Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction

By Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson

Meet the women writers who defied convention to craft some of literature’s strangest tales, from Frankenstein to The Haunting of Hill House and beyond.

Frankenstein was just the beginning: horror stories and other weird fiction wouldn’t exist without the women who created it. From Gothic ghost stories to psychological horror to science fiction, women have been primary architects of speculative literature of all sorts. And their own life stories are as intriguing as their fiction.

Everyone knows about Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein, who was rumored to keep her late husband’s heart in her desk drawer. But have you heard of Margaret “Mad Madge” Cavendish, who wrote a science-fiction epic 150 years earlier (and liked to wear topless gowns to the theater)? If you know the astounding work of Shirley Jackson, whose novel The Haunting of Hill House was reinvented as a Netflix series, then try the psychological hauntings of Violet Paget, who was openly involved in long-term romantic relationships with women in the Victorian era. You’ll meet celebrated icons (Ann Radcliffe, V. C. Andrews), forgotten wordsmiths (Eli Colter, Ruby Jean Jensen), and today’s vanguard (Helen Oyeyemi). Curated reading lists point you to their most spine-chilling tales.

Part biography, part reader’s guide, the engaging write-ups and detailed reading lists will introduce you to more than a hundred authors and over two hundred of their mysterious and spooky novels, novellas, and stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781683691396

Reviews for Monster, She Wrote

[angelajmaher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First up, if you don't want your TBR list to expand, you'd be better off avoiding this book.This is a wonderful, engaging, inspiring book detailing women writers who have taken the lead in horror and/or speculative fiction from the very earliest of days. Each woman is portrayed beautifully as an amazing and intriguing person, with details added about where to start reading their works and why their writing is important to the genre and literature as a whole. Flowing on from that are suggestions for further, similar books by other authors, as well as movies and TV shows.The enthusiasm for all the works mentioned is obvious and it creates a compulsion to track down and devour everything, hence why you shouldn't read it if you're not looking to expand your TBR list.Some of these writers I had read, others I knew of, but many were new names to me. I have a very long list of works to track down, now, but I am utterly grateful that a resource such as this has been created.This book is a treasure!

[jnmegan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With its eye-catching cover and compellingly strange sketches and drawings, Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction attracts attention from its opening pages. From there, the authors Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson proceed to thoroughly entertain and inform those curious enough continue reading about this underexplored topic. Providing historical context, fascinating biographical background and a plethora of reader's advisory information, Monster She Wrote is mandatory for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of these genres that are typically assumed as dominated by their male authors. Kröger and Anderson's chronology starts with Margaret Cavendish in the 17th century and the advent of speculative fiction and gothic tales, culminating with recent releases—many of which that have sought to revive, expand and modernize some recurring feminist themes over the centuries. The book is divided into eight sections, each with an introduction to a time period or emerging trend accompanied by defining characteristics; a quick bio of its most relevant female writers with recommended reading lists; and suggested supplemental materials related to each. Also sprinkled within are quotes and asides that discuss how women's voices, changing roles and male counterparts contributed to each moment in the genre's history. With their witty and colloquial tone, it is obvious that the authors are both well-informed and passionate about the subject matter. Monster, She Wrote can be enjoyed sequentially or browsed in any order for those seeking to explore the origins of some exceptional horror/speculative fiction or add substantially to their TBR list.Thanks to the authors, Quirk Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger is a 2019 Quirk Books publication.Just in time for Halloween, Monster, She Wrote, will give you a host of books to add to your Fall/Winter reading list!This book is also a tribute of sorts and is a reminder of the major contributions that women have made to the horror, Gothic, and science fiction categories. These pioneers of horror fiction were trailblazers, creating some of the most thought-provoking and spine-chilling literature ever written, and influencing many authors in the future.Personally, as a big fan of Gothic literature, I was familiar with many of the names listed in the book- at least half of them, but some background information and biographical details were new to me. The author also provided a recommended reading list along with each author profiled, which gave me plenty of new authors and books to try. Some of these authors are lesser known, but have an impressive body of work to explore.I’m grateful to Lisa Kroger for giving these writers the long overdue credit they deserve, and for reminding me of authors and books I had forgotten about.There is plenty of history introduced in this book, as well as many interesting stories about the featured writers, and of course, this is also a ‘book about books’ and who can pass that up?The book is well organized, well researched, with a terrific presentation that made it easy to follow, and held my interest, while avoiding pointless minutiae. I fully intend to hunt down the books on the recommended reading list- especially the Gothics! - And I will use this book as a reference in the future.There is a little something in this book for everyone- no matter what horror sub-genre you prefer. Not only that, it is informative, entertaining, and even inspirational, serving as a reminder that we owe these great writers a debt of gratitude. They have helped pave the way for female writers today who must bravely compete in a mostly male dominated genre and, with a few notable exceptions, still struggle for the same respect.

[zoes_human · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much like computer science, speculative fiction and horror are arenas where women have always been present yet are treated as interlopers. This wonderful collection of microbiographies, 41 in all, examines the women who helped build and shape these genres. In the final section, we are given brief overviews of the women currently driving five different styles of work in these categories.This took a bit longer to read than a book of this size, which I am enjoying, normally does, because it's the sort of book that constantly sends you running to the internet to learn more or to add something new to your TBR.All in all, a good read that will grow your to-read list tremendously.I received a complimentary copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway. Many thanks to all involved in providing me with this opportunity.

[pomo58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction from Lisa Kroger and Melanie R Anderson is a fun and quick introduction to not just the pioneers but the history of women writers in the genre(s).This isn't written as an actual history since it focuses on the writers themselves rather than creating a coherent and comprehensive narrative. I think this works better for a light popular introduction. This is not even remotely an academic book but it does do much more than just provide a reading guide. An academic work would potentially get bogged down in the minutiae of creating a complete timeline without gaps while a reading guide would have focused on the works rather than the authors. There is certainly connections made between authors as well as between works, which does provide some history without getting trapped into making a narrative. After discussing each writer, reading suggestions are made both for that author as well as similar writers and works, usually from the same time period.The last section looks forward and speculates about what the future holds. This is a fun section as well as possibly introducing some new names.Like any list, and this is essentially a long annotated list, there will be writers we would have preferred to have seen included as well as ones we question their inclusion. That is part of what makes lists fun since there is no definitive way to claim a name "should" or "should not" have been included, well, unless we think we are THE authority on the subject. If any of us are that delusional, then maybe instead of reading this fun book you should write your own since your authority is certainly acknowledged by all, right? Okay, maybe not, talk to your therapist.I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to read in the genre(s) and might want some background on the writers of the past, present, and future. Whether a couple of your degrees are in this area or you simply enjoy knowing literary history, this book should remind you of much you've likely forgotten and offer some new tidbits as well as reading suggestions.Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.

[damiella-533991 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book wasn't quite what I expected from the subtitle. Rather than focusing on early women writers, it stretched up to the early 2000's (with references to a little bit later). As a result (covering 41 writers plus several summary chapters) there wasn't really the opportunity to focus as much on the earlier writers.If I hadn't gone in with the expectation I would have rated it higher. As it stands it is a useful book to get an overview of these writers (as well as to greatly expand my want-to-read list). Each section contains a summary of the writer followed by a recommended reading list of both their work and those influenced by them.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a retrospective of women writing mostly supernatural horror from the gothic period until today. Each period has a short introduction giving some context, followed by profiles and reading lists for women from that period. Most of the fiction involves ghosts and hauntings of some kind, from Gothic romances and Victorian ghost stories to 20th-century domestic haunted houses and the modern-day gothic. I enjoyed this although I was already pretty familiar with most of the books and authors mentioned.

[spinsterrevival · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have always avoided scary things but love books, so this was a wonderful read that introduced authors and books in a way that helps me decide if I want to read them. The authors here did an amazing job with research, and the history here is fascinating. I loved learning about more recent authors too as this truly covers the 1700s to about 2018 or so.

[montzaleew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Monster, She WroteThe Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative FictionBy: Lisa Kröger, Melanie R. AndersonThis was an interesting read with a list of women who wrote all sorts of speculative fiction and horror. I knew some famous ones but many were new to me, especially those before 1900. The book explained the type of books, examples, what got them writing, a bit about their life, and additional information if the reader wanted to follow up on a certain person. It was interesting.