Our history is rich with inspiring “herstories” who defied the social sanctions of this society to achieve success in numerous walks of life. Given below is a list of inspiring bibliographies of brilliant women from to get you out of your bed and working.
If you also like to draw inspiration from the life of others then reading these biographies will be beneficial for you.
1.Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien
An inspiring story from the early eighteenth century when airplane races were in vogue. The book follows five women as they come together and fight against the prejudice which people had against women pilots. Breaking through the sexist mentality, they fought tooth and nail and made history in the field of female aviation.
2. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi by Katherine Frank
One of the most popular biography of India’s first and only woman Prime Minister. It follows the life of this firebrand woman, full of many controversies. The famous biographer claims to have drawn the information from many unknown sources.
3. Free Woman By Marion Meade
This book is based on the life of Victoria Woodhull. She was an American stockbroker, publisher, lecturer, advocate of women’s right and Presidential candidate. She revolutionized the political space of America with her novel ideas and was considered an anomaly of her time.
4. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera
One of the most influential artists of her time, Frida Kahlo de Rivera is known for her portraits and self-portraits based on the themes of identity, gender, and race. The book deals with the various dramatic events of her life such as the accident which left her unable to bear children and her association with the communist party. She is one of the first woman artists to bring the sensuous feelings and experiences of a woman to her art.
5. Anne Sexton By Anne Sexton
As the title suggests this is an autobiography of the Pulitzer Prize Winner, Anne Sexton. She was a poet and playwright, born in Massachusetts. The book provides much information about the personal life of Anne Sexton, with the help of letters chosen by her daughter and her friend.
6. Bad Girls Go Everywhere by Jennifer Scanlon
The book is based on the life of Helen Gurley Brown, she was a writer, publisher and the editor in chief of one the best magazine The Cosmopolitan for thirty years. The book is the tale of how this woman achieved such a successful career in a male-dominated world. The book has been popularly described as “The biography of the revolutionary magazine editor who created the “Cosmo Girl” before Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw was even born.”
7. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Born into slavery Truth gained her freedom at the age of thirty. She has worked very hard in improving the status of Black women and is best known for her speech “Ain’t I a Woman”. This book, through the story of this phenomenal women, brings to light the much-forgotten issue of Northern Slavery.
8. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
This is the story of Russia’s longest-ruling female leader. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, her reign is one of Russia’s most prosperous times. The book describes in meticulous details the life of this determined woman who dealt with conspiracies of her close ones and revolts from the public to hold her position.
9. Truly Wilde: The Unsettling Story of Dolly Wilde, Oscar’s Unusual Niece by Joan Schenkar
This book is the story of Dorothy Wilde also known as Dolly Wilde, made famous by her familial connections and charming personality. She gained much popularity about her abilities as a conversationalist, sensual allure and wit. She made her career in the salons around the world. This book is an ode to a woman whose life and success was overshadowed by that of Oscar Wilde. The book captures with many details the madness and charm that was Dolly Wilde
10. I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
If there is one person who has been a source of inspiration to dare, to act and to fight for justice and equality it is Malala Yousafzai. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate and a symbol of peace throughout the world. In this book, she tells the inspiring story of her fight against global terrorism for her rights
11. Girls Like Us by Sheila Walker
This book is the story of America’s three leading musical artists Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. The book takes the readers back to the America of the sixties seen from the eyes of the pop queens of that time. The book has many women voices apart from the three main subjects and reads much like a novel except that it is all real.
12. Marie Curie: A Life by Susan Quinn
Marie Curie is the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. Her work with radioactive elements – which eventually led to her death- is unparalleled. From being rejected by the French academia to winning two Nobel Prizes and her affair with a fellow scientist this book tells us about the life of this passionate and brilliant woman.
13. Sapper Dorothy Lawrence by Dorothy Lawrence
An autobiography of a woman whose passion for reporting on World War II converted her from a journalist to a soldier. Her life’s one true ambition was to become the first female war correspondent, when she was stopped from going to the war due to security hazards she realized that the only way of reporting is by becoming a soldier.
14. Ada’s Algorithm: How Lord Byron’s Daughter Ada Lovelace Launched the Digital Age by James Essinger
Ada King, the Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer. She is best known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer. Walter Isaacson the author of The Innovators says that “[Ada Lovelace], like Steve Jobs, stands at the intersection of arts and technology.”
15. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
During the Second World War, when Hitler was rounding up Jews and killing them brutally in concentration camps, there were two Jew families which hid away in a building. This girl along with her family lived in hiding for two years and died at the age of fifteen in a concentration camp. In this book, she has penned down her experiences of living in such circumstances.
16. The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
An autobiography of the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of Arts degree. She was an American author, lecturer and political activist. This book gives a detailed account of her experiences.
17. Queen of the Track by Heather Lang
The book is based on the life of Alice Coachman who is popularly known as the Queen of Track. She was the first black woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics. The book is the story of hard work and determination. It is the story of a woman who jumped over many hurdles in life to realize her dream.
18. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady Of DNA by Brenda Maddox
Franklin was an English chemist and crystallographer. In this book, Maddox brings to light the woman who made major contributions to the discovery of DNA but never received much credit for it.
19. Florynce “Flo” Kennedy: The Life of a Black Feminist Radical by Sherie M. Randolph
Florynce Rae Kennedy was an American lawyer, civil rights advocate, lecturer, and activist. She was one of the leading feminists of the second wave. The author, in this book, traces her progressive upbringing, education as a law student and how she allied the white and black feminist and reduced racism.
20. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was an African American poet, playwright, and author. She was a staunch opposer of discrimination which was meted out to black women. One of her famous poetry collection of four poems is named Phenomenal Woman. She is best known for this autobiography which tells her story. From being abandoned by her mother, assaulted by a man much older than her to discovering her own inner strength, it is an inspiring tale of self-discovery.
If you have read some other masterpieces then do share with us in the comment section below