Lonely pregnancies, jealous sisters, fears of physicality, and loss of identity are Margaret Drabble's specialties. She spins tales of London's upper-middle-class life, and for the past 30 years England has eaten them up. Fans devour her hyper-accurate descriptions of the furniture, values, and perso

Clean, Composed, Eclectic, Post-war literature, Witty, Women's literature

As an inquisitive woman with a critical eye, and as a member of the Chinese Communist Party who portrayed its flaws in her fiction, Ding Ling found herself in a precarious position. Her progressive vision moved her to both revere and criticize the Communist Party -- her critiques earned her ten years

Clever, Feminist, Pioneering, Political, Rebel, Women's literature

"I have made London my home. For ten years, I avoided thinking about the China I had left behind. Then in 1988, my mother came to England to visit me. For the first time, she told me the story of her life and that of my grandmother. When she returned to Chengdu, I sat down and let my own memory surge

Intense, Political, Sincere, Spare, Women's literature

Violent and timely, contemporary and historical, true and fantastical, Bharati Mukherjee's work has been a windstorm sweeping up the major flavor of her times. Born into a wealthy, traditional Calcutta family in 1940, Mukherjee was raised and schooled in India, Great Britain, and the U.S. (where she

Eclectic, Intense, Pioneering, Political, Post-colonial literature, Women's literature