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Recently, a good friend and I discussed books we read and re-read growing up and noticed a common theme: Our lasting favorites featured strong female protagonists who often kicked some serious behind. After the fun I had writing about literature’s desirable men and reading the heated debates in the comments, the time came to reminisce and cyber-bond over sassy leading ladies.
Warning: Some spoilers ahead.
1. Elizabeth Bennet (from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
I dismiss any accusations that it is clichéd and trite to name Elizabeth Bennet the greatest literary heroine, because none compare. Austen did not write romance novels and Elizabeth isn’t a girl seeking love. Austen created an assertive character whose confidence and wit transcend the pages of Pride and Prejudice to satirically jab at 18th-century British society and customs. Elizabeth is well-read, pensive, and fiercely independent. Always standing strong, she refuses her cousin’s marriage proposal—even though the pairing would guarantee her family’s security—and later, doesn’t kowtow to Lady Catherine’s insulting accusations. And, of course, despite Mr. Darcy’s social class and her previous rejections of his proposal, Elizabeth does the unexpected and gets her man.
Soon after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen wrote about Elizabeth Bennet:
“I must confess that I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.
I concur.
2. Helen Graham (from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë)
Often considered one of the first feminist novels, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenged the Victorian moral code through the character of Helen Graham. After falling for a handsome charmer who (after marriage) reveals his true character as an abusive scum-bucket, Helen decides to leave him, thereby saving herself and her young son. In a move unheard of during Brontë’s time, Helen so much as slams a door in her husband’s face, symbolically turning the tables on sexual politics. Despite Helen’s murky circumstances, Brontë portrays her positively, as a spirited and assertive heroine not intimidated by men and not afraid to ruffle a few Victorian petticoats.
3. Karana/Won-a-pei-lei (from Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell)
Raise your hand if you still cry when Rontu dies. The ladies over at Jezebel have an awesome summary of this classic piece of young adult literature. Based on a true story, Karana’s amazing tale begins when Aleuts wipe out her entire village by killing the men and taking away the women. After her brother is left behind, Karana chooses to stay, but soon another tragedy strikes when wild dogs kill him. Never once does Karana feel self-pity; she survives for eighteen years by herself on the island, figuring out how to make weapons, hunt for food, domesticate wild dogs, provide shelter, and protect herself from the island’s many natural dangers. And while being forced out of her comfort zone to do things her tribe traditionally deemed “men’s work” (and rocking at it!), Karana—still a girl at heart—sews herself some haute couture outfits out of feathers and seal pelts that I still envy.
4. Josephine “Jo” March (from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
Due to the many comments regarding Teddy’s ostensible absence from my list of leading men, a quick explanation: I was tempted to deem Teddy swoon-worthy, but let us not forget that he marries whiny, burner-of-Jo’s-manuscript Amy, an unforgivable act. Now, back to the eternal tomboy, Jo. Based on Alcott herself, Jo March is another ass-kicking, independent female lead who displays a caring heart on numerous occasions. Incredibly loving, she cuts and sells her hair (her “one beauty” according to Amy, natch) to purchase a train ticket for Marmie. Jo’s bold character shines despite the many dire circumstances that fall upon her family. Although this independent streak leads to the refusal of Teddy—much to my chagrin (each time I read/watch that scene, I always hope she’ll say yes)—it allows for single Jo to move to New York, become a writer, get swept away by a German professor, and eventually open a school for boys.
5. Jane Eyre (from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)
Considered plain and unimportant from the get-go, Jane Eyre rises up as another feminist literary icon. Orphaned Jane never lets her societal position or gender determine her fate. Those Brontë sisters were on to something! Jane’s shyness and lack of resources don’t hinder her from getting a sweet gig as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where her other awesome character traits (talented, caring, hard-working, honest to a fault) are revealed as she works for the deliciously dark Mr. Rochester. But as long as crazy Bertha lives, moral Jane cannot marry Rochester. Even though she gets a proper offer to be a missionary’s wife, the role of a subordinate doesn’t fly with Jane, and she follows her heart back to Thornfield.
Through Jane, Brontë questioned Victorian stereotypes about women, saying:
“Women…suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation…and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags.”
6. Scout Finch (from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Yes, even six-year-olds can be role models. Spunky and wise beyond her years, Scout Finch, the unpretentious narrator of Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, exhibits quiet strength and dignity and captures the innocence of youth. Scout beats up boys, sports overalls instead of dresses and swears “for the fun of it.” She speaks her mind, but wants to learn from her father and the strong females who surround her. When her lawyer father defends a black man accused of raping a white woman, he receives so much flak that Scout wants to fight for his honor. Scout’s bruises and missing teeth cannot hide her kind heart. She makes it okay to question authority and to always stand up for your beliefs, no matter what.
7. Hester Prynne (from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Public humiliation and forced isolation don’t sound like much fun to me, but Hester Prynne proves that suffering can make you stronger. From the beginning, Hester’s strength of character is evident. Forced to wear the infamous “A” because of a scandalous pregnancy, she is a survivor, always compassionate and honest, all the while defying convention and the harsh puritanical society that condemns her. Determined to stand alone, Hester never rats out the father of her child, and chooses banishment instead. Single motherhood? Check. Pissed-off Puritans? Check. Defiant to the core? Check.
8. Anne Shirley (from the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery)
“Which would you rather be if you had the choice—divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?” Perhaps by default, our spunky, redheaded heroine, Anne-with-an-”e”, chooses to be dazzlingly clever, indulging her wild imagination at every chance, which leads to her adventures and scrapes alike. She pursues education obsessively, excels (eventually) at her literary ambitions, and loves her friends and adoptive family deeply. Not without her faults, the always eloquent Anne opines, “It’s so easy to be wicked without knowing it.” She has to be reminded to “make time for romance” amongst her studies. And then of course there’s Gil, whom Anne turns down at first due to her idealized notions of love, but eventually she realizes her mistake, making for a happy ending (and more books chronicling their life together). “It’s delightful when your imaginations come true,” says Anne, speaking for all the bookish girls who grew up wanting to write and—let’s be honest—have Gilbert Blythe for our very own.
I know I admire more literary heroines than these, but once again, I showed great restraint in limiting myself. Keep the discussion going and promote strong female role models in literature!
Comments (57)
Comment
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Thursday Next, of the Eyre Affair et al.
Kick a**, take charge, save the world at the last minute, fight megaglobaluberconglomerate to bring your husband back from the deleted, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and her own great great granny (well not really).
She rocks.
posted by Hannah on 2-20-2009 at 12:40 pm
Thursday Next, of the Eyre Affair et al.
Kick a**, take charge, save the world at the last minute, fight megaglobaluberconglomerate to bring your husband back from the deleted, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and her own great great granny (well not really).
She rocks.
posted by Hannah on 2-20-2009 at 12:40 pm
Contemporary lit wise, Blue van Meer from Special Topics in Calamity Physics is my heroine. If I could only read one book over and over again for the rest of my life, it would be this one.
posted by KC on 2-20-2009 at 12:45 pm
I don’t mean to be superficial, but please change the picture you have for Elizabeth Bennett! The FAR superior screen-Elizabeth is Jennifer Ehle from the A&E version. That new version is a travesty and shoudl not be known by the book’s title nor carry Jane Austen’s name!
posted by Keeker on 2-20-2009 at 12:46 pm
since you included Anne of Green Gables- I’ll go ahead and promote Laura Ingalls Wilder from her books. She had a goody-two-shoes for an older sister and a (whiny? delicate?) one for a little sister but she was cool cool cool. I loved those books as a kid; can probably still quote parts of them.
posted by ann on 2-20-2009 at 12:54 pm
I can’t help but get a little girly and a lot giddy — unfortunately, in a post about strong women — because the handsome and talented Toby Stephens is not only the lone man to grace the pictures, but appears in TWO. What a lovely day for me.
posted by Cecilia Wolcott on 2-20-2009 at 1:07 pm
Ahem…….
Scarlett O’Hara!!!!!
She was the very definition of a strong female protagonist. How can any list of great female leads be complete with out including her?
posted by cassie on 2-20-2009 at 1:16 pm
One name: Tamora Pierce – the author of 26 books with kick-ass female protagonists.
Also, Katherine from “The Privilege of the Sword”
posted by z3ncat on 2-20-2009 at 1:24 pm
Great list!! I’ve read all but one of the books in this list (and multiple times in most cases), and every one of those characters is awesome.
posted by kristine on 2-20-2009 at 1:33 pm
As a fan/student of Victorian sensation fiction I could list a number of heroines who stand up for themselves. In particular, Marion Halcombe, from “The Woman in White,” and Magdalen Vanstone, from “No Name,” both by Wilkie Collins.
Many of his other “heroines” accomplish independence through violent and criminal means, so I won’t mention them here.
Also, one of my first, favourite heroines, Lady Margeurite Blakeney from “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Baroness Orczy. She’s an actress, spy, and ultimately saves her husband from the guillotine.
Plus, I second @ann re: Laura Ingalls Wilder!
posted by Kikadee on 2-20-2009 at 2:09 pm
Perhaps I’m not the target demographic, but I found Jane Eyre to be a fool.
I mean consider this: she fell in love with a man who lied to her about being unwed. Furthermore, his insane spouse was imprisoned in the attic rather than being institutionalized or at least being given more humane treatment.
She accidentally reveals her feelings for the man she loves because he is deceiving her by being in disguise.
Oh, and after he is blinded, she does everything but wipe his butt until his vision is miraculously restored (one of the silliest endings to a book ever).
posted by erak on 2-20-2009 at 2:29 pm
I have to agree with Keeker above as far as the more recent movie version of P and P. Not fond of the newer one one.
But I am fond of this list! Elizabeth Bennet may get scoffed at as an addition to it, but whoever says that probably doesn’t see the whole of her superiority. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird well after I’d had the Scout of a child in me disciplined out of visible daily life. I liked Hester as best I could, though I thought not dishing on the father of her child was not something I would have done. And Anne will always have my heart because of her honesty.
Great List!
posted by Laura. on 2-20-2009 at 2:32 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you for including Anne-with-an-E! I spent many hours/days/years with the entire set of Anne of Green Gables books, and still to this day will turn to them when feeling blue. (I also cry every time Matthew dies; SUCH a lovely man.) I definitely second Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Elizabeth Bennet is someone on which I encourage the young girls that I come into contact with to model themselves on. What a fantastic list for the end of the week! Well done :)
posted by Megan on 2-20-2009 at 2:44 pm
In Little Women the guy’s name is Laurie isn’t it? Not Teddy?
posted by Stephanie on 2-20-2009 at 2:52 pm
I’m on a decade-long mission to try and get more people to read “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” It’s a fantastic piece, with a surprisingly strong female hero. Props for including it!
posted by Natalie on 2-20-2009 at 2:53 pm
Kikadee, you’re brilliant. I’d forgotten all about Marguerite Blakeney. The thing I like best about her is that she is just as silly, vain and proud as we can all be until she realizes who her husband is and what he stands for. Then she turns on a dime to do whatever she needs to to save him. Redeemed from her own pride — always a good message.
And while we can debate capital-L Literature vs. little-l literature all day, where’s HERMIONE GRANGER?!?!?!
posted by terri on 2-20-2009 at 2:55 pm
Always, always will I adore Anne Shirley. The worn pages of each book about her have been devoured & savored each & every time they have been read. She was the absolute epitome of everything I wanted to be. Actually, she remains as such. When I was very young, I wished she was real; I wanted to be her kindred spirit. She was the ultimate role model… at least for me.
hahaha, perfect recaptcha:
“The Stories”
posted by kathryn on 2-20-2009 at 3:10 pm
I would like to nominate Ramona Quimby! She was great – unconventional, creative, and herself.
posted by Lelah on 2-20-2009 at 3:33 pm
Elizabeth Bennett and Thursday Next are indeed the two strongest women in literature. But may I add to the list Fanny Price of Mansfield Park? She, too, knows what’s right and wrong—and what to do about it. She follows her instinct and her heart, not what everyone around her tells her to do.
posted by Sandi on 2-20-2009 at 3:38 pm
May I add Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Susan Sto-Helit, Angua von Überwald and Lady Sybil Vimes.
And they live on disc that sits on the back of 4 elephants that ride on the back of a giant space turtle. How cool is THAT?
posted by Hannah on 2-20-2009 at 3:45 pm
I can’t believe that Meg Murray didn’t make this list!
For all of us gawky, thin-skinned, brave, big-hearted, ugly and bespectacled girls out there, the heroine of Madeleine L’Engle A Wrinkle in Time (and its sequels) made smart cool and adolescent awkwardness survivable.
posted by Christine on 2-20-2009 at 3:54 pm
Let’s add Lady Jessica from Dune…and the original crafty gal…Becky Thatcher from Vanity Fair
posted by Susan on 2-20-2009 at 3:57 pm
Also Bridge to Terebithia’s fearlessly compassionate Leslie Burke.
posted by Christine on 2-20-2009 at 4:03 pm
Yay!! Thanks for this post! It’s awesome!
posted by Ash on 2-20-2009 at 4:14 pm
I must concur with Keeker. The miniseries are far more superior than the movie was especially it stuck with the book a lot more than the movie did. And Colin Firth WAS Mr. Darcy.
posted by Reddkatz on 2-20-2009 at 4:22 pm
Scarlett O’Hara was hateful and selfish to the point of psychopathy– not very heroic.
posted by Zach on 2-20-2009 at 4:41 pm
I am sorry, but Scarlett needs to be on this list. I know she was a fool about love; however, she defied the “Old Guard” and rose above the expected role of a women at the time – to be an ornament, really – and ran a store, a lumber mill, did her own accounting and brought Tara back to functionality. And not to forget helping Melly deliver Beau and, after Rhett left her during the fall of Atlanta, brought herself and two other women, a child and a newborn, through Yankee lines to get home. Only to have to take care of and feed her remaining family. (Yeah, I’ve only read this book about thirty thousand times…what can I say…)
posted by Zelda on 2-20-2009 at 5:03 pm
I’m really curious to see how Ms. Elizabeth Bennet holds up against the zombie infestation:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594743347?ie=UTF8&tag=neatorama-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594743347
or versus the Predator:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/17/pride-and-predator-to-give-jane-austen-extreme-makeover
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 2-20-2009 at 5:04 pm
Someone left the italics on!
Fixed…?
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 2-20-2009 at 5:05 pm
I agree with Zelda. Scarlett saved the plantation and her family even when she thought most of them were fools. Was she selfish? Sure. That is what makes her an interesting character…she is a hero with flaws.
posted by Susan on 2-20-2009 at 5:14 pm
Thursday Next, totally! She rocks my world.
But also, of course, Princess Cimorene and Morwen, both from Dealing With Dragons. A princess who volunteers to be a dragon’s princess so as to avoid having to marry a prince? Check. A witch who refuses to limit herself by conforming to stereotypes? Check again. I love those books so much.
posted by erm on 2-20-2009 at 5:53 pm
I completely agree with this list, and with Christine for nominating Meg Murray – I adored those books because I identified with her complete awkwardness.
I do NOT think Scarlett should ever be on a list like this. She kind of makes me nauseous – I don’t care that she’s flawed, but she is an utterly spoiled, selfish fool.
posted by Beks on 2-20-2009 at 6:24 pm
Ohhh, I agree with this list and loved those books!
posted by Lizzie on 2-20-2009 at 6:30 pm
Thursday Next is a great nomination.
I would like to nominate Esther Greenwood from The Bell Jar. She’s a feminist, bright, and strong enough to overcome her depression.
posted by Aquaris G. on 2-20-2009 at 6:45 pm
I agree with Blue van Meer and Thursday Next, and would like to add Alanna to that list! Also Holly Short of Artemis Fowl if more kidlit is commendable.
On a more “serious” (hah!) note, one might suggest a list:
Francie of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Esperanza of Esperanza Rising
Dorothea Brooke of Middlemarch (mainly by counterexample)
Janie of Their Eyes Were Watching God
Clara of The House of the Spirits
Lolita (I bet you know what she’s from)
But the eight you have above are fantastic! Can I just say that Amy always got on my nerves?
posted by Allison on 2-20-2009 at 6:55 pm
Teddy AKA Laurie. His full name is Theodore Lawrence (sp?).
There is nothing wrong with Keira Knightly’s Elizabeth Bennett-they did a good job. Both versions are great.
posted by Brit on 2-20-2009 at 7:08 pm
In the Scout Finch vein: Mick Kelly of “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers. (Or really any of McCullers’ characters, though they don’t often get happy endings.)
And if I might invoke sweet William: Viola from “Twelfth Night.”
posted by loripop on 2-20-2009 at 7:20 pm
I say Bella Swan! Check out Breaking Dawn, because she’s the reason for the Cullens’ success.
posted by Jen Pen on 2-20-2009 at 10:23 pm
I must nomimate Thursday Next as well!!! I want to be her when I grow up!
posted by Lissa on 2-20-2009 at 10:42 pm
Yes, Pratchett and L’Engle have some of the best female characters in “modern” literature. But let us go farther back – how about Viola?
posted by RJ on 2-20-2009 at 11:34 pm
Ohhh, I second Francie from “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” And not even her – Sissy, Katie, almost ALL of the women in those books (the Rommely women) are absolutely fantastic. Even thinking about them makes my eyes well up a bit.
How about Cassandra Mortmain from “I Capture the Castle”? Sure, she’s a complete romantic, but I love that she wants so much to do the right thing, and her observations of her family and life. I actually read that book at 22 – well past the younger age I think most women first read it – and I still fell totally in love with it.
I actually bought two female writer friends “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” and “I Capture the Castle” for Christmas.
posted by Katie on 2-20-2009 at 11:55 pm
i loved this list- and i have to agree, that laura ingalls wilder belongs on it…mainly because most of those books, while based on the real laura’s life, are mostly fiction. (and boy was i heartbroken to find that out.)
posted by em on 2-21-2009 at 2:07 am
What about Charlotte Doyle from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi? The whole book is about her coming of age and standing up to impossible situations.
posted by webkilroy314 on 2-21-2009 at 2:12 am
Viola, Rosalind, Beatrice, would recommend Katarina, too. Also Moll Flanders–have to hand it to her, she’s a tough cookie.
Sorry Jen Pen, I absolutely cannot agree with Bella Swan. All she does is subordinate herself for the love of a pretty boy.
Do like Meg of A Wrinkle in Time, and Vicky of Meet the Austins. Can I just say that I cried a bit when L’Engle died last year?
Also (and I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned it) Alice of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, et al. She’s brave, curious, not afraid to cry, and willing to speak her mind. I think, on top of that, she’s a darling heroine. Plus, I’ve always secretly loved those books. :D
posted by Allison on 2-21-2009 at 7:41 am
I agree that Laura Ingalls Wilder should be included in this list!
Also, Jane Drew from Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series should be included, especially considering her role in Greenwich.
No Scarlett!
posted by DB on 2-21-2009 at 12:07 pm
I think Cornelia from King Lear should be on this list.
As should FRANNY from Franny and Zooey!!
Perhaps Offred from The Handmaid’s Tale?
And definitely Clarisse from Fahrenheit 451.
posted by priya on 2-21-2009 at 9:04 pm
Celie from The Color Purple…
Or Sofia…
Or Shug Avery…
Scarlett was FORCED to be self-sufficient…it was not an inherent instinct for her…her inherent course of action was often self-pity.
Scarlett also drove home that “a man would make this a whole lot easier” sentiment.
Celie “wore the pants” in her story…
posted by 10-A on 2-22-2009 at 12:11 am
where is lyra from the golden compass series?
she runs away from her evil stepmother, goes north on a dangerous expedition to save her best friend, gets captured by slave traders, goes to an institution where they pretty much kill kids for science, leads a break out and then helps defeat an evil talking bear, then goes to a different world after seeing said best friend get killed by her own father. and thats only the first book
posted by Ben on 2-22-2009 at 1:06 am
keeker & everyone else who said this: yes, the “old” pride and prejudice was the best, and i believe jennifer ehle was certainly far more convincing than keira knightley (however awesome keira knightley is).
sandi: totally agree vis-a-vis fanny from mansfield park. fanny is definitely one of those quietly strong heroines that never ever compromises her beliefs.
posted by Elizabeth on 2-22-2009 at 5:41 pm
What a fantastic article, even though I’m days late reading it. Thanks!
Props to so many for recognizing Fanny. She doesn’t have the wit of Elizabeth, and her convictions are more old-fashioned than what is commonly lauded in modern heroines. But she knew what she was about, and stuck to her convictions. Sounds like a strong heroine to me!
I’m torn about Scarlett O’Hara on here. If you’re looking for “strong female protagonists kicking some serious behind”, you’ve got to put her on her. Yes, she’s sometimes breathtakingly, audaciously bad/selfish/cruel–but she pretty much single-handedly saves her family and circle of friends in the wake of the Civil War. She’s got a lot of bad qualities, but at the end of the day, she’s loyal and really, really tough. (The complexity of characters in that book is really amazing–everyone is deeply flawed, but has some (occasionally surprising) redeeming characteristics. Not unlike real people.)
And I’ll disagree with the negative assessments of the recent P&P. After a senior project studying all of the Austen novel adaptations, I’ve come to appreciate different adaptations for different reasons. Yes, the 1995 miniseries is pretty much untouchable, and Firth=Darcy forever. But for a two-hour version, I thought the Keira Knightley version was quite good, mostly faithful to the book, and very well cast.
posted by kate on 2-22-2009 at 10:03 pm
Pippi Longstocking! Just read an article by Tiina Meri on a Swedish site: “Swedish Rebel, and Feminist Role Model…Pippi Longstocking is in truth an unusual young girl. She is financially independent since she owns a sackful of gold pieces. She can shoot a revolver and sail on the seven seas. She is both cheeky and kind, she can carry a horse and she can outlift the strongest man in the world, Mighty Adolph.”
posted by Paula on 2-22-2009 at 10:32 pm
I have to add Gemma Doyle from Libba Bray’s Rebel Angel series. Smart, brave, loyal, and she defies the limitations set upon women in Victorian England. Awesome literary character, even if they are newer books! I mean, I figure if someone can put Bella Swan (who is cool in her own ways), then Ms. Doyle definitely deserves to be added, as well. :)
posted by JoanofArctangent on 2-24-2009 at 12:28 am
I like Princess Jasmine from Disney’s “Aladdin”. When men are fighting for her she says, “I am not a prize to be won” She follows her heart.
In real life, I admire Olivia Harrison, George Harrison’s widow. She defended her husband and kicked some ass, I mean, there was no gender roles in their relationship, and that’s what’s awesome.
Back to literature, I like Rachel and Cassie from the “Animorphs” series. They
re different, but they strong minded for 13 year olds.
I wish I could hear of more older female role models in life and literature, if seems the spontaneity dissolves.
posted by Elizabeth Lopez on 2-24-2009 at 6:57 pm
Oh yeah, How could I forget the Melba Patillo Beals from “Warriors don’t Cry” Her Grandmother, a matriarchal heroine!!
posted by Elizabeth on 3-10-2009 at 1:06 pm
I am shocked, appalled and saddened that Emma Bovary was not mentioned. And Scarlett O’Hara. These are the 2 ultimate literary heroines. They took charge during times when women never took charge.
posted by erin on 3-27-2009 at 5:31 pm
Great list, I agree with them all!
My all time favorite heroine has to be Amelia Peabody Emerson, from the series of books by Elizabeth Peters (the first is titled ‘The Crocodile on the Sandbank’). A Victorian woman who nevertheless speaks her mind and is happy to go toe-to-toe with her archaeologist husband. I adore her so much and reread those books constantly. A must for any mystery fan!
posted by SJ on 3-31-2009 at 7:01 pm
Since someone mentioned dragons, and touched on sci-fi (L’Engle), I’d like to add Lessa from Anne McCaffrey’s “Dragonriders of Pern” series. Single-handedly (well, with her dragon) saved her planet.
Not literature, but Anne Perry is also awesome, and the main characters of her first two series were strong women in Victorian London: Charlotte Pitt and Hester Latterly Monk.
posted by Betty on 4-16-2009 at 12:17 am