| Fiction / drama |
| 1861 |
George Eliot, Silas Marner |
| 1977 |
Marilyn French, The Women’s Room * |
| 1978 |
M M Kaye, The Far Pavillions |
| 1982 |
Alice Walker, The Color Purple * |
| 1985 |
Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit * |
|
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale * |
| 1986 |
Andrea Dworkin, Ice and Fire * |
| 1990 |
A.S. Byatt, Possession: a Romance |
| 1991 |
Diana Gabaldon, Cross Stitch |
| 1992 |
Alice Walker, Possessing the Secret of Joy * |
| 1993 |
Annie Proulx, The Shipping News |
| 1994 |
Andrea Levy, Every Light in the House Burnin’ * |
| 1995 |
Kate Atkinson, Behind the Scenes at the Museum * |
| 1997 |
Anita Diamant, The Red Tent * |
| 1998 |
Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues * |
| 1999 |
Sena Jeter Naslund, Ahab’s Wife * |
| 2003 |
Monica Ali, Brick Lane |
| 2005 |
Marina Lewycka, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian |
|
| For younger readers |
| 1992 |
Jacqueline Wilson, The Suitcase Kid |
| 1997 |
Jacqueline Wilson, Girls in Love |
| 1998 |
Jacqueline Wilson, Girls Under Pressure |
| 1999 |
Jacqueline Wilson, Girls Out Late |
| 2001 |
Jacqueline Wilson, Dustbin Baby |
|
Jacqueline Wilson, Sleep-overs |
|
Malorie Blackman, Noughts and Crosses |
|
Trudi Canavan, The Magician’s Guild |
| 2002 |
Jacqueline Wilson, Secrets |
|
Jacqueline Wilson, The Worry Website |
|
Jacqueline Wilson, Girls in Tears |
| 2003 |
Celia Rees, Pirates! |
|
Ursula Jones (and Russell Ayto), The Witch’s Children and the Queen |
| 2004 |
bell hooks, Skin Again |
|
| Non-fiction |
| 1792 |
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman |
| 1970 |
Shulamith Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex |
| 1990 |
Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth * |
| 1991 |
Mala Sen, India’s Bandit Queen |
| 1992 |
Jean P Sasson, Princess |
| 1997 |
Alice Walker, Anything We Love Can Be Saved |
| 2001 |
Mala Sen, Death by Fire |
|
Naomi Wolf, Misconceptions |
| 2002 |
Inga Muscio, Cunt * |
|
Latifa, My Forbidden Face |
| 2003 |
Fiona Giles, Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts |
| 2004 |
Petrina Brown, Eve: Sex, Childbirth and Motherhood through the Ages |
|
Shirley Harrison, Sylvia Pankhurst: A Maverick Life |
| 2006 |
Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs * |
| 2007 |
Lois Martin, The History of Witchcraft |
|
| Afterthought |
| There are going to be some books that really belong on this list but which do not fit my criteria detailed above, for example because they are by men. I will add these down here. |
| 1929 |
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front |
| 1940* |
Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita |
| 1975 |
Frederick Leboyer, Birth without violence |
| 1999 |
John Malam, Tell me about Mary Seacole |
