I'm trying to fatten up the classic shelf, and I noticed that it's easier to find classic novels by male authors than by women. I like to keep things equitable, so can fellow goodreaders recommend classic books by female authors? I mean, other than the obvious ones. Other than Austen, the Brontes, George Eliot, Wharton, Woolf, etc. Can you recommend books by women that DESERVE to be classics but are neglected or almost forgotten maybe? I'm just finishing a book that falls into this category: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais. (Just rereleased. Find it on Amazon, it's not even listed on Goodreads!) But names of more well-known authors would be welcome, too. Isak Dinesen, Willa Cather... Authors like that.

St Teressa of Avila. Author, read by few while alive, her works carried down & preserved through the ages.

Sharon wrote: "St Teressa of Avila. Author, read by few while alive, her works carried down & preserved through the ages."

Thank you! Great suggestion, I never would have thought of her. I'm also thinking that one of the St. Catherines was a great writer. Do you happen to know which one? Catherine of Siena?? Or? I could be wrong about this.

'Gone With The Wind' by Margaret Mitchell
'The Thorn Birds' by Colleen McCullough
'Little Women' Louisa May Alcott

Am I off the track?

The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

These aren't classics...sorry if I did it wrong...but they are great reads.

Eva wrote: "Sharon wrote: "St Teressa of Avila. Author, read by few while alive, her works carried down & preserved through the ages."

Thank you! Great suggestion, I never would have thought of her. I'm al..."

Read all three, and I agree that Little Women is a classic. But not the other two, imo. But thanks for thinking of Alcott. I also read Little Men and Jo's Boys when I was a kid, and I liked them. She has other books, too, but I'm afraid they're pot boilers. Anybody know her work beyond Little Women?

How about books by Doris Lessing? Not sure they are classics but she did win the nobel literary prize in 2007. I only ever read her science fiction and must remedy that (I have to admit I didn't really like her sci-fi sufi stuff). Boy do I know how to sell a book! ;)

Is it too obvious to mention the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen? Mary Shelley, Edna Ferber.

Doris Lessing is a great suggestion. I'd forgotten about her. Always meant to read The Golden Notebook, but I never got around to it somehow. Toni Morrison also won a Nobel, I believe, and she would be a great inclusion, too, come to think of it.

Mary Shelley. Thanks, I hadn't thought of her. Have you read anything by Edna Ferber? I know she wrote Giant, which became the James Dean movie, but I"ve never read one of her books. Don't know if they've stood the test of time. Well, I guess reading her would be the best way to find out.

Vicki wrote: "Is it too obvious to mention the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen? Mary Shelley, Edna Ferber. "

Drat! You stole mine! :) I would also like to mention Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and L.M. Montgomery.

I'm going to be reading Great Son by Edna Ferber soon (she was the only writer I could find that shared a birthday with me. Weirdly enough she's from Michigan too. Spooky!)

I consider Daphne du Maurier on par with Margaret Mitchell and Colleen McCullough, and Edna Ferber for that matter...

Oh oh oh! Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God Classic, important and a great read. Early black american literature (not sure of my classification and what is PC in the states anymore so apologies if I use the wrong terms). She wrote others but this is the one I read and loved and I don't give many 5 stars.

I also want to add Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky. Its not a classic but it is a darned good book. It was only recently published but was written during WW2. An incredible read especially once you know the author's story behind the story.

Have I hooked you?

Maybe Margaret Atwood? I've heard many good things about her - especially The Blind Assassin. Dunno if she counts as a "classic" author or not. =\

Anne Frank?

I second Margaret Atwood, as a slightly more modern author. But I think a lot of people would consider her books pretty important. How about Kate Chopin?

How about Elizabeth Gaskell?

Tara wrote: "I second Margaret Atwood, as a slightly more modern author. But I think a lot of people would consider her books pretty important. How about Kate Chopin?"

Ugh I hated Kate Chopin when I read one of her books. =[

What about Flannery O'Connor, Isabel Allende, Charlotte Perkins Gilman? Also Anne Bradstreet was a colonial poet and one of the first women to be published in America.

To Kill a Mockingbird
Dorothy Parker--Didn't really write novels, as far as I know, but I love her poetry and short stories. Talk about an acid wit!
Sarah Orne Jewett--I've only read her short story, Country of the Pointed Firs, but loved it.
The Outsiders
The Good Earth
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

There are lots of other good ones already mentioned!

Fabiola Cabeza de Baca
Margaret Atwood
Willa Cather
Maya Angelou
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Lois Lowry
Agatha Christie
Madeleine L'Engle
Toni Morrison
Flannery O'Connor

How's that for a weird set?

My mother would kill me if I didn't mention Ellen Glasgow.

Eva wrote: "Doris Lessing is a great suggestion. I'd forgotten about her. Always meant to read The Golden Notebook, but I never got around to it somehow. Toni Morrison also won a Nobel, I believe, and she w..."

I hated The Golden Notebook, but I really loved her African Stories.

Marguerite Yourcenar is an amazing author. She was the first woman accepted in the French Academy too. :)

Harriet Beecher Stowe, the woman started a revolution so I think it's safe to say that's a classic.

Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass, Isak Dinesen.

What a varied list. So many to choose from.

I'm not sure how many of these would be considered "genius" works, but many of them are certainly considered important additions t the literary cannon.

The Tale of Genji
Oroonoko The Royal Slave or The Rover Or The Banished Cavaliers
The Princess of Cleves (read this recently--once you get used to the writting style, it's a fun, gossipy read with a moral quandry)
Love in Excess; Or, the Fatal Enquiry
The Female Quixote or The Adventures of Arabella
The Mysteries of Udolpho (Wasn't this book referenced frequently in Northanger Abbey ?)
Evelina
Castle Rackrent
Indiana
The Child of Pleasure
Gosta Berling's Saga
The Return of the Soldier
The Collected Stories of Colette
The Life and Death of Harriett Frean
Kristin Lavransdatter
Quicksand and Passing (this was taught in a college African-American Literature class)
The Well of Loneliness
Nightwood
(read both of these for women's lit class a gazillion years ago. All I remember is finding them difficult, but worthwhile)
The Heat of the Day (slow, leisurely read, but good characterization)
Cold Comfort Farm (Many people find this hilarious, I am not so good with irony & still enjoyed it)
Testament of Youth
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Wide Sargasso Sea

Louisa May Alcott also wrote "Jack and Jill: A Village Story" its worth looking into. Also Mildred D. Taylor, she's one of my fav. authors.

You've already mentioned Virginia Woolf but she's worth mentioning again. I would add Isabel Allende and Annie Dillard. Dillard is mostly non-fiction but she is so intelligent and insightful and compelling that you may forget that fact.

Specific Recommendations:
Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek by Dillard (non-fiction), and everyone always mentions The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood. Another worthy mention is Joyce Carol Oates. You could probably spend the rest of your life reading Oates, but start with "Them".

Is Madeline L'Engle "A Wrinkle in Time" too far a field? If not the other standout would Ursula LeGuin. They are both probably under recognized pillars in science fiction.

I'm the wrong person to know specifics but romance authors (like Nora Roberts) have been writing for decades. I would guess there is an unrecognized classic in there somewhere.

I've heard good things about Katherine Anne Porter Ship of Fools???

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood! What a great read!
Anything by Sandra Cisneros and Denise Chavez - those two authors rock!
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
All of Virginia Woolf's works, especially Orlando!
Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith, and of course Jean Rhys (any of their works will do, because they are all amazing!).

Geek Love A Novel by Katherine Dunn is incredible on pretty much every level at which a book can be incredible.

Try browsing The New York Review of Books: "The NYRB Classics series is designedly and determinedly exploratory and eclectic, a mix of fiction and non-fiction from different eras and times and of various sorts."

Amanda wrote: "How about Elizabeth Gaskell?"

I second Elizabeth Gaskell, she wrote wonderful rich novels during the period covered by Dickens but with more emphasis on womens lives.

How about Monica Dickens (granddaughter of Charles)? Don't know if these are considered "classic" but they are fun reads...

One pair of Hands
One pair of Feet
Mariana

I would like to add Carson McCullers,even though she wrote so few books. Namely The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and The Wedding Party are two of my favorites.

Muriel Spark--Memento Mori and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Vera Brittain

I also recommend Edna Ferber. Read one novel and you'll be hooked. "Great Son" was amazing (one of the great American novels, if you ask me) and you can get it used for like $2. "So Big" was REALLY good too. She won the Pulitzer for that one. Ferber was huge from the 20's-50's but has been kind of forgotten for some reason. I'm mad about her. Her writing is rich and deeply compelling.

Hi there. This is a very cool thread! Here is my two cents worth:


Globally Great Girls:



Also - Anais Nin (no picture reference available here)

Canadian Classy Classics: (being Canadian, I would be remiss if I didn't mention a few here!) :)



There seems to be a distinct lack of pictures of our Canadian women writers here! Sorry about that.

Short Story Sirens:



(Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant (see above in 'Canada'. LOL!!) are known for their short story writing and are quite amazing.)

I hope you find something of interest here.

Cheers!

I'll add Marguerite Duras, Rumer Godden and Joan Didion.