Dissertation help: What authors can be compared to Jane Austin?

Question

I am thinking of doing my dissertation on Austin, and I thought about comparing her views on feminism and how women are treated to a more modern author's views. Perhaps comparing her main characters to another female lead (I thought Georgia Nicholson would be fun but then realised Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging may not be Honour level reading material!!!)

Anyone got any thoughts on some good novels and authors, from the early 20th century onwards that wouldbe good for expanding this idea?

Answer 1

Well, if you are looking for STRONG female characters, I can give you some to think about.

Kay Scarpetta is the main character in most of Patricia Cornwell's books.  She is a medical examiner who works her way up to the ladder until she becomes the Cheif medical examiner of Virgina, aka the boys club lol  She is A VERY strong character, and I'd advise you to read some of her first novels in he series... maybe Postmortem or Body of Evidence?  

Another fun series is written by Elizabeth Peters (also known as Barbara Michaels).  She has a series set in the late 1800s - early 1900s,  involving a woman interested in archeology and the mysteries she constantly stumbles onto.  She later marries, has a child, adopts another... all while keeping her feminist views on life.

Here is a link to some more feminist mystery books & authors... http://feminist.org/arts/mys_authors.htm...

Oh! Here is an even better list, from feminist.org.  This is their list of all feminist fiction authors!  http://feminist.org/arts/linkfaonline.ht...

Answer 2

Whenever I think of strong female characters, my mind immediately goes to Dagny Taggart from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."  There are some similarities between Dagny and, say, Elizabeth Bennett.  Neither one of them are overly concerned with marriage, they each would rather keep their integrity than give it up for some man.  

Answer 3

"Bridget Jones' Diary" has already been compared to "Pride & Prejudice." They both even have a character named Darcy & Colin Firth played him in both movies.

Answer 4

Consider Emily and Charlotte Bronte; oh, while you write that dissertation, make sure you know how to spell her name...Jane AustEN.

Answer 5

I would first like to second Trixie's suggestion - "Atlas Shrugged" is an amazing novel, written by a female author, with a strong female protagonist. Good stuff.

Also, I would like to note that there are several well-known "sci-fi" type novels written by feminists in the last 50 years that deal largely with gender issues - in a new/modern way. Check out:

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

"The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

and

"Herland" By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Good luck!