International Women’s Day, 8th March 2024
- a collaboration with Penzance Library

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, the team shared some of their favourite women writers who are unique and perhaps overlooked... for your reading pleasure.

Sylvia Townsend Warner
“Sylvia’s novel ‘Lolly Willowes’ is one of my favourite novels of all time, taken from her experience of living in the New Forest during the Second World War. It is a powerful tale of a woman taking to the countryside and discovering herself through nature. It is an intense and beautiful journey, and gives a brilliant sense of what it was like to be a lesbian woman in the 1930s. Sylvia is largely forgotten today but deserves to be read much more widely!”

Ithell Colquhoun
“Although mostly known for her painting, Ithell Colquhoun was also a writer and poet. Her books vary from travel writing exploring the ancient sites and customs of Ireland and Cornwall, to wild and mystical novels based on dreams and surreal, strange poetry. Ithell is deeply inspiring and it is so wonderful to see her work be gradually remembered!”

Winifred Holtby
“I think Winifred Holtby doesn’t get the recognition she deserves . She is remembered mostly for her novel ‘South Riding’, which is excellent, but she also wrote other very good novels such as ‘The Crowded Street’, ‘The Land of Green Ginger’ and several volumes of poetry & political writings. She was an early, staunch feminist!”

Helen Humphreys
“A British-born Canadian author whom I first came across in a box of sale books when the cover image caught my eye. In this instance you really could tell the book by its cover! Haunting, poetic, still in my consciousness after many, many years. I suggest her because, although she is beloved in Canada I get the impression that she is not as well known outside of it as she deserves to be. She's written poetry, novels, memoirs. Highly recommended!”

Mary Webb
“Born in 1881 and a poet, mystic and lover of animal nature. Described by Rebecca West as “a strange genius” her novels all have complex strong female characters in pastoral settings (Shropshire) and animals are given equal value in her writing. Mary Webb writes of customs and includes folklore such as “telling the bees first of a death”. The titles ’Precious Bane’ and ’Gone to Earth’ are a good starting place, all published by Virago.”

Leonora Carrington
“Born 1917, expelled from schools for her rebellious nature... she is perhaps better known as changing the face of Surrealism (as a woman amongst men). Leonora was also a revolutionary and a founding member of the women’s libertarian movement in Mexico. For me Leonora lived a life well, and on her own terms including a harrowing time of ‘madness’ in Madrid asylum during 1939. She wrote from experience and her short story “as they rode along the edge” is an exquisite piece of writing - born out of the extreme places our psyches can take us.... if only we trust ourselves.”

Madeleine L’Engle
“Between 1962 and 1989 she wrote a series of stories called the ”Kairos Novels”. The Greek word “Kairos” means a significant moment of or event within time, as opposed to measured chronology. The first four books – ‘The Wrinkle in Time Quartet’ – deal with a family of children whose Kairos experiences take them into other worlds and time. The second four books deal with Polly O’Keefe, daughter of one of these children; with the penultimate ’A House Like a Lotus’ (1984), dealing with the experiences of teenage Polly exploring love, sex, betrayal, faith, friendship and learning forgiveness.”

Margery Allingham
“She wrote over 20 novels and numerous short stories, featuring her detective creation Albert Campion. As the stories developed Campion also aged and changed. From a foppish fellow in ’The Crime of Black Dudley’ (1929), to the later post-war where he is a more chastened chap by the novels of the 1950 and 1960s, when dealing the changing social and challenges of the time, from crime to advancement in science. Allingham’s greatest novel, deemed a “thriller”, is ‘The Tiger in the Smoke’ (1952), which deals with loss, the problem of dealing with evil and the cost of trust. Her gift was characterisation and superb description.”

And the Women In Cornwall team also celebrated by sharing inspirational Herstories from the archives…