An extended essay named after Woolf’s conception that ‘a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write’.
In the last decade, this journalistic expose has become the cultural manifesto for critics of unfettered capitalism.Our Bodies, Ourselves
Now in its 9th edition, and published in 26 foreign editions and Braille, this is the must read book on women’s health and sexuality.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The heart-breaking story of poor young black girl, treated with hatred from people of both races for her looks, because the ideal is white skin and blue eyes.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
A stunning novel that acts as a prequel to Jane Eyre and re-imagines Charlotte Bronte’s devilish madwoman in the attic
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
This disturbing story of an older man’s obsession over a pre-pubescent girl is a must read.
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
A trilogy of fantasy novels, taking place across many parallel worlds, with Lyra Belacqua, its absolutely enchanting young heroine, at its heart.
The First Promise by Ashapurna Debi
A translation from the Bengali, this is the story of eight-year-old Satyabati, a fiercely independent child bride who gets caught in the dynamics of social reform.
Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford
An autobiography of Mitford’s upbringing in an eccentric and very unusual aristocratic family at a time of upheaval in Europe (the 1930s).
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Drawn in an elaborately simple black and white style, the autobiographical graphic novel explores a childhood in Iran during the turbulent years around the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
