I’m always drawn to stories of women who dare to step into the limelight. Whether it’s a queen, a goddess, a First Lady, an artist, or, as in my latest book, a rock star, I love watching a woman dazzle a crowd and command respect and attention. Here are some of my very favorite stories about larger-than-life women.
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
This biography of Cleopatra paints a complex and nuanced portrait of a woman history has reduced to a cliché. Her love stories with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony have proved legendary, but it is the building and subsequent loss of her empire that is the most fascinating.
Circe by Madeline Miller
What I love most about this novel about the goddess Circe’s life is how audaciously Madeline Miller takes back the narrative. No longer is Circe treated like an episode in Odysseus’s long voyage home. Instead, she is fully brought to life over a thousand years, rendering Odysseus a side character in Circe’s long and varied journey.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I’m hard-pressed to think of someone more preeminent and revered than former First Lady Michelle Obama. And yet, somehow, despite just how high of a position she has held in our society, her memoir pulls you right into her inner circle. It is candid, intimate, and riveting—the story of a brilliant woman succeeding with spectacular grace.
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
This is the story of a fictional First Lady named Alice Lindgren who is not not based on Laura Bush. As she somewhat reluctantly lives her life in the public eye on account of her husband’s political career, she wrestles with her own politics and humanity. A long-held favorite of mine.
The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
This novel is based on the true story of then-model Lee Miller’s romantic relationship with Surrealist photographer Man Ray. As Lee rejects the idea of being a model and steps behind the camera, it causes tension between her and Man. Lee Miller would go on to become a well-known photographer and war correspondent and she’s rendered fully dimensional here: messy, talented, and determined. My favorite combination.
