Feminist Reads

Feminism is more than fighting for gender equity. It is about retelling the stories that define us, recognizing the place of woman in our shared history, now and into the future. This collection of study guides features fiction, nonfiction, and poetry all about women and their tales of triumph, pain, love, and everything in between.

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Birth, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Gender / Feminism


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Diversity, Race / Racism, African Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Gender / Feminism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an international bestseller by writer and journalist Stieg Larsson. The crime thriller was published in Sweden shortly after his death in 2005 with the original Swedish title, Män som hatar kvinnor, or Men Who Hate Women. The book won the 2006 Glass Key Award for best crime novel in its native Sweden, and after the English translation was released it received the 2008 Boeke Prize (South Africa), Crime... Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Summary


Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Gender / Feminism, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Post Modernism, British Literature, Depression / Suicide, Love / Sexuality, Mental Illness, Relationships, Cold War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World

Considered the most influential of Doris Lessing’s many novels, The Golden Notebook explores the development of a young writer. Anna Wulf has published one novel, Frontiers of War, to great acclaim, but she now finds herself uncomfortable with what she sees as its sentimentality and romanticization of war. Thus, she remains mired in a kind of writer’s block. She still writes in her notebooks, but she cannot bring herself to return to writing novels—especially in... Read The Golden Notebook Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Psychological Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Class, Gender / Feminism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1988

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Art, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Play: Drama, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Humor

Wendy Wasserstein’s play The Heidi Chronicles first opened Off-Broadway with Playwrights Horizons in 1988, transferring to Broadway for a successful run in 1989. The play follows Heidi Holland from the ages of 16 to 40 as she explores her desires for her own life, inspired by the liberation of feminism, but tempered by gendered expectations in a patriarchal society. Critics celebrated the play for introducing feminism into mainstream theater. Wasserstein wrote 11 plays, and The... Read The Heidi Chronicles Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Gender, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Language, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Play: Drama, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Fantasy, Gender / Feminism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Religion / Spirituality, LGBTQ, Age of Enlightenment, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a historical fantasy novel by the American author V.E. Schwab published in 2020. It chronicles the story of Addie LaRue, an 18th-century Frenchwoman who gains eternal life through a bargain with a demonic entity. However, the deal comes at a great cost: Everybody who meets Addie immediately forgets her. A New York Times bestseller, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue received a 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nomination for... Read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Summary


Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Colonialism

Tags African Literature, Gender / Feminism, Historical Fiction, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), African American Literature, Classic Fiction

The Joys of Motherhood (1979) is a historical fiction novel by Buchi Emecheta. Set in both rural and urban Nigerian locales over several decades, the novel explores changes in the roles and status of women against the backdrop of colonialism. It follows the life of Nnu Ego, a woman whose identity and self-worth are deeply intertwined with her role as a mother.This guide is based on the 1990 George Braziller edition of the text. It... Read The Joys of Motherhood Summary


Publication year 1969

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Colonialism

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Gender / Feminism, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction

The Left Hand of Darkness is a speculative fiction novel published in 1969 and written by Ursula K. LeGuin. Set in LeGuin’s fictional Hainish Universe, in which life developed on the planet Hain instead of Earth, the novel explores the meeting of two different civilizations and their struggles to understand one another. Gender plays a strong role in the story, as protagonist Genly Ai comes from a planet that considers binary gender the norm, whereas... Read The Left Hand of Darkness Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Gender / Feminism, History: World, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Fantasy


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, History: World


Publication year 1927

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Femininity

Tags Classic Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, British Literature, History: World

“The New Dress” by Virginia Woolf was meant to be an early chapter of the author’s novel Mrs. Dalloway, published in 1925. Woolf omitted the material from the novel, however, and instead published it as a short story in 1927. The story is a stream-of-consciousness narrative told from the point of view of the main character, Mabel Waring. The extreme interiority of the story and lack of a significant plot is characteristic of literary Modernism... Read The New Dress Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Life/Time: The Future, Identity: Femininity

Tags Gender / Feminism, Science / Nature, Politics / Government, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy

Influenced by the dystopian futuristic vision of Margaret Atwood’s landmark 1985 feminist work The Handmaid’s Tale, Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel The Power fuses genre elements of speculative fiction with the traditional historical novel. Part allegory, part satire, the novel depicts a near-contemporary world in which women move into positions of real power through an inexplicable genetic anomaly: they develop an extra braid of muscle along their collarbones that enables them to shoot devastating jolts of... Read The Power Summary


Publication year 1983

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Sports, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Gender / Feminism, Addiction / Substance Abuse


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Gender

Tags History: U.S., Science / Nature, WWI / World War I, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Gender / Feminism, History: World, Biography


Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Society: Community, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, African American Literature

The Salt Eaters (1980) by Toni Cade Bambara is set in the fictional town of Claybourne, Georgia, in the late 1970s. The style of the novel is experimental and nonlinear. It follows stories and characters linked by themes more than plot. It moves between the past, present, and future in the minds and actions of different characters. The novel centers on the spiritual healing Velma receives from Minnie after a mental health crisis and spirals... Read The Salt Eaters Summary


Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Magical Realism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Gender / Feminism, African Literature, African American Literature, French Literature, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction