Best Books by Famous Women Authors

Table of Contents

Best books written by female authors: Are you interested in exploring the women authors and their famous works? If so, keep reading. In this article, we will be discussing the important women authors and the list of the most inspirational works written by them. Books are the source of heaven for those who are interested in book reading. The book reading can help you to enlighten and enrich yourself. Books can help you to discover your identity and keep treading forward as they can give you solace and comfort. Explore to know about the best books by female authors.

List of 7 Famous Authors and their Works

Read further to explore the best works of the famous authors. Know about the best female authors and the relevant books to read. Start your reading journey today!

1.Adeline Virginia Woolf

25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941
She was an English writer
One of the most important modernist 20th-century authors
A pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness(one of the famous narrative techniques) as a narrative device.

Her notable works include:

A Room of One’s Own
To the Lighthouse
Freshwater (play)
Mrs Dalloway

2. Jane Austen

16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817
She was an English novelist
She was known primarily for her six major novels
Her best six novels can be seen as the best field by which works can be interpreted, critique and comment upon by the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century.
Criticized the 18^th-century novel traditions
Her plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security.
works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century
Novels are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism.
The used irony, realism, humour, and social commentary

Her notable novels include:

Mansfield Park (1814)
Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Persuasion (1818, posthumous)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Lady Susan (1871, posthumous)
Emma (1815)
Northanger Abbey (1818, posthumous)

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3. Unfinished fiction of Jane Austen

Sanditon (1817)
The Watsons (1804)
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison
February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019
known as Toni Morrison
She was an American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor.
The Bluest Eye was her first novel and was published in 1970.
Song of Solomon (1977) was critically acknowledged brought her national attention
She won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987) in 1988
She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993

Her most notable works include:

The Bluest Eye
Jazz.
Paradise
Sula.
Song of Solomon
Tar Baby.
Beloved.
A Mercy.
Home.
God Help the Child
Love.

4. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851
She was an English novelist
wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818
It is a well-crafted early example of science fiction.
She promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.
William Godwin was her father and was a political philosopher
Mary Wollstonecraft was her mother was the philosopher and feminist activist

Her famous works include:

History of a Six Weeks’ Tour (1817)
The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830)
Lodore (1835)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)
Mathilda (1819)
Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca (1823)
Falkner (1837)
The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1839)
Contributions to Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men (1835–39), part of Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia
Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843 (1844)
Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1824)
The Last Man (1826)

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5. Mary Ann Evans

22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880
known by her pen name George Eliot
She was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator
One of the leading writers of the Victorian era.
she emerged from provincial England
Her novels are known for realism, psychological insight, sense of place
She gives a detailed depiction of the countryside.

Her notable works include:

Romola, 1863
Middlemarch, 1871–72
Daniel Deronda, 1876
Felix Holt, the Radical, 1866
Adam Bede, 1859
The Mill on the Floss, 1860
Silas Marner, 1861
The Choir Invisible, 1867
Brother and Sister, 1869
The Spanish Gypsy, 1868
Agatha, 1868
In a London Drawing room, 1865
Two Lovers, 1866
How Lisa Loved the King, 1869

6. Margaret Eleanor Atwood

born November 18, 1939
She is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor.
She has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children’s books, and two graphic novels, and several small press editions of both poetry and fiction.
Atwood has won numerous awards and honours for her writing
Two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General’s Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards.
A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.
Booker Prize In 2019 -Giller Prize in 1996 -Peace Prize of the German Trade Book Trade in 2017-Glamour Award of the Oracle in 2019.

Her notable works include:

The Edible Woman (1969)
Surfacing (1972)
Cat’s Eye (1988, finalist for the 1988 Governor General’s Award and the 1989 Booker Prize)
The Robber Bride (1993, a finalist for the 1994 Governor General’s Award and shortlisted for the James Tiptree Jr. Award)
Alias Grace (1996, winner of the 1996 Giller Prize, finalist for the 1996 Booker Prize and the 1996 Governor General’s Award, shortlisted for the 1997 Orange Prize for Fiction)
Lady Oracle (1976)
Life Before Man (1979, finalist for the Governor General’s Award)
Bodily Harm (1981)
The Handmaid’s Tale (1985, winner of the 1987 Arthur C. Clarke Award and 1985 Governor General’s Award, finalist for the 1986 Booker Prize)
The Blind Assassin (2000, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize and finalist for the 2000 Governor General’s Award, shortlisted for the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction.)
Oryx and Crake (2003, a finalist for the 2003 Booker Prize and the 2003 Governor General’s Award and shortlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction.)

7. Maya Angelou

April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014
She was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights, activist.
She published seven autobiographies
three books of essays, several books of poetry and a long list of plays, movies, and television shows
She received awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.
best known for her series of seven autobiographies
Autobiographies focusing on childhood and early adult experiences.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) is the first book in the series which tells of her life up to the age of 17

Autobiographies

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969): Up to 1944 (age 17)
The Heart of a Woman (1981): 1957–62
All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986): 1962–65
A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002): 1965–68
Gather Together in My Name (1974): 1944–48
Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (1976): 1949–55
Mom & Me & Mom (2013): overview

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Notable Indian Women Author

1.Nalapat Balamani Amma

19 July 1909 – 29 September 2004
She was an Indian poet
She wrote in Malayalam
Amma (Mother), Muthassi (Grandmother), and Mazhuvinte Katha (The story of the Axe) are many of the famous works
Recipient of many awards and honours
Awarded the Padma Bhushan, Saraswati Samman, Sahitya Akademi Award, and Ezhuthachan Award.
She was the mother of writer Kamala Surayya
Published more than 20 anthologies of poems
Her first poem “Kooppukai” was published in 1930
Her first recognition came when she received the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram,
Nivedyam is the collection of poems of Balamani Amma
Lokantharangalil is an elegy on the death of the poet Nalapat Narayana Menon

Her works include:

Kalikkotta (1949)
Velichathil (1951)
Avar Paadunnu (1952)
Pranamam (1954)
Lokantharangalil (1955)
Sopanam (1958)
Sandhya (1982)
Nivedyam (1987)
Mathruhridayam (1988)
To My Daughter (Malayalam)
Kulakkadavil
Mahavira
Nagarathil (1968)
Veyilaarumbol (1971)
Amruthamgamaya (1978)
Muthassi (1962)
Kudumbini (1936)
Dharmamargathil (1938)
Sthree Hridayam (1939)
Prabhankuram (1942)
Bhavanayil (1942)
Oonjalinmel (1946)
Mazhuvinte Katha (1966)
Ambalathilekku (1967)

2. Kamala Surayya

31 March 1934–31 May 2009
popularly known by the pen name Madhavikutty
She was an Indian poet in English as well as an author of Malayalam
She hailed from Kerala, India.
Widely read columnist
wrote on diverse topics including women’s issues

Her notable works include:

1964: The Sirens
1973: The Old Playhouse and Other Poems
1984: Collected Poems
1985: The Anamalai Poems
1997: Only the Soul Knows How to Sing
1999: My Mother at Sixty-six
2001: Yaa Allah
1965: Summer in Calcutta
1967: The Descendants
1964: Pakshiyude Manam (short stories)
1966: Naricheerukal Parakkumbol (short stories)
199: Dayarikkurippukal (novel)
1987: Balyakala Smaranakal (childhood memoirs)
1989: Varshangalkku Mumbu (novel)
199: Palayan (novel)
1991: Neypayasam (short story)
1994: Neermathalam Pootha Kalam (novel)
1996: Kadal Mayooram (a short novel)
1996: Rohini (a short novel)
1968: Thanuppu (short story)
1973: Ente Katha (autobiography)

3. Saraswathi Amma

14 April 1919 – 26 December 1975
She was a Malayalam feminist writer
Translated to several texts

Notable works:

Premabhajanam (Darling) – – 1944
Death (Messenger of God) -1945
Penbuddhi (Women’s wit) – 1951
Kanata Mathil (Thick wall) – 1953
Prema Pareekshanam (Experiment of love) – 1955
Chuvanna Pookkal (Red flowers) – 1955
Cholamarangal (Shady trees) – 1958
Ponnumkudam (Pot of Gold) – – 1946
SthreeJanmam (Born as a woman) – 1946
Keezhjeevanakkari (Subjugated woman)- 1949
Kalamandiram (Temple of art) – 1949

4. Lalithambika Antharjanam

March 30, 1909 – February 6, 1987
She was an Indian author
She was a social reformer
She was best known for her literary works in the Malayalam language.
She was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
Her published oeuvre consists of nine volumes of short stories
Six collections of poems
two books for children
In 1977, the novel Agnisakshi (1976) won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Her autobiography Aathmakadhakkoru Aamukham (An Introduction to Autobiography) is also considered a significant work in Malayalam literature.

Her notable works include:

Kodumkatil Ninnu (From a Whirlwind) 1951
Agni Pushpangal (Flowers of Fire) 1960
Seetha Muthal Satyavathi Vare (From Sita to Satyavati) 1972
Moodupadathil (Behind the Veil) 1955
Adyathe Kathakal (First Stories) 1937
Takarna Talamura (Ruined Generation), 1949
Kilivaathililoode (Through the Pigeon Hole)
Agnisakshi (Fire being the Witness)

5. Anita Desai

Born on 24 June 1937
She is an Indian novelist
She is the Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times
In 1978, She received a Sahitya Akademi Award
She won the British Guardian Prize for The Village by the Sea

Her notable works include:

The Artist of Disappearance
The Zigzag Way
The Village by the Sea
Clear Light of Day
Games at Twilight (1978)
In Custody (1984)
Fasting, Feasting (1999)
Scholar and Gipsey (1996)
Journey to Ithaca (1995)
Baumgartner’s Bombay (1988)
Diamond Dust and Other Stories (2000)
Fire on the Mountain (1977)

6. Shashi Deshpande

born 1938
She is an Indian novelist.
She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Her notable works include:

That Long Silence, Penguin (paperback 1989)
The Intrusion and Other Stories (1993)
A Matter of Time, The Feminist Press at CUNY (1996)
The Binding Vine
Come Up and Be Dead (1983)
Roots and Shadows (1983)
The Dark Holds No Terrors, Penguin Books India (1980)
If I Die Today

Books by Famous Women Authors: Reading books written by women writers can empower womenfolk across the globe. These books can help them realize the feminine identity within them and to rise from the their own ashes just like phoenix. Throughout the past and history, women always had different shades of narrations to share. Each story has each emotion which engulfed the mind and joy of readers. If you haven’t experienced the joy of such works, Read Now!

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