I didn’t realize that until I was almost done, and it occurred to me that he belongs here because he is so good at creating complex female characters. Note that Kerr is the only male novelist on this list. In bringing that long-ago France into clear focus she tells a story of two serious adults who fall in love. Cuevas (who wrote later novels as Judith Ivory) draws her characters and France in sharp relief. This is probably my favourite romance novel of all time, and it’s primarily because of Marie Du Gard, prickly, creative, unconventional, and determined to make her way as a film director in turn-of-the-century Paris. A bonus: She uses her many years of experience at university to skewer academics with delicious accuracy. It is set both in both polite Victorian England and modern-day academia, a setting Byatt knows very well. This is complex novel that includes the poetry of two of the characters (written by Byatt, of course). In her home and heart she is courageous and true to herself, sometimes in ways she comes to regret. Christabel is the ultimate trailblazer, but she is in camouflage, living a quiet life as a poet in Victorian London.

There are multiple strong women who make this masterpiece of Byatt’s take flight, but at the centre of it all is Christabel LaMotte. ‘Equally compelling are the lives of quiet women whose stories are seldom told.’ Here, Sara shares with us 5 inspiring books with trailblazing female characters. ‘I write about women who lived in male-dominated societies, who fought for education, acknowledgement, and self-determination, often against all odds,’ said Sara.

Sara’s sharp observation of this era backed by her extensive research reflects the critical issues we, especially women, face today. The novel navigates prevalent issues from illegal abortions, domestic abuse, sexual assault and racism. Her latest book, Where the Light Enters delves into the heart of 1884 New York as we follow Sophie and Anna Savard, two trailblazing female doctors as they work together to solve the mysteries behind missing wives and murdered women on the streets. A native of Chicago, she lives with her husband, daughter, and various pets between Bellingham Bay and the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Sara Donati, the pen name of Rosina Lippi, is the bestselling author of the Wilderness series.

Judy cuevas bliss