34 Books for Strong, Independent Women to Read in 2024

Hello everyone, I recommend the 34 best books about women's strong self-independence, I hope you like them.

Independence, courage to pursue, freedom, self-respect, self-love, the constant pursuit of knowledge... These qualities are extremely important in the lives of contemporary women. It is these qualities, not the voices around them, that make a woman who is confident and good.

Of course, these positive expressions are not born at the moment, nor can they be achieved overnight.

Let us follow the independent women to explore how women's lives become as three-dimensional and rich as they are today, and to find new possibilities for their own lives.

There are some women who like books. Buying books, reading books, writing books, and books are their durable fashion and cosmetics. 

Ordinary clothes, with plain faces facing the sky, walking among the women who are full of flowers and heavy make-up, is particularly eye-catching. It is the temperament, the self-cultivation, and the overflowing book taste that make them look different. 

"There is poetry and calligraphy in the belly", this famous saying is perfect for them.

Here we recommend 34 best books on women's independence and realizing economic freedom, the following list is dedicated to all women who want to achieve independence.

These works can't make you jump into those glamorous and false "independent women" in TV dramas, but they can open a door to independence for you.

34 Books About Strong Independent Women

"We're not just someone else's other half, we're ourselves." —Woke Women

The real rise of women's status is not far away from us. Their living status, living space, and even personal growth are all limited in an invisible space.

"The Second Sex" proposes that the only way for women to achieve liberation is to become independent women. I hope that every woman can be beautiful and confident in the shackles of sexism and become a shining independent woman.

There have always been many independent women in the literary world. Most of them have independent personalities and clear goals in life. They plan their lives clearly and keep learning to improve themselves; Even risking themselves for it. 

If you don't know what an independent woman is like, you might as well read the following books, I believe they will give you a little inspiration.

Throughout the ages, distinctive women have left a strong mark in the long river of history with their spirituality and temperament. This also corresponds to the last line of Goethe's "Faust": " Eternal woman, lead us up. "

Everyone's life is different, and we all desire to live in the way we like. The women in the 34 books recommended by the editor today are bold and confident, free and independent, strong and gentle. 

With hard work, they lived the life they wanted. May you in front of the screen, like them, always grow freely towards the sun!

1. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchel

Nothing in the world can do anything to us, but we destroy ourselves if we keep trying to recover what we have lost and if we keep thinking about the past.

This book is the only work that Margaret Mitchell published in her lifetime. Once it came out, it caused a strong sensation. 

This is a history of the growth of an independent woman, the spread of war, the rise and fall of the family, and the fall of love. 

The protagonist Scarlett Scarlett has become the image of a new woman created by the times.

The reason why classics are classics is that they will never become outdated in any era.

No matter how sad and helpless life gives us, don't forget——Tomorrow is another day.​

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre's parents died when she was a child, and she took refuge in her cruel aunt, but the aunt abandoned her mercilessly. She was a pupil for six years and a teacher for two years at a charity school. 

At the age of eighteen, Jane Eyre was employed as a tutor at Thornfield House and met Rochester, the master. Both of them were attracted by each other's unique temperament and rich emotions, so they fell in love deeply regardless of the huge gap in status and status. 

Just as they were having their wedding, it was revealed that Rochester's ex-wife was still alive. Jane Eyre knew that they could not have an equal marriage, so she chose to leave. 

Later, Jane Eyre accidentally inherited a fortune from her uncle, and Rochester also knew his mistake, and the two rebuilt the old relationship.

The most famous sentence in Jane Eyre in the book is: "Do you think I am poor? If I am not beautiful, I have no feelings. 

If God gives me beauty and wealth, I will make it difficult for you to leave me! Just like I am now It's as hard as leaving you!" 

The book "Jane Eyre" teaches us that contemporary women should be self-reliant and stand on their own instead of clinging to branches.

3. Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed by Meghan Daum

Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids by Meghan Daum. 

Sixteen writers who didn't choose to have children candidly share their thoughts on this most important life decision.

Thirteen female and three male writers discussed with us topics such as "loneliness", "self-realization", "fertility instinct" and "childhood trauma", which are closely related to the proposition of fertility.

Choosing not to have children does not mean that you hate children, are more selfish than others, or have experienced more childhood trauma than others, nor do you mean that you cannot fulfill your due social responsibilities. 

This momentous choice is the result of a confluence of personal experience, family values, and social influences.

There's not only one way to be a decent adult in this world.

4. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

"The Second Sex" is a great work by the author Simone de Beauvoir who has achieved worldwide success. The "Bible". It is a must-read book for Western women.

If she is absorbed in her studies, sports, vocational training, or some sociopolitical activity, she will not be thinking about men all the time, and she will be much less concerned about her own feelings or sexual conflicts. 

However, she will still face more difficulties than the young man in realizing herself as an independent individual. 

As I indicated, neither family nor social custom favored her efforts in this direction. Moreover, even if she chooses to be independent, she will still make room for male love in her life. 

She may well have feared that, by dedicating herself entirely to a cause, she would miss out on her destiny as a woman. This feeling is often not acknowledged, but it is there. 

It diminishes and limits clearly established goals. In any case, working women want to be able to reconcile professional success with purely female achievement. 

Not only does this mean that she has to spend a lot of time grooming herself, but more seriously, it also means that her primary interests are inconsistent. While working step by step, the male scholar also enjoys the free gallop of thought and thus produces the best inspiration. 

But the direction of the woman's reverie is quite different: she will think about her personal appearance, about men, and about love; extra. It is not a question of mental retardation and inability to concentrate the mind, but rather of difficulty in reconciling two incompatible interests. 

This creates a vicious circle, and people are often amazed at how easily a woman can give up music, studies, and her career once she has found a husband. She had so little apparent reference to herself in her plans that it would do her little good to carry them out. 

Everything is conspiring to curb her personal ambitions, and enormous social pressure is still forcing her to seek social status and legal asylum through marriage. Of course, she doesn't want to rely on her own efforts to create her position in the world, or even if she wants to, she is timid.

5. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

The world is not straightforward. When you grow up, you assume things are going to work a certain way. 

You think there are rules to follow. That's how you think things must be. You want to live straight. But the world doesn't care about your rules or your beliefs. 

The world doesn't go straight, Vivienne. Never will be. Our rules are worthless. Sometimes the world just happens to you, that's what I think. People can only do their best to move forward.

A must-read for every girl, about self-acceptance, self-satisfaction, and self-pleasing.

Always be true to yourself. be yourself.

6. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The way life is, after a heartbreak, we have to endure grief after sorrow.

Every Afghan's story is filled with death, loss, and unimaginable sorrow. Whether it is "The Kite Runner" or "A Thousand Splendid Suns", Hosseini shows us the life of a real Afghan, maybe this book has similarities with the first book, redemption, and self-salvation, repressed society Or the cruel war, described by the author with delicate words, is like the hazy love in Leila's eyes. Ten years and a long aftertaste. 

The kiss between Tariq and Laila during the war constitutes the most beautiful picture in the book. 

Life is full of suffering, but we still have to live hard; human civilization has not spread to everyone; but faith largely supports it suffering people.

7. Know My Name by Chanel Miller

"Little girls don't stay little girls forever, they turn into strong women and come back to destroy your world".

The author is a very brave woman. She has the courage to tell, speak out, and fight. Society needs more and more brave women like this.

Victims are weak, but it takes so much time and effort to defend their rights and dignity.

What about a strong swimmer? Everyone has only one life, and this should not be a reason for him to violate others and escape responsibility!

Don't say that the victim's life is ruined, they still have a future worth looking forward to, and their power can be very powerful!

8. Culottees by Pénélope Bagieu

This book focuses on the great women in ancient and modern China and abroad and revolves around their legendary lives. It can be called a complete illustrated book of legendary women:

Moomin mother, autistic scholar, the actress who invented wifi, transgender person, empress...

30 free women, 30 willful lives.

"These portraits of women blow prejudice away."

This is a fascinating comic book written by a good storyteller, only 6-8 pages per character, but distilled with many interesting flashpoints.

9. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Today, fifty years later, I understand that finding and losing, forgetting and remembering, leaving and returning never stop. Life is all about another chance. We are alive, until the last moment, and there will always be another chance.

We all experience growth, and the lives we experience each have their own unique meaning. We have experienced maturity in the long river of time, and we should live as ourselves, not as ourselves in the eyes of others. Like this autobiography by Janet Winterson.

"Life is not just a sword of time flying from the womb to the grave".

Everyone should live out their own appearance in the long river of time.

10. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Whoever you become, whatever you turn yourself into, that's who you are. It's always in your heart. Not at Cambridge, but in yourself. You are gold. Going back to BYU, or even to that mountain you came from, doesn't change who you are. That might change how others see you, and even how you see yourself - even gold can look dull in certain lights - but that's just an illusion. Gold has always been gold.

The biggest factor that defines who you are comes from within.

The author broke through the shadow of his original family and got out of such a family by receiving an education, which is a miracle in itself.

11. Lean In Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg 

The author of this book is one of the most successful women in the world, the right-hand man of Mark Zuckerberg, the highest-paid female executive in the United States, and is hailed as "the most influential woman in Silicon Valley" by the American media.

She is Facebook's Chief Operating Officer - Sheryl Sandberg.

This is not a book about sex or the science of success, but about growth, freedom, and bravery.

The simple and direct universal methodology in the book is more contemporary and practical than in The Second Sex.

12. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep under the sky and wake up drunk again. When you are sad, the sky will comfort you. But too much sorrow, not enough sky, not enough butterflies, not enough flowers. Most things of beauty are not enough. So we take what we can and enjoy it.

It is composed of dozens of short stories, each of which tells about a person, an event, a dream, a few clouds, a few trees, and a few feelings. 

The language is as clear as running water, dotted with scattered rhymes and novel metaphors, like a long poem The songs are short tunes, each forming a rhyme, and they are connected to each other, bringing together a clear world and various chaotic lives. 

The author uses calm expressions to describe the girl's reborn growth process. The work captures the psychological changes of a girl's growth. Dreams and reality are intertwined to show the ups and downs of growth. This green mango is ripening little by little, becoming plump and juicy.

13. Theater by William Somerset Maugham

Only by acknowledging the inevitability of loneliness can one enjoy the freedom of not conforming to the crowd. There is as much truth as there is loneliness.

Julia's life is very interesting, she can fight with the small boss of the theater and scold the old eunuch! 

You can also talk about Fengya with the old gentleman! She can act as a simple and lovely country girl in front of Michael's parents, and she can also be kind and humble in front of strangers! 

The most exciting part is the debate between Roger and Julia about the truth, which is true and which is false on and off the stage, and life is true and false. 

People are born to be false, falsehood is contradictory, and people are born to pursue extremes, and the ultimate is truth. Whether you want to let life go on or off, or seek the truth wholeheartedly, you can't get it.

14. Buffett's Letter to Shareholders by Warren Buffett / Lawrence A. Cunningham ed.

As we all know, Buffett personally writes a letter to Berkshire shareholders every year, which has been written for 52 years. Each letter to shareholders is full of tens of thousands of words. 

The letter reviews the company's performance, and investment strategy, and expresses opinions on many hot topics.

In 1996, Buffett authorized Professor Lawrence Cunningham to compile his letters, and published the super best-selling book "Buffett's Letter to Shareholders". 

Management Intelligence is divided into topics such as corporate governance, finance and investing, investment alternatives, common stocks, mergers and acquisitions, valuation and accounting, and taxation. 

Since then, Professor Cunningham has become Buffett's queen editor and has been authorized by Buffett to enter Berkshire to conduct in-depth research and interviews, and to write a companion book "Berkshire Beyond Buffett", which specifically discusses Berkshire's business operations. The way of management.

Compared with the previous three editions, the fourth edition of "Buffett's Letter to Shareholders: A Tutorial for Investors and Corporate Executives" retains the original structure and philosophy, and adds Buffett's latest annual report. 

These new additions have been compiled into corresponding chapters in the book, and they are organically integrated without affecting readers' overall impression of sound enterprises and investment philosophy during the reading process.

15. Entrepreneurial You by Dorie Clark

Activate side business, financial freedom

The author shares stories of himself and more than 50 million-dollar consultants, coaches, podcasters, bloggers, book authors, entrepreneurs, and trainers, and tells readers how to seize the right entrepreneurial opportunities and diversify their personal income.

It draws a blueprint for career freedom and financial freedom that breaks the traditional career concept for readers and introduces the methods and paths to help realize personal experience and professional skills and have a wonderful life with financial freedom. 

Help readers break the traditional view of career, expand their own influence, and obtain higher, more diversified, and sustainable income.

16. Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth by Steve Pavlina

Growing self-discipline, how to choose a direction

The first part of the book introduces the seven principles of personal growth, namely: authenticity, love, energy, unity, leadership, courage, and sobriety. 

The second part of the book, it introduces how to apply these seven principles to all aspects of life, including habits, career, money, health, relationships, and soul.

This book not only allows you to have a systematic theory of growth but also takes you to practically solve many major problems encountered in life.

17. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

There are no men in this woman's world, but it creates more room for us to think.

This book is a feminist work written by Gilman in 1915. The book depicts a utopia composed only of women. 

In this utopia, women reproduce through parthenogenesis. Her country has a stable society, no wars and disputes, and no ruling and being ruled.

Through the continuous interaction between the three men who mistakenly entered Utopia and her countrywoman, those social norms and ideologies that we are accustomed to and turn a blind eye to in the patriarchal society are gradually questioned, subverted, and finally completely disintegrated.

18. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

If a woman wants to write a novel, she must have money and a room of her own.

This book is a small book by the famous female writer Woolf, but it is a classic that cannot be ignored. 

She fully expresses the author's thoughts on women and her overall thinking on women, which can be regarded as the awakening and declaration of independence of modern women.

The author's writing style is delicate, funny, and full of wisdom. It is suitable for all friends who like to write, especially female readers. 

As the self-awareness of the new generation of women becomes stronger and their economy and life become more and more independent, this book will surely gain more "resonators".

19. Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams

We love breasts, but we don't take them seriously, we're just embarrassed.

Starting from a story of breastfeeding a child, Florence, a novice mother, accidentally discovered that breast milk contains many environmental toxins in addition to all kinds of beautiful ingredients. Why did these industrial chemicals that should not have appeared in my breasts and milk?

As a popular science reporter, Florence began to explore while astonished. She traveled to major cancer research centers in the United States, the Environmental Policy Institute, and the Breast Research Laboratory in New Zealand to communicate with many scientists and humanities scholars. 

Interpret breasts from the perspectives of anthropology, biology, medicine, and environmental history, and care about how modern life changes our breasts and our health.

20. The Women's Room by Marilyn French

We're not just someone else's other half, we're ourselves.

This book is a novel that reflects the living conditions of a whole generation of American women and makes every ordinary woman feel sympathetic, tearful, or passionate. 

Since its publication, the global sales volume has exceeded 20 million, and it has been published in 22 languages. It can be called "the novel version of "The Second Sex", and even indirectly promoted the second feminist movement.

Countless women believe that this book has written their inner world that has been suppressed all the time, and even changed their lives. 

21. The Hours by Michael Cunningham 

This is the story of three women who yearn for a more meaningful life despite living in different times and places. 

In addition to their respective fears and desires, they are also connected by the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" by the British female writer Virginia Woolf. 

Their stories are intertwined. In every time and space, women are oppressed, but more is the expression of resistance and freedom.

This work is not limited to the group of women, but is grander, talking about life, the essence of life, and how you love it after recognizing the essence of life. 

The book quotes Shakespeare's poem: "Don't be afraid of the scorching sun, and don't be afraid of the ravages of winter." 

So don't be afraid of everything in life, and accept everything, good or bad. If we are not afraid of life, we will not be afraid of everything, including death, because death is also a part of life.

22. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 

This novel is based on the author's early life experience. It tells the story of a 19-year-old sophomore girl, Esther Greenwood, who has experience as a guest editor of a well-known magazine, being rejected from a writing class, attempting suicide, receiving psychological treatment, and rehabilitating her life. 

Build self-confidence and look forward to returning to society and starting a series of processes in a new life.

The protagonist of the novel, Esther, narrates her painful experience with her unique calmness and objectivity: she does not want to be a "happy housewife" who cares for her husband and raises her children according to traditional standards and mainstream values. , but can not determine their own direction. 

Seeing no way out, Esther tried to end her own life. After being rescued, she received psychoanalysis treatment in a mental hospital, re-examined herself, and looked forward to starting a new life.

23. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 

In "Mrs. Dalloway", Woolf shows us Mrs. Dalloway's life in constant struggle and compromise through Mrs. Dalloway's life experience. 

As an important figure of feminism, Woolf shows through a series of examples in the novel that women must have economic independence if they want to be independent spiritually and materially. 

Only after being financially independent can one live in one's own thoughts and emotions and control one's precarious life.

24. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing 

"The Golden Notebook" portrays an independent, brave, and introspective female Anna, allowing us to feel the insanity of modern people from her life in different aspects such as politics, creation, friendship, love, and children. 

The messy and discrete factors in the novel are profoundly depicted. Even in the face of a degraded and collapsed situation, the work itself does not show signs of decadence. On the contrary, it urges people to think and fight.

This is a record of the growth of a free woman Anna, consisting of one story and five notebooks. 

The black note represents her life as a writer, the red note represents her political life, the yellow note represents her love life, the blue note represents her spiritual life, and the golden note is a philosophical expression, a summary of her life. 

Its colorfulness reflects the protagonist's lost and weightless soul in this chaotic world.

25. Rachel Cusk 3 Books Collection Set ( Outline, Transit & Kudos ) by Rachel Cusk

Three stories connected by dialogues, three long conversations with life.

"Rachel Cusk 3 Books Collection Set ( Outline, Transit & Kudos )" is a trilogy of novels completed by British female writer Rachel Cusk in four years, including three independent novellas "Boundary", "Transit" and "Honor". 

The protagonist is a divorced middle-aged female writer who tells three fragmented stories of her life in the first person. 

The novel connects all the storylines with dialogues, reveals every aspect of marriage, family, and emotions with extremely calm and restrained language, and conveys deep thinking about life.

As the author said in an interview when he was asked "whether to give voice to women through this trilogy": "I incorporate the depiction of women's experience and the source of their anger in the trilogy." 

The perspective and precise but not exaggerated language directly point to the dark side of common problems in people's lives - personal, family, desire, betrayal - not mentioned, and analyze women's coping methods and the reasons behind many moral dilemmas. psychology.

26. Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality by Jonathan Aitken

"A man of faith can defeat thousands of troops."

"From a Grantham grocer's daughter to a prime minister, from humble obscurity to arrogant self-confidence, from self-interested realism to a fearless teenage girl, to riding a steed in the sky at will." 

The unscrupulous Valkyrie warrior", from the beginning to the end, has been fighting for freedom and glory since the British Industrial Revolution.

The book "Mrs. Thatcher: Power and Personality" is a biography of the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, including her childhood growth, her early involvement in politics, her marriage, and childbirth, her entry into Downing Street, her resignation, etc. Vivid descriptions of age groups and historical periods.

Margaret Thatcher - Power and Personality is based on Jonathan's private diaries and also includes Jonathan's interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, and The interview materials are compiled from interviews with more than 90 people including Lord Carrington and other international politicians, as well as Mrs. Thatcher's personal secretary and good friends. 

Due to the author's special status and unique perspective, she was able to elaborate on a series of dramatic events such as Mrs. Thatcher's struggle to win the general election and become Prime Minister who was deposed in the third term (especially when she was still abroad). 

"Mrs. Thatcher: Power and Personality" digs deep into the complex character of Mrs. Thatcher behind these iconic events, and depicts a three-dimensional, full-bodied, real, and flesh-and-blood Mrs. Thatcher.

27. The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander

"No matter what is lost in the sea, we always find ourselves."

Time doesn't always heal our wounds. Everyone responds to grief in a different way. However, the best farewell is to live your own life again, go forward bravely, and show your true colors, and the world will always be as gorgeous as a rainbow.

Ashe's world falls apart with the departure of her twin brother Eddie. One day five years later, she met four divers next to a houseboat. 

Since then, she fell in love with deep diving, and the memory fragments in the water came one after another... 

I would like to dedicate this book to our years that were as icy as ripples. At this time or that year of youth, the brave and strong self.

28. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

"Women have minds and souls of their own. They are not only beautiful but also ambitious and talented."

A family of four sisters, with very different personalities, each has a beautiful wish for life: Meg is stable and dignified, and dreams of becoming a good wife and mother; Jo loves art and is independent and free; Beth is quiet and well-behaved, and loves to play the piano; Amy is sweet and cheerful, eager to enter the upper-class society. 

In "Little Women", these four girls stick to themselves, care for each other, freely shape their own unique thoughts and souls on the road of growth, and confidently run toward the future they want.

Their moving stories make this masterpiece of 19th-century American female writer Louisa May Alcott a female classic as famous as "Pride and Prejudice", and it was named one of the "88 Books That Shaped America". JK Rowling said: "I saw myself in a book for the first time, "Little Women" Joe.

29. A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

Prepare to be enchanted by the delightful and bestselling sensation that is "A Woman of Independent Means"!

Set at the turn of the century, when women had few choices in life, our protagonist Bess Steed Garner inherits a legacy of both wealth and unwavering determination, truly embodying the essence of a woman of independent means.

This a true example of a bygone era, where eloquence in writing was the norm.

As you delve into the pages of "A Woman of Independent Means," you will find that the main character is revealed only through her letters, making this book a true page-turner that you won't be able to put down.

Imagine yourself in a scenario where you discover a box of letters in the attic, shortly after the passing of a beloved relative.

You sit down and become completely engrossed with the tale that unfolds as you read each letter one by one.

I can wholeheartedly say that "A Woman of Independent Means" is a truly wonderful book that is definitely worth the read.

30. Independent Enough: A Book About Relationships by Larry Shushansky

Relationships can be a source of joy and satisfaction or pain and turmoil.

The common myth is that happiness in relationships comes from finding the right partner, passion and purpose, compromise, self-love, good communication, trust, and respect, which can sometimes lead to disappointment.

The author, Larry Shushansky, suggests that personal growth is the key to improving relationships.

In his book, Independent Enough, he outlines a four-step process for personal growth: Taking a Step Back, Practicing Self-Reflection, Making a Decision, and Re-engaging with a Relationship.

The included workbook provides suggestions for implementing these steps.

The book offers a discussion on fears in relationships and harmful traits and actions.

Despite a few typos and proofreading problems, the book will be useful for anyone interested in personal growth and improved relationships.

31. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

This is a review of the book "A Court of Wings and Ruins" by Sarah J. Maas.

It is the third book in the series and follows Feyre's return to the Spring Court where she acts as a spy ahead of the war with Hybern.

The book was unnecessarily long, with too many subplots and convoluted storytelling.

The characters lacked development and were often portrayed as immature, with too much focus on romantic subplots.

Feyre's character lost her vulnerabilities and became ruthless and arrogant.

The use of the word "mate" was cringy.

The book was not engaging and did not match the standards of the previous books in the series.

32. A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe 

The book tells the story of Emmy, a young woman growing up in a strict rural Lutheran community in 1958 Minnesota where marriage and a groom are predetermined, and women have limited choices.

Emmy rebels against her family's expectations and breaks away from her engagement to pursue forbidden love with a Catholic boy.

Along the way, she discovers that her family is involved in the KKK and becomes a reporter to expose the racism in her town.

The book offers a vivid portrayal of the time and place, with details such as home economics class and penny popcorn at the local theater.

Emmy's self-discovery and determination make her a compelling main character in a story that reveals the dark side of a seemingly happy era.

33. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs is a series of thirteen crime fiction novels by Jacqueline Winspear featuring her ace investigator, Maisie Dobbs.

The first book follows Maisie's humble beginnings as a maid in an aristocratic London household to her admission to the prestigious Girton College in Cambridge.

The outbreak of war changed everything, and Maisie trained as a nurse, serving at the Front, where she found and lost an important part of herself.

The story takes on elements of Pygmalion as Maisie becomes the project of Lady Rowan and Maurice Blanche.

The second case involves The Retreat, a farm of sorts, for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume a normal life.

The mystery component of the series is a bit weak, but Winspear's stories are well told and include history, adventure, mystery, romance, and excellent storytelling.

34. A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson

In 1923, sisters Eva and Lizzie head to Kashgar on a missionary mission with Eva commissioned to write a book.

In present-day London, Frieda meets a stranger who leads her on an unexpected journey after she inherits an apartment from a woman she has never heard of.

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar explores the collision of traditions from different parts of the world through the interwoven stories of Frieda and Eva.

Danger and challenges abound in both timelines, with Eva and Lizzie facing constant threats to their lives, while Frieda grapples with abandonment and dissatisfaction in her life.

The book is exciting and well-written, with alternating chapters between the two timelines.

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• The Confident Woman's Devotional
• I Remember Nothing
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• If You Have To Cry, Go Outside
• Yes Please
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• The Nightingale
• Where The Crawdads Sing
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