These five books are variously by women, for women and about women – from Kate Mosse’s fascinating historical treatise on the warrior queens and revolutionaries who’ve built the world, to Sally Adee’s accounting of brilliant women scientists to a series of powerful short stories concerned with motherhood in its many forms…
1. Women in Fiction: Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 Violet Kupersmith’s heart-pounding fever dream of a novel deftly combines Vietnamese history and folklore to create an immersive, playful, utterly unforgettable debut. Kupersmith tells the tale of two young Vietnamese women going missing decades apart. Both are fearless, both are lost, and both will have their revenge. The fates of both women are inescapably linked, bound together by past generations, by ghosts and ancestors, by the history of possessed
bodies and possessed lands.
2. Women in History: Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: Women Who (Also) Built the World by Kate Mosse
A compelling exploration of the lives of extraordinary women throughout history. From Boudica, the ancient British warrior queen, to equally inspiring figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Lillian Bilocca, Mosse’s writing illuminates the often-verlooked
contributions of women to our world. Through her meticulous research and engagingprose, Mosse celebrates these women as pioneers, rebels, and leaders who fought for justice and equality in their own time and continue to inspire us today. A must-read for
anyone interested in women’s history and the power of individual agency.
Women in History: Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: Women Who (Also) Built the World
3. Women in Art: The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
Hessel’s insightful analysis and compelling storytelling brings to light the significant contributions of women artists, often overlooked in mainstream art history. The book showcases over 400 artists from around the world, from ancient civilizations to
contemporary art movements. It is ‘a vital addition to the canon of art history, giving long-overdue recognition to the women who have shaped our cultural heritage.’ – The Guardian
4. Women in Science: We Are Electric: The New Science of Our Body’s Electrome by Sally Adee
Every cell in our bodies – bones, skin, nerves, muscle – has a voltage, like a tiny battery. This bioelectricity is why our brains can send signals to our bodies, why we develop the way we do in the womb and how our bodies know to heal themselves from injury. In
We Are Electric, award-winning science writer Sally Adee explores the history of bioelectricity: from Galvani’s epic eighteenth-century battle with the inventor of the battery, Alessandro Volta, to today’s laboratories where medical applications are being developed.
Women in Science: We Are Electric: The New Science of Our Body’s Electrome
5. Women’s Bodies: Hurricanes in Perfect Power: Tales of Modern Motherhood edited by Candice Braithwaite
A powerful collection of short stories selected and introduced by Candice Brathwaite. The story of motherhood is an endlessly rich one: it’s one of love – and all the highs and lows that come with that world-turning emotion – and, in the purest sense, of life itself.
Within these pages, some of the finest writers in the world explore motherhood in wildly varying modes, from single parenthood to sisters coparenting, from the deepest hardships to the biggest celebrations.
Women’s Bodies: Hurricanes in Perfect Power: Tales of Modern Motherhood
