20 Best Female Authors, Part 2
Last week, I wrote the first article in a four-part series about the 20 Best Female Authors. Here are the next five authors whose works are undeniably great. Remember, this list is in no particular order.
Maya Angelou. Photo from www.oprah.com.
6. Maya Angelou
America is still reeling over the loss of one its literary treasures, Maya Angelou. When she passed away last month, many wondered who could possibly fill the shoes of such a great poet. The answer, regrettably, is no one. There was only one Maya Angelou, who was special for so many reasons. She overcame abject poverty and abuse to become the voice of the downtrodden. She taught us, though, that even when we face the most difficult obstacles, we must rise above them; this idea is the lesson of her poem “Still I Rise.” She enabled an entire generation of women to love their bodies, including the flaws, and to embrace the fact that each of us is a “Phenomenal Woman.” She inspired us with her ideas, she encouraged us through her examples, and she emboldened us with her words. Maya Angelou will forever be America’s poet.
Susan Hill. Image from www.telegraph.co.uk.
7. Susan Hill
Susan Hill is one of England’s best ghost and detective story writers. I first stumbled upon her work while visiting London in 2009. Our travel group saw the play adaptation of Hill’s famous book The Woman in Black. The play was plenty scary, but the book was deliciously frightful. I had to turn the light on more than once to ward off the evil Jennet Humfrye. Hill doesn’t just outright frighten you by having the characters jump off the pages to terrify you. Instead, unnoticed, they sneak into the room, then haunt you in your dreams. I also love Hill’s Simon Serrailler detective books, but there are times when the author sidetracks in this series or leaves you with more questions than answers. I do not mind her diversions because life is not always tidy, an idea illustrated in many of Hill’s works. I look forward to Hill giving me the creeps for years to come.
Amy Tan. Photo from www.nndb.com.
8. Amy Tan
Although Amy Tan has written such notable works as The Bonesetter’s Daughter and Saving Fish from Drowning, she is best remembered for The Joy Luck Club, a tale of four Chinese mothers and daughters living in San Francisco. In this book, the past and present collide in a beautiful yet heart-wrenching work of discovery and loss. The four mothers in the novel all grew up in China, but each moved to San Francisco, where they raised their families. Like their mothers, the girls are “frienemies,” too. At times the women’s petty rivalries are silly, but never do they allow jealousy to cause their friendships to waver in loyalty. The generation gap as well as the difficulties of having grown up in China versus America sometimes causes misunderstandings between the parents and their offspring, but the women are able to bridge that gap, and in the process find a newfound respect for each other. With The Joy Luck Club, Tan introduced many readers to what life is like for those first-generation Americans who must learn how to straddle their parents’ old world and their new one. She handles such difficult subject matter with grace and dignity.
Alice Walker. Picture from www.nativevillage.org.
9. Alice Walker
The first time I ever saw The Color Purple, I remember thinking, “Wow!” I loved the film, but then I read the book, and I realized, not for the first time, how movies will never replace the power of the written word. Over the years, I have read several works by Walker. Just a few months ago, I tackled The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Walker’s debut novel. For years now, I have taught “Everyday Use” in my English courses. Reading Walker’s works is not always easy, for her subject matter is downright difficult. In The Color Purple, Celie has been raped repeatedly by her stepfather. Later her husband, whom she refers to as “Mister,” victimizes her further still. Beaten down all her life, she manages to throw off the yoke of oppression and become her own person. In Grange Copeland, fathers abandon and abuse their children, only to have those sins revisited upon them. With “Everyday Use,” the lesson of heritage is taught, yet not learned. Walker’s characters and themes illustrate just how much the author understands the diversity of life.
Jane Austen. Picture from www.biography.com.
10. Jane Austen
Love a good romance? Then Jane Austen is your girl! Though not well-known in her own lifetime, Austen has come to be regarded as one of the most important female authors of the early 1800s. Now Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Pride and Prejudice are considered classics. For a woman who never married, Austen grasped the trials and tribulations of love and marriage better than most women of her time. Each of the heroines of her novels undergoes multiple challenges in order to find a suitable husband. Of the difficulties her female protagonists must face, the most daunting is when a woman tries to climb the social ladder by marrying outside her class, which was frowned upon at the time.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet finds this out in her dealings with Mr. Darcy. He is a gentleman, and while she is a gentleman’s daughter, the two are not considered an appropriate match due to their financial differences. Their like-mindedness, intelligence, and attitudes make them quite suitable, but those qualities simply did not matter, except to Austen. The author thumbs her nose at expectations by allowing characters to marry for love instead of social standing. After many misunderstandings and a few near-deaths, the couples are able to live happily ever after. You’ve got to love a happy ending!
Next week, we will continue with the third installment of this segment. Still haven’t seen your favorite? Send me a comment in the space below and make a case for your favorite female author’s inclusion in this list.
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HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘Oh! Mama, how spiritless, how tame was Edward’s manner in reading to us last night! I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my seat.’ Spirited and impulsive, Marianne Dashwood is the complete opposite to her controlled and sensible sister, Elinor. When it comes to matters of the heart, Marianne is passionate and romantic and soon falls for the charming, but unreliable Mr Willoughby. Elinor, in contrast, copes stoically with the news that her love, Edward Ferrars is promised to another. It is through their shared experiences of love that both sisters come to learn that the key to a successful match comes from finding the perfect mixture of rationality and feeling.
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Mollie Smith Waters
