 by frankie

[Spud]

As soon as I saw the title I thought of a series called 'Earth's Children Series' by Jean M Auel.

 

It is set in prehistoric times and follows the life of the main charachter called Ayla. Over the 6 books (another in the making) she has to deal with so many struggles and most readers can't help but love her!

 

One warning that I would give before you read is that the author LOVES anthropology, therefore she does tend to write very long descriptive passages of all the flora & fauna from that time.

[Sofia]

Willa Cather comes to mind as well

[twinkle]

Thanks for the replies - I'm definitely going to check out these books.

 

I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and liked that the two leading female characters, one of whom we don't meet, were strong and new their own mind.

 

There also book series, such as Patricia Cornwell's and Karen Rose's crime fighter women, who are strong women but I'm really interested in finding books based on real life or a good fiction with a women I can look to for inspiration.

 

For UK people, you might be interested to know that Coco Before Chanel is on E4 at 9pm on Sunday 25th March.

[Kyra_Lyrical]

I feel like the strong and capable woman is so underappreciated in fiction. Somehow they tend not to be written as much as the other types, especially in romance novels.

 

I realised some time ago that I do have a tendency to write them though. They appeal to me but I don't think I ever really made a particularly conscious decision to write those types of characters but it tended to happen.