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If you're anything like me, literary heroines are your addiction. Whether your favorites are erudite educators or guilty pleasures, it can’t be denied that great literary heroines have grit, tenacity, and the ability to shock and inspire. After all, heroines are a perfect lens into the world of books in all their joy and pleasure...so why not invite them to your next book club?
 

When I wrote The Heroine's Bookshelf, I envisioned a piece of furniture stacked with the life lessons authors like Jane Austen, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Zora Neale Hurston, and Colette had already given me. This book club idea takes that concept from an individual application to a group setting. So many book clubs find organization and focus around subject matter, genre, or author… why not choose literary heroines as the inspiration for your next reading group? 

The concept can be sliced many ways. Instead of focusing on Charlotte Brontë, why not focus on Lucy Snowe (Villette), Jane Eyre, and Shirley? A Regency heroine focus could draw on classic and modern treatments of books like Pride and Prejudice (after all, Lizzy Bennet and Bridget Jones are the perfect literary foils). A book club that centers on heroines in children’s literature (Anne Shirley, Laura Ingalls, Betsy-Tacy) sounds just as fun as one that focuses on literary sirens (Scarlett O’Hara and Dinah from The Red Tent?). Prefer some context for your heroic reading? Try alternating an author biography with a book about her most popular heroine. Finally, a non-fiction book club could explore the idea of heroines in biographies that deal with authors of the greats (Louisa May Alcott) or women who themselves are considered heroic (see recent biographies on Marie Curie and Henrietta Lacks). 

The idea seems simple, but deceptively so. In my experience, literary heroines are a powerful gateway drug. Once you start thinking about, say, the differences between Jo March and her creator, you may just find yourself wondering what’s up with Alcott’s other great heroines. Don’t be surprised to find yourself creating heroic parallels between the lives of beloved standbys and your own. After all, the only thing better than reading about a literary heroine is discovering one in yourself.