The Greatest Books of All Time on Feminism

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
61 The Golden Notebook Doris May Lessing 1962 British English
173 A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf 1929 British English
407 The World According to Garp John Irving 1978 American English
628 Nights At The Circus Angela Carter 1984 British English
772 The Group Mary McCarthy 1963 American English
887 Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1915 American English
1034 The Bostonians Henry James 1886 American English
1278 So Long a Letter Mariama Bâ 1980 Senegalese French
1620 Sister Outsider Audre Lorde 1984 American English
1687 The Hearing Trumpet Leonora Carrington 1974 British English
1787 Sexual Politics Kate Millett 1970 American English
2059 The Passion Of New Eve Angela Carter 1977 British English
2174 Surfacing Margaret Atwood 1972 Canadian English
2478 Artemisia Anna Banti 1947 Italian Italian
2540 Pilgrimage Dorothy Richardson 1915 British English
2659 The Women's Room Marilyn French 1977 American English
2927 Unless Carol Shields 2002 Canadian English
2973 The Female Man Joanna Russ 1975 American English
2980 The Life And Loves Of A She Devil Fay Weldon 1983 British English
3064 Three Guineas Virginia Woolf 1938 British English
3157 The Flounder Günter Grass 1977 German German
3162 Fierce Attachments Vivian Gornick 1987 American English
3230 This Bridge Called My Back Cherríe Moraga, Gloria Anzaldúa 1981 American English
3324 Arcanum 17 André Breton 1944 French French
3468 Kudos Rachel Cusk 2018 British English
3566 Sultana's Dream Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain 1905 Bangladeshi Bengali
3853 Of Woman Born Adrienne Rich 1976 American English
3949 Top Girls Caryl Churchill 1982 British English
4202 Ain't I A Woman? bell hooks 1981 American English
4420 Memoirs Of The Author Of A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman William Godwin 1798 British English
5089 Poetic Justice Amanda Cross 1970 American English
5235 Holder of the World Bharati Mukherjee 1993 Indian English
5404 I Love Dick Chris Kraus 1997 American English
5929 King Kong Theory Virginie Despentes 2006 French French
5995 The Dialectic Of Sex Shulamith Firestone 1970 American English
6491 A Voice From The South Anna Julia Cooper 1892 American English
6792 Men Explain Things To Me Rebecca Solnit 2014 American English
6919 S.C.U.M. Manifesto Valerie Solanas 1967 American English
7080 The Blazing World Siri Hustvedt 2014 American English
7949 Woman On The Edge Of Time Marge Piercy 1976 American English
7949 My Story Kamala Das 1976 Indian English
8105 Daughter Of Earth Agnes Smedley 1929 American English
8142 Down Girl Kate Manne 2017 American English
8491 Margaret The First Danielle Dutton 2016 American English
8542 Whipping Girl Julia Serano 2007 American English
8751 Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys Viv Albertine 2014 British English
8756 Mrs. Humphry Ward John Sutherland 1990 British English
9149 La Brecha Mercedes Valdivieso 1961 Chilean Spanish
9178 Red Clocks Leni Zumas 2018 American English
9282 Even Cowgirls Get The Blues Tom Robbins 1976 American English
9525 Feminists Theorize The Political Judith Butler, Joan Wallach Scott 1992 Multiple English
9579 Edith Wharton R. W. B. Lewis 1975 American English
9960 The Wife Meg Wolitzer 2003 American English
10303 The Odd Woman Gail Godwin 1974 American English
10437 Two Women In One Nawal El Saadawi 1975 Egyptian Arabic
10448 The Cost of Living Deborah Levy 2018 British English
10826 Praxis Fay Weldon 1978 British English
10826 A Weave Of Women E. M. Broner 1978 American English
10967 Pornography Andrea Dworkin 1981 American English
10975 Man Made Language Dale Spender 1980 Australian English
10975 Portrait Of An Artist Laurie Lisle 1980 American English
11029 This Sex Which Is Not One Luce Irigary 1977 French French
11250 Look Me In The Eye Barbara Macdonald, Cynthia Rich 1983 American English
11250 Loving In The War Years Cherríe Moraga 1983 American English
11339 Yours In Struggle Barbara Smith, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Elly Bulkin 1984 American English
11564 Trick Mirror Jia Tolentino 2019 American English
11579 Getting Home Alive Aurora Levins Morales, Rosario Morales 1986 American English
11579 Plaintext Nancy Mairs 1986 American English
11660 Red Comet Heather L. Clark 2020 American English
11660 A Short History Of Women Kate Walbert 2009 American English
11660 In Her Own Right Elisabeth Griffith 1984 American English
11899 Nora Brenda Maddox 1988 British English
11899 Writing A Woman's Life Carolyn G. Heilbrun 1988 American English
11939 Louise Bogan Elizabeth Frank 1985 American English
11939 Margaret Fuller Megan Marshall 2013 American English
11939 Sontag Benjamin Moser 2019 American English
12083 Dancing At The Edge Of The World Ursula K. Le Guin 1989 American English
12083 Talking Back bell hooks 1989 American English
12258 Dreams Of An Insomniac Irena Klepfisz 1990 American English
12258 Exile In The Promised Land Marcia Freedman 1990 American English
12311 Yes Please Amy Poehler 2014 American English
12324 Simone De Beauvoir Deirdre Bair 1990 American English
12324 Secrets Of The Flesh Judith Thurman 1999 American English
12513 Grandmothers Of The Light Paula Gunn Allen 1991 American English
12513 The Montreal Massacre Louise Malette, Marie Chalouh 1991 Canadian French
12513 Rebellion Minnie Bruce Pratt 1991 American English
12832 The Straight Mind Monique Wittig 1992 French French
13266 Deals With The Devil And Other Reasons To Riot Pearl Cleage 1993 American English
13266 Working Class Women In The Academy Michelle M. Tokarczyk, Elizabeth A. Fay 1993 American English
14076 The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For Alison Bechdel 2008 American English
14399 Bye Bye Blondie Virginie Despentes 2004 French French
14730 How To Save Your Own Life Erica Jong 1977 American English
14983 Poor Things Alasdair Gray 1992 Scottish English
14983 Crazy Salad Nora Ephron 1975 American English
14983 Vida Marge Piercy 1979 American English
14983 The Heidi Chronicles Wendy Wasserstein 1989 American English
14983 Uncommon Women And Others Wendy Wasserstein 1977 American English
14983 How To Be A Woman Caitlin Moran 2011 British English
14983 Bossypants Tina Fey 2011 American English
15897 Diving Into The Wreck Adrienne Rich 1973 American English
16586 Salka Valka Halldor Laxness 1931 Icelandic Icelandic
17117 Mistress to an Age J. Christopher Herold 1958 American English
17117 The Carhullan Army Sarah Hall 2007 British English
17117 Women & Power Mary Beard 2017 British English
17117 The Suffragette Scandal Courtney Milan 2014 American English
17117 Black Macho And The Myth Of The Black Superwoman Michele Wallace 1979 American English
17117 The Heart Of A Woman Maya Angelou 1981 American English
17117 All The Women Are White, All The Blacks Are Men, But Some Of Us Are Brave Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, Barbara Smith 1982 American English
17117 Home Girls Barbara Smith 1983 American English
17117 When And Where I Enter Paula Giddings 1984 American English
17117 Invisibility Blues Michele Wallace 1990 American English
17117 Things I Should Have Told My Daughter Pearl Cleage 2014 American English
17117 Milk And Honey & The Sun And Her Flowers By Rupi Kaur 2 Books Collection Set Rupi Kaur 2014 Canadian English
17117 A Doll's House, Part 2 Lucas Hnath 2017 American English
17117 Heroines Kate Zambreno 2012 American English
17117 Revolting Prostitutes Molly Smith, Juno Mac 2018 British English
17117 My Body Emily Ratajkowski 2021 American English
17117 The Cancer Journals Audre Lorde 1980 American English
17117 Braided Lives Marge Piercy 1982 American English
17117 The Once And Future Witches Alix E. Harrow 2020 American English