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Celebrating Women By Telling Their Stories through Historical Fiction

March 1, 2023 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

Celebrating Women By Telling Their Stories through Historical Fiction

Thanks to the grassroots efforts of a local Sonoma County (CA) education task force in 1978, learning about women’s achievements in history became nationally recognized in 1987 when Congress designated March as National Women’s History Month. Since then, students and readers alike have benefitted from curriculum and books which aim to achieve equity for the presentation of women and their contributions to society across a wide range of fields and industry.

In more recent years, authors, and primarily woman authors, have scoured cracks in history seeking stories which need a spotlight. Leaping off the pages of biographies and historical fiction, we’ve met, learned, and celebrated these women’s stories. From code breakers during World War II to fashion designers, from librarians to suffragists and abolitionists, from artists to engineers, from doctors to athletes, each one’s contribution has made our world and our lives a richer place. They’ve enriched our personal worlds, too, with discussions ensuing over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine as book clubs devour these titles.

In support of the National Women’s History Alliance’s 2023 Women in History Month theme, Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories, I have curated a list of 31 titles within the historical fiction genre which spotlight women in history whose achievements languished in the shadows. The list also celebrates the 31 women authors who tell the stories. Using exhaustive research, these authors based the subject of their novels on facts for authentic portrayals of the women’s lives and accomplishments. Historical fiction, however, allows an author to imagine the women’s emotional responses as they strode forward with dreams in their minds and hopes in their hearts. From my library, and with recommendations from other avid readers of historical fiction, I developed the list using a defined set of criteria:

Historical Fiction genre—no biographies or memoirs.
Women authors only.
Diversity in authors—cultural, as well as type of publishing and name recognition.
Diversity in the subject—cultural, setting, field of recognition.
Goodreads ratings.

Which ones have you read? Share by using #31titleswomeninhistory.

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig—Smith College graduates (France, WWI)
The Black Rose by Tananarive Due—First Black female self-made millionaire in America, Madam CH Walker
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson—Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians
By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley—Fashion designer, Ann Low
Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland—Artist and designer of nearly all of Tiffany’s lamps, Clara Driscoll
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird—Former slave who served with the Buffalo Soldiers by disguising herself as a man, Cathy Williams
The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood—Architect & Engineer, Emily Roebling
Fast Girls by Elise Hooper—U.S. Women’s 1936 Olympic track team
Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd—Plantation Owner/Grower, Eliza Lucas
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir—Lady Jane Grey
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd—Abolitionists, Sarah and Angelinka Grimke
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley—Landowner and Entrepreneur, Dorothy Kirwan Thomas
Island of Sea Women by Lisa See—Matriarchal Society of Women Divers of Jeju Island, South Korea
The Last Empress by Anchee Min—Tzu Hsi, Lady Yehonala
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly—Philanthropist, Caroline Ferriday
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain—Journalist, Martha Gellhorn
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan—Mamah Borthwick Cheney
Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson—Factory worker, Catherine Donohoe
Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina—Presidential candidate, Victoria Woodhull
The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki—Heiress and philanthropist, Marjorie Post
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland—Empress, Josephine Bonaparte
Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning—First Daughter, Martha Jefferson
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie—Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray—Librarian Belle da Costa Greene
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier—Paleontologist, Mary Anning
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn—Code breakers of Bletchley Park (England WWII)
The Unlocked Path by Janis Robinson Daly—Graduates of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler—Socialite, Suffragist Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont
When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris & Susan Meissner—Angles of Bataan, WWII nurses
The Woman with the Cure by Lynn Cullen—Scientist and infectious disease researcher, Dr. Dorothy Hortsmann
The Women’s March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession by Jennifer Chiaverini—Suffragists Alice Paul, Maud Malone, Ida B. Wells