It’s been years since I took a deep dive into early gothic and speculative fiction, and never just focusing on women authors, so I thought this would be a nice refresher. Kroger and Anderson have written a *readable* and engaging piece of non-fiction that delves into all the kick-ass women who wrote science fiction, paranormal, horror, and speculative fiction from the 17th century on. Many of them wrote using male pseudonyms, but others started their own publishing houses just for women!
While I especially enjoyed the chapters on the early writers in the field, I also found many unfamiliar authors to explore who wrote for the pulps, or who wrote under male pseudonyms. This book had me scouring my bookshelves for English and Victorian ghost story and short story collections to see if I actually had some of the stories referenced. I now have a stack of ghost story books all set for a summer reading project and am thinking about putting together a reading challenge for my Litsy friends using the authors referenced in the book. Here are a few I plan to explore…
Authors to Revisit:
- Margaret Cavendish (Mad Madge)
- Ann Radcliffe
- Mary Shelley
- Mary Anne Radcliffe
- Elizabeth Gaskell
- Charlotte Riddell
Authors to Explore:
- Regina Maria Roche
- Margery Bowen
- L.T. Meade
- Charlotte Dacre
- Marjorie Lawrence
- Amelia Edwards (apparently the model for Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody character)
These are just a few of the authors featured in this handy book. Find it when it comes out. This one’s a winner, folks!
Publication Date: September 17, 2019
Published By: Quirk Books
Thanks to NetGalley for the review book
It's All About the Book 