Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction

Meet the women writers who defied convention to craft some of literature’s strangest tales, from Frankenstein to The Haunting of Hill House and beyond.

Frankenstein was just the beginning: horror stories and other weird fiction wouldn’t exist without the women who created it. From Gothic ghost stories to psychological horror to science fiction, women have been primary architects of speculative literature of all sorts. And their own life stories are as intriguing as their fiction.

Everyone knows about Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein, who was rumored to keep her late husband’s heart in her desk drawer. But have you heard of Margaret “Mad Madge” Cavendish, who wrote a science-fiction epic 150 years earlier (and liked to wear topless gowns to the theater)? If you know the astounding work of Shirley Jackson, whose novel The Haunting of Hill House was reinvented as a Netflix series, then try the psychological hauntings of Violet Paget, who was openly involved in long-term romantic relationships with women in the Victorian era. You’ll meet celebrated icons (Ann Radcliffe, V. C. Andrews), forgotten wordsmiths (Eli Colter, Ruby Jean Jensen), and today’s vanguard (Helen Oyeyemi). Curated reading lists point you to their most spine-chilling tales.

Part biography, part reader’s guide, the engaging write-ups and detailed reading lists will introduce you to more than a hundred authors and over two hundred of their mysterious and spooky novels, novellas, and stories.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Sep 17, 2019

1 pages

Average rating: 7.79

14 RATINGS

|

These clubs recently read this book...

Community Reviews

grldchz
Jan 26, 2025
8/10 stars
Excellent content and presentation, but limited in scope, Brit/American authors only. Glossary, notes, and bibliography are exceptional. Seminal (giggle) reference work if these genres are your jams.
oh_let3
May 16, 2023
10/10 stars
well researched and informative

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.