1900’s M to Z

1900’s M to Z

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Place of Setting Author Title Notes
Malaysia Choo, Yangsze The Night Tiger Surreal story of a dressmaker, a houseboy, and a tiger-man.
Malaysia Manicka, Rani The Rice Mother A matriarch of a large family
Mexico Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate Passion, cooking, and magical realism in early 1900s
Mexico Maum, Courtney Costalegre Teenage girl discovers herself among surrealist artists
Mexico Mujica, Barbara Frida Based on the life of painter Frida Kahlo
Mexico Poniatowska, Elena Here’s to You, Jesusa! Based on the life story of Josefina Borquez, who fought in the Mexican Revolution
Mexico Poniatowska, Elena Tinisima Based on the life of actress and Communist agent Tina Modotti
Morocco Mangan, Christine Tangerine Two Western women whose friendship has gone awry meet in Tangier in the 1950s.
Palestine Diamant, Anita Day After Night Holocaust survivors in an internment camp in Palestine
Palestine Grant, Linda When I Lived in Modern Times A Jewish woman from London moves to Palestine
Poland Pearl, Sydelle Wordwings 12-year-old girl keeps diary during Nazi occupation
Polynesia Ciment, Jill The Tattoo Artist A woman artist marooned on an island in the South Pacific learns the art of tattooing
Portugal Pedrosa, Ines In Your Hands Three generations of women
Romania Shea, Christina Smuggled During World War II, a Jewish girl grows up Catholic in Romania
Russia Levy Mossanen, Dora The Last Romanov A relative of the assassinated Tsar Nicholas II searches to find the true heir
Russia Meads, Kat For You, Madam Lenin Based on the life of Nadya Krupskaya, wife of Vladimir Lenin
Russia Richler, Nancy Your Mouth Is Lovely Jewish revolutionaries
Russia Silber, Alexandra After Anatevka Continuation of Hodel’s story from Fiddler on the Roof
Russia Yakhina, Guzel Zuleikha Peasant woman copes in Soviet Russia
Scotland Livesey, Margot Eva Moves the Furniture A motherless girl tries to understand two mysterious visitors in her life
Scotland Seckel, Emma The Wild Hunt Murder mystery with supernatural creatures
South Africa Kohler, Sheila Love Child A white South African woman reflects on her past in the apartheid era
South Africa Mutch, Barbara The Housemaid’s Daughter Friendship between an Irish immigrant and her maid
Sweden Fredriksson, Marianne Hanna’s Daughters Three generations of women
Turkey Suman, Defne The Silence of Scheherazade Mother and daughter in Smyrna
Ukraine Gal, Valentina Philipovna: Daughter of Sorrow Young woman lives through Stalin’s rule
United States Adler, Elizabeth Fortune Is a Woman Women entrepreneurs /magnates
United States Albert, Susan Wittig Loving Eleanor Based on the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok
United States Attenberg, Jami Saint Mazie Proprietor of a NYC movie theater in 1920’s and 1930’s
United States Baggott, Juliana The Madam Based on the life of the author’s grandmother, who survived by running a house of prostitution
United States Baker, Ellen I Gave My Heart to Know This Several generations of women, starting with welders during World War II
United States Barnett, Lashonda Katrice Jam on the Vine African American woman journalist
United States Belfer, Lauren A Fierce Radiance A photojournalist during World War II
United States Benjamin, Melanie The Aviator’s Wife Based on the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh
United States Benjamin, Melanie The Girls in the Picture Women in Hollywood before World War I
United States Bloom, Amy Away Jewish immigrants
United States Brown, Rita Mae Six of One Adventures of women in a small town in Maryland from the early 1900’s to the 1980’s
United States Burns, Mary The Reason for Time Irish immigrant in Chicago in 1919
United States Celt, Adrienne Invitation to a Bonfire Russian refugees in New Jersey in the 1920s
United States Clarke, Breena River, Cross My Heart African American community in Washington, DC copes after a child’s death
United States Diamant, Anita The Boston Girl Daughter of Jewish immigrants grows up
United States Drew, Julie Daughter of Providence Family secrets in Rhode Island
United States Egan, Jennifer Manhattan Beach World War II — First female diver at Brooklyn Naval Yard
United States Erdrich, Louise The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse A priest to the Ojibwe is really a woman in disguise
United States Erdrich, Louise The Painted Drum A real estate agent finds an ancient ceremonial drum that belongs to the Ojibwe people
United States Fajardo-Anstine, Kali Woman of Light Five generations of Indigenous Chicano family
United States Feldman, Ellen Lucy Based on the life of Lucy Mercer, who had an affair with Franklin Roosevelt
United States Feldman, Ellen Next to Love Three young women during World War II
United States Fields, Jennie The Age of Desire Based on the life of author Edith Wharton
United States Flagg, Fannie Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Owners of a small diner in 1930s Alabama
United States Fowler, Karen Joy The Sweetheart Season Women’s baseball team
United States Fowler, Therese Anne Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Based on the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
United States Franks, Julia Over the Plain Houses An Appalachian farm wife befriends a woman government agent
United States Gilbert, Elizabeth City of Girls 1940s New York theater world
United States Harrison, Jamie The Widow Nash Daughter disguises herself to search for father’s fortune
United States Henderson, Eleanor The Twelve-Mile Straight Georgia woman gives birth to one white and one black twin
United States Henderson, Genie Chipps A Woman of the World Based on the life of photographer Margaret Bourke-White
United States Horan, Nancy Loving Frank Based on the companion of Frank Lloyd Wright
United States Ivey, Eowyn The Snow Child 1920s Alaska — magical realism
United States Joy, Avril Sometimes A River Song 15-year-old girl in Arkansas struggles to escape male domination
United States Koe, Amanda Lee Delayed Rays of a Star Follows lives of 2 actresses and a filmmaker
United States Laskas, Gretchen Moran The Midwife’s Tale 1920’s West Virginia — a family of midwives
United States Mathis, Ayana The Twelve Tribes of Hattie African-American mother in 1920s Philadelphia.
United States McCracken, Elizabeth Bowlaway A ghost opens a bowling alley
United States McGraw, Erin The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard A young mother flees small-town Kansas for California
United States Montgomery, Jess The Widows Inspired by the first woman sheriff in Ohio
United States Nichols, Tanya The Barber’s Wife A nurse in a small town in Oklahoma
United States O’Connor, Sheila Evidence of V Fact and fiction blend to tell the story of a woman imprisoned for unplanned pregnancy.
United States Otsuka, Julie When the Emperor Was Divine Japanese-American internment during World War II
United States Pietrzyk, Leslie Pears on a Willow Tree Polish-American family
United States Poliner, Elizabeth As Close to Us as Breathing Three Jewish sisters in the 1940s
United States Prescott, Lara The Secrets We Kept Women from CIA involved with smuggling Dr. Zhivago into Soviet Union
United States Schlenker, J. Sally Based on the life of an African-American woman, Sally Ann Barnes.
United States Schultz, Connie The Daughters of Erietown Working-class family in NE Ohio
United States See, Lisa China Dolls In 1938, three Chinese-American girls from different background become friends
United States Sharp, Adrienne The Magnificent Esme Wells First person view of Hollywood from 1939-1953
United States Shields, Sharma The Cassandra During World War II, a secretary of Hanford nuclear site sees visions of disaster.
United States Smith, Lee Guests on Earth Inmates of a mental hospital in North Carolina in the 1920’s
United States Spera, Deb Call Your Daughter Home Three small-town southern women tackle crisis
United States Tsukiyama, Gail The Brightest Star Based on the life of silent film star Anna May Wong
United States Tuccelli, Jessica Maria Glow A young woman learns about her Cherokee heritage.
United States Ulleseit, Linda Under the Almond Trees Three generations of women in Northern California.
United States Urquhart, Rachel The Visionist Takes place in a Shaker community
United States Verble, Margaret Stealing Cherokee/white woman reminisces
United States Vo, Nghi Siren Queen Monsters in Hollywood
United States Walbert, Kate A Short History of Women Five generations of women influenced by a matriarch suffragist
United States Walker, Alice The Color Purple African-American women in the southern United States. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize.
United States Walls, Jeannette Half Broke Horses Based on the life of the author’s grandmother, a pilot and rancher
United States Weber, Christin Lore Altar Music Three Catholic women grapple with their faith and their independence
United States Weber, Katharine Triangle Survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
United States Weisgarber, Ann The Personal History of Rachel DuPree An African-American ranch wife struggles to survive in 1917
United States Weisgarber, Ann The Promise A young pianist from Ohio seeks to make a new life for herself in Texas
United States Zacharias, Karen Spears Mother of Rain Women in Appalachian Tennessee
United States Zacharias, Lee Across the Great Lake Five-year-old girl sails across Lake Michigan with her father in 1936
Vietnam Nguyen Phan Que Mai The Mountains Sing Woman tries to reunite with her children through tragic events
West Indies (Cuba and Dominican Republic) Alvarez, Julia In the Name of Salome Alternating stories of a Spanish professor and her mother, a revolutionary poet
West Indies (Dominican Republic) Alvarez, Julia In the Time of the Butterflies Based on the lives of four revolutionary sisters
West Indies (Guadeloupe) Schwarz-Bart, Simone The Bridge of Beyond An old slave recollects her life
West Indies (Jamaica) Young, Kerry Gloria 1938 – two sisters flee their home to the city of Kingston