Historical Fiction for Women’s History Month

Though nonfiction is a great way to learn about the past, historical fiction can also open readers’ eyes to the settings, lessons, and experiences of those who came before us. To celebrate Women’s History Month, here are some recent historical fiction titles celebrating women’s stories across time.

In Harlem Rhapsody, Victoria Christopher Murray highlights Jessie Redmon Fauset, an underappreciated but vital figure in the Harlem Renaissance literary movement. Fauset became the first female editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis, where she elevated such names as Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen, alongside her complex relationship with the magazine founder, her mentor and lover, W.E.B. DuBois. Fauset has to decide how much she’s willing to give up for her professional ambitions in a world that practically demands the sacrifice of Black women.

Jodi Picoult also investigates the sidelining of women writers in By Any Other Name, a dual-timeline novel interrogating the authorship of Shakespeare’s works. In the present day, Melina Green struggles to garner the recognition she deserves for her plays; her newest is about her ancestor Emilia Bassano, a 16th century courtesan Green believes is responsible for some of Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays. In order to give her show a leg up, Melina has her male friend submit the play under the pseudonym “Mel Green,” and the resulting comedy of errors, along with exploration of racism and sexism in the industry, make for a compelling read.

Jane Yang’s The Lotus Shoes gives voice to two young women in 18th century China navigating jealousy, scandals, and the pressure to climb in status. Little Flower is sold to the Fong family as a maidservant for their spoiled daughter Linjing, but despite her lower status, Little Flower’s bound feet and talent for embroidery make the richer girl cruel to her. After a scandal tarnishes the Fong family, though, the two girls move through their tense past in an homage to the complications of sisterhood in a society that subjugates all women.

For something a little lighter, check out The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, set in the post-WWI British seaside. Constance Haverhill lost her prestigious estate management job after the war and is now serving as a lady’s companion to a wealthy woman recovering from influenza by the sea. A chance encounter with spunky Poppy, who is trying to start a business for female motorcycle drivers, gives Constance a new route to independence.

Inspired by the real life of Marguerite de la Rocque, Allegra Goodman follows the path of an aristocratic French woman marooned on an island with her lover in 1500s Canada in Isola. After being orphaned and left the sole heir to a hefty fortune at age 3, Marguerite’s guardian, Roberval, is supposed to look after her and ensure her successful marriage. Instead, he treats her cruelly, selling off her property and eventually taking her with him as he sails to colonize New France in what is now called Canada. On board, Marguerite falls in love with Roberval’s secretary Auguste; their resulting stranding tests Marguerite’s ability to survive.

Finally, history moves closer to the present in Fabienne Josaphat’s Kingdom of No Tomorrow, a coming-of-age story of one woman weighing her dream of medical school against the allure of the Black Panther Party. In 1968 Oakland, Haitian premed student Nettie is researching sickle cell anemia and caring for all-Black patients in a local hospital, thinking of her doctor father murdered back in Haiti. When she meets the cool and charismatic Melvin, a leader in the Party, Nettie gets further drawn in to the politics of liberation and fighting the constant systemic racism she sees. With vivid depictions of late 1980s Oakland and Chicago, the parallels between then and now are undeniable.

~posted by Jane S.