20 Novels to Nourish the Wild Woman

Today I’m going to share with you 20 novels that nourish the wild woman. But before I get started, I’d like to clarify what I mean by “Wild Woman”. What exactly does it mean to be a wild woman? Is it as glib as the phrase on a bumper sticker, like “Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues”, (which I can attest to is totally false.) Or maybe a woman’s wildness is measured by how much naked dancing she’s done, a la Isadora Duncan. Or maybe the Wild Woman to which I refer is that Wild Woman we all recognized in Clarissa Pinkola Estes early 90s book, Women Who Run With the Wolves. Ahhh, we’re getting close!

I propose that the wildness in a woman is the same vein of wild that is in every human being, only that in the case of a woman, she often has to fight a bit harder to let it fly. When she does, she risks being called out for it, and that’s putting it mildly. From witches to whores and everything in between, there are many names given to those who fail to maneuver through their culture upholding the standards for proper female behavior. The fear of pitfalls often manages to steer a woman into a rigid role causing her to repress or forget her true nature. And what exactly is that? you ask.

The wild woman is she who lets nothing stand in the way of the powerful force within her, the one that fuels her instincts and creativity, that heeds the voice of her intuition and who from birth continues to feel what I call “the silver chord”, much like an umbilical cord connecting her to the mystery of pre-birth and death and with all of humanity. The wild woman knows her soul, and if she doesn’t, persists in endeavoring to do so.

Whoa! That’s heavy stuff, right? No heavier than most of the topics and themes you’ll find in the novels that I’ve collected here for your consideration. I’ve chosen each of them specifically because they serve to nourish the journey of the wild woman as she strives to be aligned with her nature, free and sovereign. Though persecution isn’t the criteria for a good story, many of the characters in these books deal with it in varying degrees. The stories each have a heroine or a female protagonist struggling to understand herself or the world in which she’s cast. And in every novel I’ve chosen, I’m confident there is much to nourish the self-same journey in the reader.

So if you’re looking for a pithy bit of fiction to fire up your own wild soul, take a peek at my list. You’ll find a mix of classics with some of the latest releases this year too. I give just a brief description of each selection, as each entry in the list contains a link to the full details and summaries written up by the publishers.  Understand that though I do link to Amazon through the list, Amazon is completely impartial to my selection. I chose these books of my own accord and only link as an affiliate to Amazon in order to provide a means to help run my site.

1.A dystopian novel formulated as a futuristic Scarlet Letter.
When She Woke: A Novel

2. An early twentieth century classic that broke all the rules for society’s recognition of female sensuality and natural sexuality.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Bantam Classics)

3. Set against the historical era of the Gold Rush in the Americas, a woman’s search for her lover leads to a discovery of her self.
Daughter of Fortune: A Novel (P.S.)

4. In this just released West African-inspired fantasy, a young girl fights fearlessly to harness her power in a dangerously magical world.
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha)

5.A mother and daughter find strength in unexpected places. Set in 1974, this is a moving story of a family who tries to build a new home in the wilderness of Alaska.
The Great Alone: A Novel

6. Tracing five generations of women with a magical inheritance but whose magical powers have faded until the newest generation comes of age. Her hidden gift will not only challenge the mother-daughter relationship, but it could change the entire course of world history.
A Secret History of Witches

7. A teen with a wild imagination and a religion all her own must come to terms with tradition and orphanhood and breaking her first love’s heart for the sake of pursuing her own.
Swimming with Wings

8. Through the eyes of a poverty-stricken teen, an impending storm of historical proportions serves as the ballast for this big-hearted story of familial and community love despite adversity.
Salvage the Bones: A Novel

9.A twist on the tale of King Arthur and the Round Table retold through the women who wielded powers from beyond the throne.
The Mists of Avalon

10. A young girl who finds herself alone on a deserted island learns self-reliance as she struggles to survive and find peace with the wilderness.
Island of the Blue Dolphins

11.Jane Eyre defies the Victorian conventions of her day as an independent and strong-willed woman who bravely pushes the boundaries between social classes, exploring sexuality, love, and morality ahead of her era.
Jane Eyre (Bantam Classics)

12.The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring chronicles the lives of three remarkable women who during the Revolutionary War used daring, skill, and, yes, a bit of flirtation, to help liberate America.
355: A Novel: The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring (Women Spies) (Volume 1)

13. Currently airing as a TV series, Margaret Atwood’s story of the future wherein the Book of Genesis is taken absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the only remaining fertile women of the world.
The Handmaid’s Tale

14.Circe, the well known character in the Oddysey, is an intoxicating epic as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.
CIRCE (1 New York Times bestseller)

15.The classic story of a feisty young orphan who makes her way into the hearts of an elderly couple, their community and the world beyond through her sharp wit and intelligence.
Anne of Green Gables, Complete 8-Book Box Set: Anne of Green Gables; Anne of the Island; Anne of Avonlea; Anne of Windy Poplar; Anne’s House of Ingleside; Rainbow Valley; Rilla of Ingleside

16.Based on historical account of the Salem witch trials, a mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused.
The Heretic’s Daughter: A Novel

17.An unforgettable story about the power of books and one girl’s ability to use it.
The Book Thief

18.In early 20th-century Argentina, women aren’t allowed to play this music, so Leda cuts her hair, binds her breasts, becomes Dante, and lives an amazing life.
The Gods of Tango: A novel by Carolina De Robertis (2015-07-07)

19.A stunning and heartbreaking novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.
The Astonishing Color of After

20.Matilda may be small but she is giant in spirit, pushing through her trauma and fear to ask hard questions that reveal the complexity of life.
Matilda

I hope you find a title or two to fuel the spark of wild woman in you. Have you read a book that you think should be on the list? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment!