Feminity as Strength: Less Discussed Heroines

Hello Lovely Readers! I hope you had a nice, long weekend for President's Day. My family and I enjoyed spending President's Day at Mount Vernon, home of the first US president George Washington. Despite the cold, it was lovely to spend time on his beautiful property (my toddler especially enjoyed the animals). Onto today's article...

**For those of you who are new, in addition to this blog I also am a 2026 writer in residence for the Slow Living Home Magazine. This magazine is “An online magazine & mentoring community of women & homemakers, intentionally holding space for awareness & stability in a rushed and insecure world.” (from the website). I have a lovely column called the Book Nook, where I write book related content based on a monthly theme. For February, the theme was feminity. With the permission of the lovely Melissa, I am allowed to post my articles here on the blog. Just know there are so many other wonderful articles/columns in this magazine including health, fitness, scripture, recipes, and more! If you are interested in becoming a subscriber (and you definitely should!), here is the link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/slowlivinghomemagazine

There are a wonderful array of  female characters to be found in the pages of books. Authors like Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and the Bronte Sisters have written women whose names are ubiquitous with strong heroines. Unfortunately, I have noticed a trend where some contemporary authors write women to be strong yet shun their femininity- only praising their ‘masculine’ qualities and erasing what makes them feminine. To be clear, I am not saying there should be no tomboy type characters! In fact, I love to see heroines of all kinds! But today, I want to highlight some lesser known heroines who embrace their femininity as a type of strength. 

1.Elizabeth Thatcher from the Canadian West book series by Janette Oke (1983-2003)

For the Hallmark lovers out here, this name might sound familiar. When Calls the Heart is a much beloved tv series loosely based on this Christian book series. It follows Elizabeth Thatcher- a teacher from a wealthy family who leaves the comfort of the East Coast to bring education to a mining community in the Canadian West. While the show is good, the book series is FAR SUPERIOR, particularly in showing the grit of Elizabeth Thatcher. I adore that she has to overcome both external hardships and internal flaws to teach and live life out west. Throughout the books, she never loses her kindness and gentle touch when caring for others. If you have only seen the show, I would implore you to try the book series. 

2.Valancy Stirling from The Blue Castle by LM Montogmery (1926)

While LM Montgomery is best known for her Anne of Green Gables series (brilliant and a must read in my opinion), she also wrote other wonderful novels, including The Blue Castle. Valancy Stirling is one of the few adult protagonists Montgomery wrote and, at first glance, does not seem to be a strong heroine. Valancy is a 29 year old  timid ‘spinster’, living with her mother and watching life pass her by. When she gets news that she has only a year to live due to a heart condition, she decides to fully take charge in her life. Beginning as a very fearful woman, seeing Valancy’s transformation is wonderful. She could have easily succumbed to despair and fear but instead chose life; she cut off her toxic family, cares for a dying school friend everyone else had shunned, and marries and keeps home for a man everyone says is bad news (which of course turns out to not be true). This is one of my favorite books of all time and seeing Valancy change from fearful and stagnant to happy and caring never gets old. 

3.Tuppence from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (1922)

Agatha Christie is the queen of detective novels, writing such wonderful characters as Hercules Poirot and Miss Marple. I had never heard of her Tommy & Tuppence series until quite recently, so I picked up the first in the series, The Secret Adversary. Not only did I enjoy it, but I couldn’t help but wonder why Tuppence is not talked about more? She has such wit and gumption! In The Secret Adversary, Tuppence and her friend Tommy are short on money due to decreased jobs after WWI. They decide to create Young Adventurers Ltd, willing to take on any job. Little did they know they would be thrust into a political adventure that would push them to their limits and barely survive. While Tuppence is smart and spunky, she can be a bit impulsive. However partnered with the more methodical Tommy, they are a great team! I have only read the first novel in this series but I'm definitely planning to read them all in the future.  

So there you have it- some lesser known heroines that show that femininity need not be excluded to make a strong, fascinating character. 

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Happy Reading!

Lady Bookish

** I reuse this same introduction for reposts from Slow Living Home Magazine.