As in most fields, literature too had excluded women for a long time before allowing them to shine. After having historically put up with rejections, rebuffs and male pseudonyms, they have only started getting their due over the last century.
Check out our broad-ranging list of 100 books by some of our strong, spirited female authors that would leave history shamefaced for ever having dared to relegate women to the margins.
The Forest Of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version.
Women at War by Vera Hildebrand
Vera Hildebrand presents a wholly fresh perspective on the remarkable women of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment and their place in Indian and world history. The truth is every bit as impressive as the myth.
The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
With rare acumen and evocative prose, in The Far Field Madhuri Vijay gives a potent critique of Indian politics and class prejudice through the lens of a guileless outsider, while also offering up a profound meditation on grief, guilt and the limits of compassion.
Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup
An astounding exploration of intense longings, Shubhangi Swarup’s novel begins in the depths of the Andaman Sea, and follows geological and emotional faultlines through the Irrawaddy delta and the tourist-trap of Thamel, to end amidst the highest glaciers and passes of the Karakorams.
Remnants of a Separation by Aanchal Malhotra
Written as a crossover between history and anthropology, Remnants of a Separation is the product of years of passionate research. It is an alternative history of the Partition — the first and only one told through material memory that makes the event tangible even seven decades later.
