Female Authors Before JK Rowling

1.
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1) 4.32 avg rating — 1,079,915 ratings
2.
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird 4.26 avg rating — 6,689,140 ratings
3.
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights 3.90 avg rating — 1,959,268 ratings
4.
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text 3.89 avg rating — 1,772,304 ratings
5.
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden 4.16 avg rating — 1,263,100 ratings
6.
Black Beauty
Black Beauty really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 293,946 ratings
7.
The Giver (The Giver, #1)
The Giver (The Giver, #1) 4.12 avg rating — 2,733,175 ratings
8.
Rebecca
Rebecca 4.25 avg rating — 697,811 ratings
9.
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 2,323,268 ratings
10.
The Color Purple
The Color Purple 4.27 avg rating — 737,216 ratings
11.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (World of Beatrix Potter, #1)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (World of Beatrix Potter, #1) 4.22 avg rating — 255,381 ratings
12.
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl 4.20 avg rating — 4,073,270 ratings
13.
The Outsiders
The Outsiders 4.14 avg rating — 1,538,364 ratings
14.
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre 4.16 avg rating — 2,259,875 ratings
15.
Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
by: Anne Rice
4.02 avg rating — 633,855 ratings
16.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 4.03 avg rating — 126,459 ratings
17.
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories 4.07 avg rating — 338,257 ratings
18.
Little Women (Little Women, #1)
Little Women (Little Women, #1) 4.17 avg rating — 2,393,156 ratings
19.
Sappho
Sappho
by: Sappho
4.20 avg rating — 7,066 ratings
20.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock 3.66 avg rating — 29,098 ratings
21.
Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins, #1)
Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins, #1) 4.01 avg rating — 139,022 ratings
22.
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1)
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 476,965 ratings
23.
Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump, #1)
Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 206,935 ratings
24.
Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1)
Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1) 3.84 avg rating — 28,560 ratings
25.
A Little Princess
A Little Princess 4.23 avg rating — 320,512 ratings
26.
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 1,263,396 ratings
27.
Practical Magic (Practical Magic, #1)
Practical Magic (Practical Magic, #1) 3.72 avg rating — 155,189 ratings
28.
Heidi (Heidi, #1-2)
Heidi (Heidi, #1-2) 4.04 avg rating — 208,687 ratings
29.
Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate 3.95 avg rating — 387,478 ratings
30.
All I Need to Know I Learned From My Cat
All I Need to Know I Learned From My Cat 4.03 avg rating — 1,055 ratings
31.
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color 4.52 avg rating — 9,683 ratings
32.
A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun 3.85 avg rating — 107,568 ratings
33.
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice 4.29 avg rating — 4,633,443 ratings
34.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 484,743 ratings
35.
The Crime at Black Dudley (Albert Campion Mystery, #1)
The Crime at Black Dudley (Albert Campion Mystery, #1) 3.61 avg rating — 9,307 ratings
36.
A Man Lay Dead (Roderick Alleyn, #1)
A Man Lay Dead (Roderick Alleyn, #1) 3.80 avg rating — 16,396 ratings
37.
Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey, #1)
Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey, #1) 3.83 avg rating — 59,876 ratings
38.
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House 3.81 avg rating — 365,335 ratings
39.
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Mara, Daughter of the Nile 4.25 avg rating — 13,373 ratings
40.
Riley in the Morning
Riley in the Morning 3.44 avg rating — 2,839 ratings
41.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Fudge, #1)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Fudge, #1) 4.11 avg rating — 141,628 ratings
42.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel 4.07 avg rating — 140,070 ratings
43.
Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1)
Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 39,495 ratings
44.
Kindred
Kindred 4.31 avg rating — 258,337 ratings
45.
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1) 4.01 avg rating — 348,986 ratings
46.
Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)
Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1) 4.29 avg rating — 426,829 ratings
47.
The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence 3.97 avg rating — 189,927 ratings
48.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 4.30 avg rating — 499,226 ratings
49.
The Borrowers (The Borrowers, #1)
The Borrowers (The Borrowers, #1) 4.03 avg rating — 100,184 ratings
50.
The Outsiders
The Outsiders 4.14 avg rating — 1,538,364 ratings
51.
Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1)
Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1) 4.08 avg rating — 142,187 ratings
52.
The Devil's Arithmetic
The Devil's Arithmetic 4.03 avg rating — 61,489 ratings
53.
The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji 3.72 avg rating — 14,370 ratings
54.
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1)
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 77,756 ratings
54.
Come Sing, Jimmy Jo
Come Sing, Jimmy Jo 3.60 avg rating — 323 ratings
56.
The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1)
The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1) 3.98 avg rating — 82,518 ratings
57.
I Capture the Castle
I Capture the Castle 3.99 avg rating — 113,043 ratings
58.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 3.92 avg rating — 239,366 ratings
59.
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind 4.31 avg rating — 1,258,035 ratings
60.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 4.16 avg rating — 217,110 ratings
61.
The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club
by: Amy Tan
3.97 avg rating — 703,415 ratings
62.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 4.17 avg rating — 56,859 ratings
63.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Ralph S. Mouse, #1)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Ralph S. Mouse, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 88,572 ratings
64.
Jassy
Jassy 4.01 avg rating — 354 ratings
64.
Playing Beatie Bow
Playing Beatie Bow
by: Ruth Park
3.95 avg rating — 5,333 ratings
66.
Wild Hearts Forever (Wild Hearts, #3)
Wild Hearts Forever (Wild Hearts, #3) 3.79 avg rating — 24 ratings
67.
Stardust
Stardust
by: Nan Ryan
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 13 ratings
68.
Superfudge (Fudge, #3)
Superfudge (Fudge, #3) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 65,446 ratings
69.
Nobody Said It Would Be Easy
Nobody Said It Would Be Easy 3.85 avg rating — 33 ratings
69.
Double Fudge (Fudge, #5)
Double Fudge (Fudge, #5) 3.99 avg rating — 23,479 ratings
71.
Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot, #18)
Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot, #18) 4.12 avg rating — 294,104 ratings
71.
Chain Letter
Chain Letter 3.80 avg rating — 218 ratings
71.
Fudge-a-Mania (Fudge, #4)
Fudge-a-Mania (Fudge, #4) 4.02 avg rating — 32,501 ratings
74.
Hagar's Daughter (Black Classics Series)
Hagar's Daughter (Black Classics Series) 3.70 avg rating — 121 ratings
74.
Happy Endings
Happy Endings 2.90 avg rating — 121 ratings
76.
The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)
The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1) 3.85 avg rating — 91,903 ratings
76.
Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians 3.88 avg rating — 4,802 ratings
76.
Twins: Dead Ringers
Twins: Dead Ringers
by: Bari Wood
3.48 avg rating — 465 ratings
79.
Playing Beatie Bow
Playing Beatie Bow
by: Ruth Park
3.95 avg rating — 5,333 ratings
79.
No Sad Song
No Sad Song 3.13 avg rating — 15 ratings
79.
Summer Sisters
Summer Sisters 3.86 avg rating — 126,053 ratings
82.
Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga, #1)
Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga, #1) 4.07 avg rating — 39,437 ratings
82.
Puberty Blues
Puberty Blues 3.45 avg rating — 2,269 ratings
82.
Beauty vs the Beast
Beauty vs the Beast 3.47 avg rating — 17 ratings
85.
Blood Price (Vicki Nelson #1)
Blood Price (Vicki Nelson #1) 3.76 avg rating — 10,897 ratings
85.
The Bookshop
The Bookshop 3.27 avg rating — 25,956 ratings
85.
Rhinestone Cowboy (Crystal Creek, #15)
Rhinestone Cowboy (Crystal Creek, #15) 3.47 avg rating — 17 ratings
88.
The Two Faces of January
The Two Faces of January 3.57 avg rating — 3,139 ratings
88.
The Parent Trap: Donovan's Promise / Million Dollar Baby / His Chariot Awaits
The Parent Trap: Donovan's Promise / Million Dollar Baby / His Chariot Awaits 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings
90.
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer 3.74 avg rating — 13,105 ratings
91.
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark is Rising, #1)
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark is Rising, #1) 3.86 avg rating — 55,631 ratings
91.
Sleep, Pale Sister
Sleep, Pale Sister 3.32 avg rating — 4,290 ratings
91.
Beaches II: I'll Be There
Beaches II: I'll Be There 3.59 avg rating — 582 ratings
94.
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts 3.73 avg rating — 33,277 ratings
94.
The Darkangel
The Darkangel 3.92 avg rating — 9,546 ratings
94.
Prank
Prank 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings
97.
Felita
Felita 3.93 avg rating — 191 ratings
97.
The Buffalo Nickel Blues Band
The Buffalo Nickel Blues Band 3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings
99.
The Promise
The Promise 4.04 avg rating — 16,216 ratings
99.
Trail of Secrets
Trail of Secrets 3.92 avg rating — 1,033 ratings
Next