1800’s M to Z

1800’s M to Z

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Place of Setting Author Title Notes
Mexico Canas, Isabel The Hacienda Haunted house
Mexico Moreno-Garcia, Silvia The Daughter of Doctor Moreau Young woman helps father create human-animal hybrids
Mexico Velastegui, Cecilia Lucia Zarate Based on the true story of the world’s smallest woman
Persia (Iran) Levy Mossanen, Dora Courtesan Three generations of women, starting with a courtesan to the Shah
Puerto Rico Santiago, Esmeralda Conquistadora The Spanish conquerors of Puerto Rico
Russia McMahon, Katharine The Rose of Sebastopol Two brave women during the Crimean War
South Africa McVeigh, Jennifer The Fever Tree A destitute woman leaves London for South Africa and a better life
Turkey Kazan, Frances Halide’s Gift Tradition clashes with freedom for young Turkish women
United States Agee, Jonis The River Wife Strong women in the 19th and 20th century in rural Missouri
United States Aldrich, Bess A Lantern in Her Hand Frontier life in Nebraska
United States Allende, Isabel Daughter of Fortune A Chilean woman moves to California during the Gold Rush
United States Barton, Emily Brookland A woman business owner dreams of building a bridge to connect Brooklyn to Manhattan
United States Beams, Clare The Illness Lesson Strange illness at a women’s school in Massachusetts
United States Benjamin, Melanie The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb Based on the life of Lavinia Warren Bump
United States Benton, Janet Lilli de Jong Pregnant and homeless Quaker woman chooses to keep her child
United States Bernard, April Miss Fuller Based on the life of Margaret Fuller
United States Bodden, Marlen Suyapa The Wedding Gift Two half-sisters: one a slave, and the other a slave owner.
United States Brenegan, Debra Shame the Devil Based on the life of writer Fanny Fern
United States Brown, Rosellen The Lake on Fire Jewish-American girl in Chicago
United States Brown, Rita Mae High Hearts A woman disguises herself as a man to fight in the Civil War
United States Butler, Octavia Kindred Time travel – modern day African-American woman kidnapped back to slavery
United States Chance, Megan Bone River Woman ethnologist in Washington Territory
United States Chevalier, Tracy The Last Runaway A Quaker woman gets involved with the Underground Railroad in Ohio
United States Clarke, Breena Angels Make Their Hope Here A runaway slave finds refuge in an interracial community in New Jersey
United States Courter, Gay The Midwife A Jewish midwife in New York
United States Deloria, Ella Cara Waterlily Daily life for a Sioux mother and daughter
United States Deon, Natashia Grace A baby survives the death of her escaped-slave mother
United States Donoghue, Emma Frog Music 1876 — a woman in San Francisco races to find the murderer of her friend
United States Dray, Stephanie and Laura Kamoie America’s First Daughter Based on the life of Patsy Jefferson, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson
United States Dykeman, Wilma The Tall Woman An Appalachian woman’s life during and after the Civil War
United States Eichmann, Mim A Sparrow Alone Coming of age in 1890s Colorado
United States Fowler, Karen Joy Sister Noon Rebellious and mysterious women in Gilded Age San Francisco
United States Gibbons, Kaye On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon Civil War era — plantation owner’s daughter nurses soldiers
United States Gilbert, Elizabeth The Signature of All Things A woman botanist explores evolution
United States Greenidge, Kaitlyn Libertie One of the first Black women doctors in the US
United States Glancy, Diane Pushing the Bear The Cherokee Trail of Tears
United States Glancy, Diane Stone Heart Based on the life of Sacajawea
United States Herring, Peggy Anna, Like Thunder A Russian astronomer is stranded with a Native tribe
United States Higginbotham, Susan Hanging Mary Based on the life of Mary Surratt, convicted as an accomplice to Lincoln’s assassination
United States Howe, LeAnne Savage Conversations Mary Todd Lincoln’s visions of a “Savage Indian”
United States Humphreys, Josephine Nowhere Else on Earth Daughter of a Lumbee Indian mother and a Scotsman gets caught up in the Civil War
United States Jiles, Paulette News of the World A 10-year-old girl rescued from Indian captivity travels in Texas with an elderly man.
United States Kasai, Kirsten Imani The House of Erzulie Vodou and insanity in Louisiana
United States Kidd, Sue Monk The Invention of Wings A female slave and her 11-year-old “owner” grow up together.
United States Kondazian, Karen The Whip Inspired by Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst, who lived as a man in California
United States Lane, Rose Wilder Let the Hurricane Roar A pioneer couple in South Dakota
United States Mackey, Mary The Widow’s War A young woman goes in search of her husband during the Civil War
United States Martin, Valerie Property 1828, Louisiana — a white woman’s slave becomes her husband’s mistress
United States McCabe, Erin Lindsay I Shall Be Near to You A woman disguises herself as a man to fight in the Civil War
United States McKinney-Whetstone, Diane Lazaretto Two black women in post-Civil War Philadelphia
United States Moore, Elizabeth The Truth and the Life Two women — one in the 1800’s and one in the present — in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
United States Morrison, Toni Beloved Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. An escaped slave struggles with past memories.
United States Naslund, Sena Jeter Ahab’s Wife Adventures of the wife of Captain Ahab of Moby Dick
United States Newman, Janis Cooke Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln Based on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln
United States Obreht, Tea Inland Frontierswoman in Arizona
United States Oliveira, Robin My Name Is Mary Sutter During the Civil War, a midwife wants to become a surgeon
United States Perkins-Valdez, Dolen Balm Two women — one black, one white — with healing gifts they must claim after the Civil War
United States Perkins-Valdez, Dolen Wench 1850s – four slave women, all mistresses to their masters, meet at a resort in Ohio and must decide whether to escape slavery
United States Rhodes, Jewell Parker Voodoo Dreams New Orleans — based on voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau
United States Schmidt, Sarah See What I Have Done Lizzie Borden’s story from four perspectives
United States Sheehan, Jacqueline The Comet’s Tale Based on the life of Sojourner Truth
United States Smiley, Jane The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton A strong-willed woman in pre-Civil War Kansas
United States Sontag, Susan In America Polish immigrants form a utopian commune in California
United States Svoboda, Teresa Bohemian Girl A young woman makes her own way through the American west
United States Tademy, Lalita Cane River Four generations of African American women
United States Ulleseit, Linda Under the Almond Trees Three generations of women in California
United States Vreeland, Susan Clara and Mr. Tiffany Woman stained-glass designer during Chicago World’s Fair
United States Walker, Margaret Jubilee Based on the life of the author’s great-grandmother, born a slave
United States Williams, Sherley Anne Dessa Rose A runaway slave and the white woman who hides her
United States Yan, Geling The Lost Daughter of Happiness A Chinese-American prostitute in San Francisco
United States Zimmerman, Jean Savage Girl A feral young woman is adopted by a wealthy NY couple
Wales O’Connor, Varley The Welsh Fasting Girl Farm girl — miracle or abused?
West Indies (Virgin Islands) Hoffman, Alice The Marriage of Opposites Based on the life of Rachel, the mother of painter Camille Pissaro