It's International Women's Day on Wednesday, so today's 'Book of the Week' post features recommendations of books in relation to this year's theme, #EmbraceEquity, and to women's writing and writers in general.
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
Recommended by Mr Dormandy
Recommended by Mr Dormandy
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| Sarah Lam, Lesley Sharpe, Lesley Manville and Deborah Findlay in the Royal Court's 1991 revival of Top Girls |
The best known and most influential play by England's greatest living playwright (sorry Tom Stoppard!), Top Girls is at once a theatrical and human delight - rich, layered characters; effortlessly natural dialogue; exhilaratingly unpredictable tone - an endlessly intriguing exploration of female experience and gender politics, responding to the complex challenges posed to feminists by Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, and an epoch-making series of experiments in dramatic form. Its influence, especially on contemporary European dramatic writing, is hard to overstate. An all-male school version of this all-female play would be a blast!
Recommended by Miss McLaughlin
Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women (website here) diving into women’s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor’s office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a ground-breaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Recommended by Miss McLaughlin
The Colour Purple (1982) by Alice Walker
Recommended by Mr Tyler
Set in the Deep American South in the first half of the 1900s, The Colour Purple tells the story of a young African-American woman named Celie. The story follows Celie from her childhood, detailing the abuse she faces at the hands of her father and husband, and the discoveries she makes about herself, her faith, and her sexuality throughout her life. The Colour Purple is an empowering story about trauma and love, and gives the reader a raw insight into the nuances of black womanhood in the 20th century. (The book contains some mature themes)
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft
Recommended by Mr Tyler
Often described as the ‘first feminist text’, Vindication is a political commentary on the status of women in 18th century England. In the text, Wollstonecraft expertly argues against the social, political and economic subjugation of women, and calls for the privilege of education to be extended to both sexes. Though written before the rise of the modern feminist movement as we know it, Vindication lays the groundwork for mainstream feminist thinking, and greatly inspired the women’s rights movement of the 19th century onwards.
Circe by Madeline Millar
Recommended by Mr Watkins
A History of the World with the Women Put Back In by Kerstin Lucker and Ute Daenschel
Recommended by Miss Dixon
Once upon a time, history was written by men, for men and about men. Women were deemed less important, their letters destroyed, their stories ignored.
Not any more.
This is the story of women who went to war, women who stopped war and women who stayed at home. The rulers. The fighters. The activists. The writers.
This is the story of Wu Zetian, who as 'Chinese Emperor' helped to spread Buddhism in China. This is the story of Genghis Khan's powerful daughters, who ruled his empire for him. This is the story of Christine de Pizan, one of the earliest feminist writers. This is the story of Victoria Woodhull, who ran for president before she could even vote for one
This is the story of the world with the women put back in.
Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
Recommended by Miss Dixon
In the world of science fiction women authors are few and far between yet Becky Chambers is an outstanding member of that small group. Consistently writing excellent science fiction with an inclusivity of all the many various characters that might inhabit a future in space, her writing is lyrical and clear. This book, indeed this trilogy and her current duology, are a very welcome addition to the science fiction genre and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Recommended by Mr Gardner
A marriage proposal from the philosopher Nietzsche spurned, an affair with the poet Rilke, and a long-standing friendship and collaboration with the psychologist Sigmund Freud—that Lou Andreas-Salomé has been best remembered and discussed for her relationships with three men is deeply ironic. As footnote, and source of apocryphal speculation in the lives of others for the most part of the 20th-century, it is only recently that her significant contributions to the literature of feminism and psychoanalysis have been properly studied and acknowledged. She led an extraordinary life, and the pages of her autobiography reveal a quite extraordinary person who provides a unique and fascinating lens through which to explore the intellectual and ideological maelstrom of the turn of the twentieth century.
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
Recommended by Yusaf Hassan
The three female protagonists of Maskerade are not the typical ever-perfect superhuman characters some aspire to see in literature - they are frequently grumpy, conceited, shy and often useless. Nor do they show considerable character growth to overcome their flaws. Yet, accompanied by Pratchett’s famed satirical wit and a healthy portion of musical theatre references, these individuals are each fierce and formidable in their own right. This, surely, is what feminism is at its core. Elevating the noble deeds of many strong, independent women in their day to day lives, rather than idolising a select few.
The Amber Fury by Natalie Haynes
Recommended by Miss McLaren
Natalie Haynes is probably best known for her brilliant feminist analysis of classical myth, Pandora's Jar (reviewed on the book blog here) and her re-tellings of the stories of Troy, Oedipus and Medusa in A Thousand Years, The Children of Jocasta and Stone Blind (all of them excellent, and also recommended). The Amber Fury was her first published novel: it's the story of Alex, a young drama teacher who returns to Edinburgh, the city of her student days, to work with a group of extremely troubled and challenging students in a Pupil Referral Unit (a special class for students who've been excluded and expelled from their individual schools). Gradually, she begins to win their trust, but one student's fascination with Alex's past begins a dark journey that leads towards murder, and revenge - the 'amber fury' of the title. An excellent and highly absorbing thriller, every bit as interested in 'whydunnit' as 'whodunnit', and including (of course) several illuminating detours into Greek tragedy (and teaching).
Hysterical: Exploding the Myth of Gendered Emotions by Pragya Agarwal
Recommended by Miss McLaren
In this fascinating, and densely referenced book, behavioural scientist Pragya Agarwal explores the relationship between emotions and gender stereotypes, analysing to what extent the ways in which we feel (or are assumed to feel) are biologically or socio-culturally determined. Interviewed recently in The Guardian, Agarwal suggested that 'an equitable society would be one where emotions are not gendered or generally labelled, but where all of us can learn to navigate different emotional thresholds without being judged or penalised for it.' This book is an excellent introduction to the ways in which emotions - particularly, but not exclusively, women's emotions - have been defined and prescribed, with examples ranging from Aristotle to Britney Spears.
Justice, Gender and the Family by Susan Miller Okin
Recommended by Dr Duits
The original feminist account of distributive justice and a major critique of the Rawlsian-Nozickian paradigm. Every student studying politics should read it.
Difficult Women by Helen Lewis
Recommended by Dr Duits
A brilliant history of feminism and the progress it has made to make society better. Every step of the way it has had to fight.
The Climate Book edited by Greta Thunberg.
Recommended by Dr Duits
A collection of essays by top scientists about the greatest challenge that humanity has ever faced. Action is required now. It is so important to listen to these voices.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this post: we hope it's given you some suggestions for further reading. The Kayton Library also has a display of books linked to International Women's Day this week, and you might also be interested in the blog's feminism reading list (here): please feel free to email us with suggestions if you think there are books we should add to this list, or which you'd like to recommend more generally. You can find out more about the school's International Women's Day events here: have a great week!
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