The Female Extreme Adventure Novel is a micro-genre coined by Maureen Corrigan in her book Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading. Historically, while men and male protagonists have been out exploring and conquering the physical world, women and female protagonists have been at home having far subtler adventures of their own. The traditional female adventure may take place in the space of a home, a village, or a marriage, but the heroine braves very real dangers of her own, ranging from drudgery and entrapment, to social ostracism and moral censure, to insanity and death.

The female extreme adventure novel isn't just a traditional adventure novel featuring a female protagonist-- it's a unique creation with its own characteristics. The protagonist is often a victim of circumstance, as many women have been throughout history, and the drama tends to focus on the inner life rather than the outer. A woman's extreme adventure, Corrigan says, is "less Herculean and more Sisyphean in nature."