Six heroic women in literature

Candice Carty-Williams is a British writer, best known for her 2019 bestselling debut novel, Queenie.

Queenie has been described as "vital," "disarmingly honest," and "boldly political," and has been shortlisted for the Waterstones, Foyles and Goodreads Book of 2019, as well as selected as the Blackwell’s Debut of the Year.

At the Waterstones blog, Carty-Williams tagged "six characters who taught me all of the different but powerful faces that heroism can have," including:

Rachel Samstat in Heartburn by Nora Ephron

I myself have been described once or twice (or countless times) as neurotic, and that’s fine because so is Rachel Samstat, the autobiographical imagining of Ephron herself. One of my best friends forced me to read this on a train while she slept opposite me (probably so that I could stop disturbing her with my neurotic questions) and I laughed so much at the relatability of the main character that I disturbed her anyway. Sorry, Lettice, maybe you should get some more boring friends???

Read about the other entries on the list.

Heartburn is among Jeff Somers's ten books to read before getting divorced, Diana Secker Tesdell's top ten memorable meals in literature, and Anna Murphy's top ten lesser-known literary heroines.

--Marshal Zeringue