Creating lists of the best books is a flawed process which makes human biases hard to ignore. I’ll be the first to admit that these lists aren’t perfect nor are they meant to be. They are one of many lists out there that help people find new books. But sometimes, women authors get overlooked which is why we have decided to list the best books written by women authors.
Before we continue, I know that many books by women authors are going to be left out and that can’t be helped. There are just too many and it is hard to remember or come across all of them. So instead of lashing out, just mention it in the comments. That way, others can see and read them.
The Best Books by Women Authors
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- The Street by Ann Petty
- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
- Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Five Steps to Happy by Ella Dove
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- A Spool Of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
- A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
- Small Island by Andrea Levy
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
- Heartburn by Nora Ephron
- Swimming Home by Deborah Levy
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Idiot by Elif Batuman
- I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
- Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- The Outsiders by SE Hinton
- Carol by Patricia Highsmith
- Room by Emma Donoghue
- Girl by Edna O’Brien
- My Ántonia by Willa Cather
- We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
- We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
- A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
- The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula Le Guin
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Conclusion
Making this list was hard because it is hard to go-through every book written by women authors. Plus, an author can have multiple great books like Margaret Atwood. Listing all of them would make this list too long. The list also avoids listing classics and instead focuses on books that have been well-received and critically acclaimed.
That is all for our list on the best books by women authors. Unlike other lists, this one won’t have a top ten list because that seems impossible to do. Which books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below! Until next time, happy reading!
Regarding Best Books by Women Authors: I am surprised that Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which was instrumental in the anti-slavery movement, was not on the list.
Added! Thank you for the suggestion.
I highly recommend checking out In the Dark We Forget by Sandra Wong! I just finished it, and it is excellent. I am recommending it to anyone who mentions female authors. Excellent read.
I want to start a book club based completely around reading works by men and women of color from around the world, hit me up at herderofswine@yahoo.com if you know any takers.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson are two great young adult novels that any book enthusiast can read and enjoy regardless of age.