The Greatest Books of All Time on Women

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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
93 Little Women Louisa May Alcott 1868 American English
173 A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf 1929 British English
738 The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan 1989 American English
827 Fear of Flying Erica Jong 1973 American English
933 Lives of Girls and Women Alice Munro 1971 Canadian English
956 The Girls of Slender Means Muriel Spark 1963 British English
1121 Fantasia Assia Djebar 1985 French French
1202 The Country Girls Edna O'Brien 1960 Irish English
1513 The Women of Brewster Place Gloria Naylor 1982 American English
2108 The Shell Seekers Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 British English
2165 The Buddha in the Attic Julie Otsuka 2011 American English
2339 Personal History Katharine Graham 1997 American English
2628 Valley of the Dolls Jacqueline Susann 1966 American English
2659 The Women's Room Marilyn French 1977 American English
2693 Waiting to Exhale Terry McMillan 1992 American English
2704 My Brilliant Career Miles Franklin 1901 Australian English
3098 Second-class Citizen Buchi Emecheta 1974 Nigerian English
3115 Affinity Sarah Waters 1999 British English
3181 Women And Appletrees Moa Martinson 1933 Swedish Swedish
3214 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See 2005 Chinese English
3415 Hanna's Daughters Marianne Fredriksson 1994 Swedish Swedish
3534 The Obscene Madame D Hilda Hilst 1982 Brazilian Portuguese
3536 The Death of Woman Wang MMP Jonathan Spence 1978 American English
3543 The Good Women Of China Xinran 2002 Chinese Chinese
3637 Days In The Caucasus Banine 1945 French French
4158 China To Me Emily Hahn 1944 American English
4206 Here's to You, Jesusa! Elena Poniatowska 1969 Mexican Spanish
4308 The Odd Women George Gissing 1893 British English
4757 Claros Del Bosque María Zambrano 1977 Spanish Spanish
4800 The Confessions Of Lady Nijo Lady Nijo 1307 Japanese Japanese
4847 Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey Lillian Schiessel 1982 American English
4854 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith 1998 Scottish English
5039 Woman Natalie Angier 1999 American English
5367 Bread And Roses Sonja Davies 1984 New Zealand English
5361 The Hite Report Shere Hite 1976 American English
5652 The Unfortunate Experiment Sandra Coney 1988 New Zealand English
5705 Mondscheintarif Ildikò von Kürthy 1999 German German
5782 L'agnese Va A Morire Renata Viganò 1949 Italian Italian
5936 Las Poetas Visitan A Andrea Del Sarto Juana Bignozzi 1993 Argentinian Spanish
6226 Happening Annie Ernaux 2000 French French
6416 Florence Nightingale Cecil Woodham-Smith 1950 British English
6502 Vermeer Lawrence Gowing 1952 British English
6517 A Frozen Woman Annie Ernaux 1981 French French
6586 Women Philippe Sollers 1983 French French
6674 Minor Characters Joyce Johnson 1983 American English
6737 My Misspent Youth Meghan Daum 2001 American English
6919 S.C.U.M. Manifesto Valerie Solanas 1967 American English
6937 Century Of Struggle Eleanor Flexner 1959 American English
6973 Our Bodies, Ourselves Boston Women’s Health Collective 1970 American English
7029 Il Resto Di Niente Enzo Striano 1986 Italian Italian
7056 A Passionate Apprentice Virginia Woolf 1990 British English
7192 O Quinze Rachel de Queiroz 1930 Brazilian Portuguese
7215 The Bloater Rosemary Tonks 1968 English English
7215 The Empty Book Josefina Vicens 1958 Mexican English
7605 Writing Marguerite Duras 1993 French French
7849 The Birth House Ami McKay 2006 Canadian English
7988 Sita Kate Millett 1976 American English
8007 A Woman Speaks Evelyn Hinz 1975 Unknown English
8021 Loved And Missed Susie Boyt 2023 British English
8028 The Vagina Monologues Eve Ensler 1996 American English
8030 Walk The Blue Fields Claire Keegan 2007 Irish English
8092 When God Was A Woman Merlin Stone 1976 American English
8106 The Dangerous Age Karin Michaelis 1910 Danish Danish
8106 Daughter Of The Hills Myra Page 1938 American English
8244 The Work Of A Common Woman Judy Grahn 1978 American English
8346 The Art Of Joy Goliarda Sapienza 1998 Italian Italian
8359 On Strike Against God Joanna Russ 1980 American English
8383 Outrageous Acts And Everyday Rebellions Gloria Steinem 1983 American English
8427 She Said Jodi Kantor 2019 American English
8460 Headshot Rita Bullwinkel 2024 Unknown English
8472 Textermination Christine Brooke-Rose 1992 British English
8597 The Girl In The Photograph Lygia Fagundes Telles 1973 Brazilian Portuguese
8626 Lovesick Ángeles Mastretta 1996 Mexican Spanish
8666 Liliana's Invincible Summer Cristina Rivera Garza 2023 Mexican Spanish
8750 The Creation Of Patriarchy Gerda Lerner 1986 American English
8823 The Sacred Hoop Paula Gunn Allen 1986 American English
8840 The Chalice And The Blade Riane Eisler 1987 American English
8846 Seeing Red Lina Meruane 2012 Chilean Spanish
8920 Bagagem Adélia Prado 1976 Brazilian Portuguese
8926 The End Of Men Hanna Rosin 2012 American English
8953 Family Lore Elizabeth Acevedo 2023 Unknown English
8970 Myths Of Gender Anne Fausto-Sterling 1987 American English
9063 Tigrela And Other Stories Lygia Fagundes Telles 1977 Brazilian Portuguese
9184 The Writer on Her Work Janet Sternburg 1980 American English
9191 What Do Women Want? Daniel Bergner 2013 American English
9191 Future Sex Emily Witt 2015 American English
9258 Moving Beyond Words Gloria Steinem 1993 American English
9284 Revolution From Within Gloria Steinem 1991 American English
9368 A Line Made By Walking Sara Baume 2017 Irish English
9563 Cunt Inga Muscio 1998 American English
9564 Reviving Ophelia Mary Pipher 1994 American English
9592 I Am An Emotional Creature Eve Ensler 2010 American English
9638 Unbearable Weight Susan Bordo 1993 American English
9639 Sisters Of The Yam bell hooks 1993 American English
9682 The Englishwoman's Diary Harriet Blodgett 1994 American English
9685 Leftover Women Leta Hong Fincher 2014 Unknown English
9751 Talking From 9 To 5 Deborah Tannen 1994 American English
9761 Show Them A Good Time Nicole Flattery 2019 Irish English
9847 A Midwife's Tale Laurel Thatcher Ulrich 1990 American English
9856 The Red Tent Anita Diamant 1997 American English
9888 A Woman In Berlin Marta Hillers 1954 German German
9947 The Great Women Superheroes Trina Robbins 1996 American English
10023 Wounds Of Passion bell hooks 1997 American English
10074 The Body Project Joan Jacobs Brumberg 1997 American English
10126 El Tiempo De Las Mujeres Ignacio Martínez de Pisón 2003 Spanish Spanish
10183 Tough Girls Sherrie A. Inness 1998 Unknown English
10195 The Right Swipe Alisha Rai 2019 American English
10272 Juliette Camille Jourdy 2016 French French
10279 Birth Of A Bridge Maylis de Kerangal 2010 French French
10380 Again, Rachel Marian Keyes 2022 Irish English
10388 Girl On Girl Sophie Gilbert 2025 Unknown English
10439 Women In The Resistance And In The Holocaust Vera Laska 1975 Czech English
10497 Survival Is A Promise Alexis Pauline Gumbs 2024 Unknown English
10510 Motherland Julia Ioffe 2025 American English
10535 Colonize This! Daisy Hernandez, Bushra Rehman 2002 Multiple English
10571 Women Of The Shadows Ann Cornelisen 1976 American English
10584 Claire McCardell Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson 2025 American English
10619 Girls To The Front Sara Marcus 2010 American English
10624 Lives Of The Wives Carmela Ciuraru 2023 Unknown English
10689 Consent Jill Ciment 2024 American English