A Tour through 17 Works of Historical Fiction for Women's History Month
- unabridgedpod
- 20 hours ago
- 17 min read
by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books)
Since March is Women's History Month, I thought it might be fun to share some recommendations focused on women throughout history. One thing I discovered, as I read through my tracking lists, is that diverse options become much harder to find as we go back in time (particularly books focused on non-white women). That could be a flaw in my personal reading, but I do think available options are scarcer. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them! You can message me at unabridgedpod@gmail.com or via IM @unabridgedpod.
I'm sharing a variety of recommendations here: reviews if I have them and synopses if I don't. All of them will have some commentary about why I'm recommending them.
Anna North's Bog Queen (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 50 BCE and Present
Synopsis: "When a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate. But this body is not like any she's ever seen. Though its bones prove it was buried more than two thousand years ago, it is almost completely preserved.
"Soon Agnes is drawn into a mystery from the distant past, called to understand and avenge the death of an Iron Age woman more like her than she knows. Along the way, she must contend with peat-cutters who want to profit from the bog and activists who demand that the land be left undisturbed. Then there's the moss itself: a complex repository of artifacts and remains, with its own dark stories to tell.
"As Agnes faces the deep history of what she has unearthed, she's also forced to question what she thought she knew about her talent, her self-reliance, and her place in the world. Flashing between the uncertainty of post-Brexit England and the druidic order of Celtic Europe at the dawn of the Roman era, Bog Queen brims with contemporary urgency and ancient wisdom as it connects across time two gifted, farsighted young women learning to harness their strange strengths in a landscape more mysterious and complex than either can imagine."
Commentary: I loved the way this novel navigated the extreme time jump, exploring the ways that these two women mirrored each other but also, of course, the ways that their very different societies shaped them. I listened to this one thanks to Libro.fm and highly recommend the audio!
Lauren Groff's Matrix (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and The Vaster Wilds (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Settings: 12th century / 15th century
My Reviews:
"There is nothing wrong, she thinks, in taking pride in the work of one's body. She has never been convinced by any argument for abasement" (59).
"A woman's power exists only as far as she is allowed; wise Eleanor understands that she must find her freedom only within such unbreachable form . . . [Marie] will build around herself walls of wealth and friends and good clear reputation, she will make her frail sisters safe within" (60).
"There is no way that she can become known all through Europe as a grat leader when struggle is all she does all day long, all year long. The daily kills her greatness" (70).
I loved Lauren Groff's Matrix, but I'm not sure how to begin to describe it in a way that will convey all that appealed.
This is historical fiction about Marie de France who, when she is 17, is cast out of the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and sentenced to become prioress in an impoverished abbey. At first, all that Marie can do is dream of being taken in again by Eleanor, so she resists her position and writes poetry for Eleanor that she hopes will gain her favor. It does not, of course, work, and so Marie becomes resigned to her fate.
What happens then makes this story sing. Gradually, Marie begins noticing the way things at the abbey work: the nuns are each assigned to the work that they hate the most to show their devotion; local landowners take the abbey's resources at will; and the women starve and freeze with no hope of making anything better. Marie decides to change all of that.
She begins to take advantage of the women's talents, to give them work they enjoy, which helps them—and, in turn, the abbey—thrive. She begins to exert the strength of her personality and battle strategy, learned from her warrior aunts, in wresting control of the abbey's resources from the men who've taken advantage of their position. She gives the women hope and pride. And then she starts having visions . . .
This is a patient novel and a beautiful one—Groff's writing isn't extravagant but it is absolutely precise and perfectly spare—and Marie is a compelling protagonist. I felt every moment of her despair and of her gradual awakening to her own power. The ways that she uses Eleanor's own strategies to hold on to political and royal power in running the abbey is fascinating. As you can see in the quotations I've included above—and believe me, I wanted to include more!—this is a book about women's power and limitations, about the way that days turn quickly to years, small moments into a long lifetime. This is a book deserving of all the praise it has received.
Lauren Groff's The Vaster Wilds has a relatively simple plot: a servant girl in colonial America leaves the starvation and abuse in her settlement, fleeing into the dark mystery of the unsettled forest beyond. While there are some flashbacks that reveal the layers of her past, the girl travels alone. So, there's no dialogue, no dramatic exchanges with other characters. There's just her journey . . . and her inner life.
This book isn't going to be for everyone, but I DEVOURED it. Groff's previous books—Matrix, short story collection Florida, and Fates and Furies—were all brilliant in very different ways, and The Vaster Wilds adds one more facet to her career. It's a masterpiece.
Cynthia Voigt's The Tale of Gwyn (Bookshop.org), The Tale of Birle (Bookshop.org) and The Tale of Elske (Bookshop.org)
Setting: Medieval (the exact dates aren't indicated)
Commentary: So, when I read this YA book, it was titled Jackaroo and was the first book in Voigt's Kingdom series. All four books have been re-titled and are now called Tales of the Kingdom.
I haven't read these since high school, but I L-O-V-E-D them more than I can say (which is why I'm reverting to spelling out "loved"—that's how much I loved them!). Anyway, books 1, 2, and 4 focus on women, but all four are well worth reading!
Synopsis of Book 1: "In a fantastical kingdom ravaged by famine and poverty, the prospect of hope lies with a mythical masked hero in this, the first book in the Tales of the Kingdom series from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt.
"In a distant time, a kingdom is starving. With winter upon them, there is little hope, except for the legend of Jackaroo: a masked outlaw who comes at night to aid the destitute and helpless. But Gwyn, the innkeeper's daughter, is too practical for false hopes. She believes Jackaroo is nothing more than a fairy tale told to keep children hopeful till the next sunrise.
"Then Gwyn is forced to seek refuge in an abandoned house, and while scavenging for supplies, she comes across...a mask? A sword? A cloak? Could these belong to the fabled Jackaroo? As Gwyn searches for answers, she discovers that the heart of a hero goes far beyond a mask."
Tracy Chevalier's The Lady and the Unicorn (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 1490
Synopsis: "A tour de force of history and imagination, The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval tapestries that hangs today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. They appear to portray the seduction of a unicorn, but the story behind their making is unknown—until now.
"Paris, 1490. A shrewd French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them. Nicolas creates havoc among the women in the house—mother and daughter, servant, and lady-in-waiting—before taking his designs north to the Brussels workshop where the tapestries are to be woven. There, master weaver Georges de la Chapelle risks everything he has to finish the tapestries—his finest, most intricate work—on time for his exacting French client. The results change all their lives—lives that have been captured in the tapestries, for those who know where to look.
"In The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier weaves fact and fiction into a beautiful, timeless, and intriguing literary tapestry—an extraordinary story exquisitely told."
Commentary: The Lady and the Unicorn was, I think, the second of Chevalier's books I read, after her sensation The Girl with the Pearl Earring. As suggested by these books' subjects, Chevalier writes predominantly historical fiction, jumping from era to era. I've enjoyed every book of hers that I've read, and I appreciate her talent for highlighting the ways that women quietly shaped history.
These would be great picks for the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge category, "Work of YA history or historical fiction."
Allegra Goodman's Isola (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 16th century
Synopsis: "Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. That journey takes a unexpected turn when Marguerite, accused of betrayal, is brutally punished and abandoned on a small island.
"Once a child of privilege who dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she’d never before needed.
"Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola is the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival."
Commentary: I was in a book reviewing slump when I read this one (to be fair, I'm still in that slump!), or I would surely have written a review of Isola, which was a five-star read for me. It's intense focus on Marguerite and on the ways that her fate is shaped by the petty whims of her guardian created a book that was by turns infuriating and inspiring. It's a remarkable story.
Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 16th century
Synopsis: "When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of the handsome and charming Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane, and soon she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. With her own destiny suddenly unknown, Mary realizes that she must defy her family and take fate into her own hands.
"With more than one million copies in print and adapted for the big screen, The Other Boleyn Girl is a riveting historical drama. It brings to light a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe, and survived a treacherous political landscape by following her heart."
Commentary: While I've since read several more of Gregory's books, The Other Boleyn Girl was the first. (It was a sensation at the time.) Her books are, in some ways, quite frothy and fun, diving into the indulgences of English royalty. But they also illuminate women's roles and the ways they sought power in a society designed to keep them powerless.
Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 18th century
Synopsis: "Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
"Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.
"Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day."
Isabel Cañas's The Possession of Alba Díaz (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 18th century
Synopsis: "When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust…from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
"In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
"Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice the growing tension between them every time she enters the room…and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood gets stronger.
"In the fight for her life, Alba and Elías become entangled with the occult, the Church, long-kept secrets, and each other… not knowing that one of these things will spell their doom."
Commentary: Isabel Cañas's The Possession of Alba Díaz is the author's third book, all three of which meld historical fiction and fantasy to offer incisive commentary on their era of history. She's an auto-read author for me.
Sadeqa Johnson's Yellow Wife (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 19th century
My Review: Sadeqa Johnson's Yellow Wife is a phenomenal work of historical fiction. Based on the true story of Mary Lumpkin, Yellow Wife focuses on the life of Pheby Delores Brown, the daughter of an enslaved woman and a liberal-minded white plantation owner who has promised to set her free when she turns eighteen. A series of tragedies lead to her being sold, however, away from the only home, the only family she has ever known, away from the man she loves, and away from the hope she's long held for her future.
Ultimately, Pheby is bought by the owner of the Devil's Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, VA. Because he admires her education, her manners, and her appearance, the Jailer—who is seen as lower class—aims to use Pheby both to mother his children and to raise his estimation in the eyes of the community.
This was a story I hadn't read before, and Pheby is an amazing and vivid protagonist. I absolutely could not put this book down.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Daughters of Doctor Moreau (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 19th century
Synopsis: "Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.
"Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.
"The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.
"All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.
"For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.
"The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey."
Commentary: Moreno-Garcia is one of those authors who shifts genres with each new book; she often blends her historical fiction with fantasy for further resonance. In this novel, the ways she uses The Island of Doctor Moreau to offer commentary on the issues of the time is so, so powerful.
Jenny Tinghui Zhang's Four Treasures of the Sky (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 19th century
Synopsis: "A dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West
"Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.
"At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat."
Commentary: Jenny Tinghui Zhang's Four Treasures of the Sky is such powerful historical fiction, driven by a clear purpose and research. And the main character, Daiyu, is just incredible.
I loved so much about the book, the way it weaves between hope and despair, the ways that Daiyu tries to navigate situations into which she has been placed without any sense of agency . . . and yet, she's always working to regain that power over her own path. She's not falsely feisty or artificially modern. Instead, she's someone who is reacting, as best she can, to outrageous circumstances. Watching her learn to trust and to make connections despite repeated betrayals is such a moving experience. I can't recommend this book enough.
Tayari Jones's Kin (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 20th century
My Review: "Tayari Jones’s Kin, a brilliant new novel set in the 1950s and 1960s, centers on Vernice and Annie. The two girls grow up together in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, in lives intertwined around one central absence—mothers—and one central presence—their friendship, more akin to a sisterhood.
As the girls mature, they wrestle with the ways that their mothers’ stories shape their own. Vernice, whose mother was murdered by her father, is haunted by what might have been: the mother who might have loved her, who might have shown the affection that her aunt Irene, who raised her, could never quite express. Annie—whose mother left her with her grandmother, another woman who provided the required care but was unable to offer the love for which Annie yearned—envies the clean break represented by Vernice’s mother’s death. In place of such a definitive loss, Annie becomes determined to find her mother and to, somehow, establish the relationship that she was denied.
Vernice’s path takes her to Spelman College, where she realizes that her intelligence is no match for the lessons of society. Vernice’s vision of herself—her sexuality, her appearance, her future—winds through a series of changes that seem to take her further and further from Honeysuckle.
Annie’s vow to find her mother leads to Memphis, along with an ex-boyfriend, his cousin (Annie’s current boyfriend), and the ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend. (Yes, it’s complicated.) Annie’s tunnel vision makes everything revolve around that search for her mother and imperils her ability to establish her own path forward.
Told in alternating perspectives, Kin was impossible to put down. The friendship between Vernice and Annie’s is undoubtedly the strong center of the novel: the ways that these characters contrast and complement each other is absolutely beautiful. Jones’s writing is vibrant and so, so quotable. I found myself marking quotation after quotation because of its wisdom, a deep truth it revealed about Vernice or Annie, or just because it was beautiful. Her ability to bring to life her protagonists but also a rich cast of secondary characters is remarkable.
Ultimately, Kin made me feel the joy and pain and hope of these women, made me want the best for them, and made me love them even through their mistakes and their flaws. Kin is the second of Jones’s novels I’ve read—An American Marriage was also a five-star read for me—and it has convinced me to prioritize her backlist.
Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 20th century
Synopsis: "A house is a precious thing...
"It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be—led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.
"Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva—nor the house in which they live—are what they seem.
"Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex, The Safekeep is 'a brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires' (The Guardian)."
Commentary: I included this book among my favorites last year. Check out my post here.
Mona Susan Powers's A Council of Dolls (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Setting: 19th and 20th centuries
Synopsis: "The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award–winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.
"From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried….
"Sissy, born 1961: Sissy’s relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy’s ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy’s life.
"Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an 'Indian school' far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school’s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls.
"Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the 'Indian Wars,' Cora isn’t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be 'civilized.' When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost…
"A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page."
Commentary: This stunning novel moves back in time, through three generations of Dakota girls whose lives center the ways that their family has been affected by the residential schools that strove to decimate their language and culture. It's a powerful story whose journey highlights the ways that generational trauma manifests.
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