It was so lovely to read about all of these women that I adore, and to learn more about the ones I didn’t really knew much about. Definitely an important book that gives voice to female writers! It allows readers to learn about their lives beyond their works (that many times are related), and how difficult it was for some of them to write and make a living out of it.

The fact that most of it is graphic novel made it so fast to read, and the illustrations were beautifully done.

An ideal book for our list. This is an incredibly interesting provocative book about a female writers. I highly recommend

I admittedly didn't expect there would be women in this book I hadn't heard of previously, but here we are. With a perfect balance of text and illustration, Why She Wrote provided an excellent history not only of historical female authors but the reasonings for why they ended up becoming who they are known as. This would be an excellent addition to school curriculums, both high school and college level.

Why She Wrote by Hannah K. Chapman and Lauren Burke and illustrated by Kaley Bales was not at all what I thought it would be - in the best way! It is a unique storytelling format, one that kind of reminded me of Once Again to Zelda but in graphic novel format. Each chapter begins with a one page bio of the author followed by a short graphic novelization of a scene from their life.

Why She Wrote is not comprehensive, but that’s also not the intent - it provides snapshots of some of literature’s most influential authors, and would be great for getting young adults interested in them (I could see using excerpts to introduce a text to students). However, the content is definitely not for children.

I’m so excited to explore their podcast, Bonnets at Dawn, which inspired the book!

Why She Wrote is a wonderful book to learn more about women writers from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. The book highlights a significant moment from each writer's life and retells it through comics. Biographical text, bibliographies, and fun facts are also included.

This is such a beautiful and fun compilation. I read the book in just one day and enjoyed every page. The Art work is amazing and the stories are easy to read. I would recommend Why She Wrote to people who like to learn more about (the history and lifes of) female writers and who enjoy graphic novels.

It is the perfect book to have on hand, to give as gift to any woman or girl. Like other books, it brings together the most important femenin writers in English literature, but the uniqueness of this book is in the way its authors give it.
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Eighteen women, eighteen lives each unique and unrepeatable. This book addresses the similarities, their ambitions, and their struggles. Emphasize work and unites them through her greatest passion and struggles and analyzes the way in which their work inspires or guides other writers.
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It is both a biography and an essay on the importance of women in the world of letters, a book that motivates and fascinates anyone who reads it. Simply beautiful and with illustrations that complete and mold each piece of life narrated
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I read it in one day, and I love every word, it is one of those books that you want to have at home and go back to his pages full of inspiration I really enjoyed it
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Thanks to #NetGalley and #Chroniclesbooks for letting my read #WhySheWrote before goes on sale the 20 April of 2021

A-M-A-ZING!

This is the kind of book I didn't know I was waiting for my entire reading life!

I have read too many graphic novels all these years but something like this is a first!

Women authors. Most familiar but some of them still not yet talked much about. Thanks to this fun, beautiful illustrated compilation of all these authors describing them and featuring some of their most important works.

Non-fiction, book about books and authors will never be this fun again I tell you!

I find the artwork quite invested and well done. It's so cool to actually know which parts of these authors' lives to be presented in such few pages like stories well portrayed through ink and colors!

I personally like the later half of the book much better as I see much improvements in the representation, description and the art sequence there, and not because of the authors in the second half.

Yes, it reminds me. The best part of the book is that it shows equality in the representation of all these 18 women authors regardless of their work, their popularity or their background.

Kudos to the team.

Thank you so much for the advanced reader ecopy.

I assure you this book will be so much beautiful in its physical version!

Damn 💞

I really appreciate books about canonized authors, this graphic novel version is full of exciting details the common person might not know about the female authors they have read or will read in school. Jane Austen and Mary Shelley have big fav's of mine for most of my life and here is a book I can enjoy while I need a break from the text formatting of a "real" book.

'Why She Wrote' is a graphic novel illustrating the most remarkable moments of the famous classic women writers during the 18th and 19th centuries. The authors tried to capture the different aspects of these writers and portrayed it beautifully. It's no doubt that the eminence can't be captured in a 300-page book. But the most one can do is celebrate their becoming. And that's what I love about the book the most.

It celebrates not just authors and their works, but their becoming. Their stories, their similarities. How each of them inspired the other and why they disguised under a different name. As a fan of women writers and classics. I loved each snippet. The illustrations are neat and beautiful. This book can be read by any age group. There would be something new to learn and know for everyone. I would love to reread it sometime later in a paperback or hardcover format.

I'll love to see if they decide to make a sequel of this for more female writers of the 19th and 20th century too. I would love to see an illustrated version extending to Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath.

Thanks to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an advanced copy for review. It was a delight reading this book. And I would buy a hard copy when it's released. It's just that good.

You can also find this review on my blog: https://thebooktoldmethat.wordpress.com/

WHY SHE WROTE: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE LIVES, INSPIRATION, AND INFLUENCE BEHIND THE PENS OF CLASSIC WOMEN WRITERS by Hannah K. Chapman and Laura Burke, illustrated by Kaley Bales is about eighteen women writers: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Bronte, Frances Burney, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frances E. W. Harper, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Lister, Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Maude Eaton (Sui Sin Far), Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot), Anne Bronte (Acton Bell), Beatrix Potter, Frances Hodgson Burnett and Louisa May Alcott.

I really liked the format. The book is divided into six chapters. Each chapter features three authors connected by the same theme. For example, one of the chapters is called "Activism as Art". Every chapter starts with a short introduction. Two pages of text. Then the author is introduced. A page with a name, portrait, the year when she was born-the year when she died, and a citation from her work. Here is my favorite example of a quote: "Nothing is impossible to a determined woman." Louisa May Alcott, THE ABBOT'S GHOST OR MAURICE TREHERNE'S TEMPTATION, 1867. After that, there is one page about that author (text only), followed by approximately ten pags of comics about a pivotal moment in her life. After that, there are some interesting facts about her and a list of selected works.

Beautiful illustrations. I'll definitely look up the work of Kaley Bales. Her art is spot on.

Diversity!!! What I love the most about this book is that features the authors of color, too.

Inspiring stories. It's a book about perseverance. These writers lived in different times (the 18th, the 19th, and the 20th centuries), but all of them felt trapped and confined. They couldn't inherit property, couldn't vote, could't get divorced. And yet, despite all the obstacles, they persisted and kept writing. They faced rejection, stigmas, and criticism. They struggled. But they kept fighting. Fighting for their rights. The dared to defy.

The focus of this book is on similarities of their stories and connections that emerged upon the analysis of their works and lives. And it's fascinating!

By the way, I really loved the note about Johanna Ortner, the doctoral student who managed to find a copy of the Frances E. W. Harper's first book called FOREST LEAVES. So many people thought that this book was lost, and a student found a perfect copy in the archive in 2015. How cool is that?

At university, I was forced to read some of the books written by these authors. To be absolutely candid with you, it was really hard. MIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot, WIVES AND DAUGHTERS and NORTH AND SOUTH by Elizabeth Gaskell, etc... Back then, I preferred to read the novels about Percy Jackson. But this book... it changed my perspective. It gave me a reason to care.

E-galley was provided by NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you so much!

Very interesting topic and take on it.

Good overview and introduction to famous female authors and depictions of a pivotal moment in each of their lives. We read these authors but don't think much about them really and this book gives us a glimpse into their lives and motivations and whets the appetite to learn more about them.
The half-comic format works great depicting the important moment of inspiration, backlash, despair, and emotion that gave us timeless works.

This is not the most in-depth book but the short bios balance well with the comics.

I would like to thank netgalley and Chronicle Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is everything I wanted it to be!

I loved the illustrations, and the focus on women of colour alongside white women.

If you love the book, check out the podcast Bonnets At Dawn, and if you love the podcast you'll love the book.

4.5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

This book has a combination well known female authors, some not as well known, and something which I was pleased to see was some diversity other than white heterosexual women. The book is split into sections with a group of women pertaining to a certain theme. Each section has a general introduction and then goes into a short biography of each writer, then some graphic panels and end notes with a couple illustrations. We do get some diverse woman African American, Chinese Canadian, bisexual and lesbian representation. As well as some women who weren’t afraid to stand up for themselves or document painful/traumatic experiences. This would be a great resource book to have in schools, in particular junior and high school aged kids.

This book is a special treat! Many of my favourite writers of all time are detailed in one gorgeous book, both in text and graphic illustrations, absolutely delightful. The "portraits" of the authors were easily recognizable, though they lived during the 18th and 19th centuries, The illustrator captured them and the time period breathtakingly! During their time, many of these writers were mocked and ridiculed as readers were often shocked and horrified by the content but they were determined and changed the world. They really did, at least in my view. These writers feel like dear friends.

Each chapter (i.e. Gothic genre, pseudonyms, financial profit) highlights three brilliant female authors, what they wrote, their motivation(s), lives, relationships, plagiarism, writing earnings and in some cases, deaths. Some of these women were equal rights advocates, some kindled controversy. All were ingenius writers. At the end of each chapter you will find selected works by the writer in chronological order. From quirky Ann Radcliffe to the creative Bronte sisters to beautiful storyteller Frances Burney to the indomitable Elizabeth Gaskell to masculine entrepreneur Anne Lister (and loads more!), you will read a whopping variety, all with a few common threads, yet all very individual. The writer I knew the least about is Alice Dunbar Nelson so I was thrilled to learn more! Several of these women suffered terribly, emotionally and physically. Their lives were not easy. But I am so, so grateful they wrote what they did...there is a reason their works remain as classics and hopefully always will.

Anyone even remotely interested in female writers in this era, or in general, will adore this stunner. My entire bibliophile family will adore it, especially my teenage nieces. Such a brilliant introduction as well as a wonderful refresher to those more knowledgeable. I cannot praise this book highly enough. It is pure joy.

My sincere thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

A enlightening and wonderful look into female authors throughout history. I loved that it told the stories of these women and even added the element of graphic novel to make it even more visually fun. The book tells these womens' stories, their lives, how they came about writing and why, and a list of their works. A delightful read perfect for anyone interested in famous female authors!

Why She Wrote lifts up the stories of women writers of the 19th c., highlighting the contributions they made and the challenges they faced. In these pages, the women become super-heroes of their time, breaking down barriers.

Presented in groups of three writers under a specific theme, the authors share a brief biography followed by an illustrated episode from their life. A full reading list is offered that includes each author's works and books about them for further reading.

It is a combination of a traditional biographical sketch with the graphic novel form, which I expect would appeal to younger readers.

I wholeheartedly approve of any venture that brings classic writers--especially women writers--to the attention of readers.

I was given a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Just adored it. AND I DON'T LIKE NON-FICTION BOOKS.

I think that the authors that were selected were perfect and I really liked how with such little informations I saw the human part of the authors of some books I adore.

I also liked the representation, from this book I descovered new classics to read. New authors of color and LGBTQ+ authors.

It was such a good combination of real life facts about women authors and storyline that the graphic novel part seemed like a story. I, in such little time, grew attached to the characters of the stories I was reading.

A fantastic book.

Why She Wrote is not a book I would have stumbled upon without NetGalley, and I would have been missing out. This collection of graphic biographies takes 18 women who wrote and, in sets of three, seeks to illuminate their lives and motivations just the tiniest bit. I really like the way this is presented. Each author gets a page-long bio, followed by a short comic answering the titular question of why she wrote, and finished off with a list of published works and important facts. It reminded me of Rejected Princesses, though I can see where it would have even more in common with Monster, She Wrote, which I have yet to read.

By presenting each writer as part of a loosely linked trio, we see how motivations can bind together even those who never met one another. Whether the wrote to explore the human condition, provide for their families, express themselves through a persona in ways they never could in their real lives, or make their voices heard as they fought for rights and freedoms, all of these women had compelling motivations for setting pen to page that still resonate today.

I don’t believe I have ever read a graphic biography, and I very much enjoyed the ways in which the illustrations brought these women to life. The art was very well done and expressive. I found it incredibly tasteful. Also, the writing itself is lovely, without distracting from the lives and works being discussed. The information included was just enough to make me very interested in all of these women. By the time I read the final pages, I read more about all eighteen, and I wanted to read more of the things they wrote themselves.

Some of the subjects are women I had never heard of, others about whom I thought I knew a good deal. It was interesting to see new facets to the latter and to be introduced to the former. There were motivations I wouldn’t have naturally considered without having read this collection. Some of these women were protecting their sexual identities for various reasons, or fighting the system to protect their rights to their own work. Reading about the drive all of these women had to put pen to page motivated me to write more myself.

Why She Wrote is an insightful, encouraging, and empowering look into the lives of eight incredible female writers. While I truly believe this could be read and enjoyed by both sexes and almost any age bracket, I think this would make an exceptional gift for girl or woman over the age of ten or so. This would be an especially impactful gift for any young girl who dreams of becoming a writer.

Why She Wrote acquaints the readers with iconic women authors who have been read and researched extensively. The graphic novel is a good mix of text and illustrations keeping the interest of the readers alive throughout the book. Key experiences in the women's lives that had an influence over their writing have been highlighted giving us a glimpse of the strength in these women. and the struggles they had to go through before they could achieve what they set out to do. I would recommend this book to other readers and to be used in schools and colleges.

Why She Wrote is a graphic novel account of the lives of several influential writers such as Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Frances Burney, and Louisa May Alcott. This book was delightful as it broke away from traditional rigid academic structure with comics that enriched me with details of the authors’ lives and made for a fast paced and engaging read. I highly recommend this book to any fans of classics, and I recommend checking out the associated podcast, Bonnets at Dawn.

“Why She Wrote” by Hannah K. Chapman and Lauren Burke, Illustrated by Kaley Bales is a remarkable nonfiction graphic novel retracing the drive for writing in the classic english speaking female writers.
This is an incredible amount of work, a truly thick volume of many informative facts and little known facets of the women writers so many of us love. I have a particular fondness for Elizabeth Gaskell so I was very excited to read her section, but she is just one tiny speck in a very vast collection of names, a lot I didn’t know and that I now want to discover.
There is a short biography of every of the women featured in this volume, as well as a bibliography, which make our work as reader so easy, we just have to look for the title given on our e-reader and off we can start reading a wonderful classic.
Every writer also has a little comic illustrating one of the moments when writing was a struggle in her life, where she questioned what her motivation was and if it was worth it to publish. Some of those comics are incredibly insightful - I must admit I now understand better why I always found reading Mary Shelly viscerally disturbing. Some talked to me a lot less. But in all cases I really loved discovering about all those strong women that braved the social codes of their time and wrote wrote and wrote despite all the barriers put in their way.
The illustrations are simple and clear. The features and expressions of the people populating the pages are all well defined making every single one of them recognisable and their feelings more real. They serve the book very well.
This is a book that should be in every public library. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves books and the writers behind them.

I'm reviewing the ARC provided by NetGalley.

I really liked the book, it shows really well how those important women in the literary scene inspired each other. I also liked the fun facts or the additional elements of context put at the end of each part.
Sometimes though, I thought the extracts of the lives of these writers chosen by the book to be drawn in comic form was not pertinent.. With that said, the comics were brilliantly composed and their storytelling was really entertaining. Also the division of the chapters was very well done and approached very interesting themes (.The Horror of the Everyday, Finding Their Voice, Activism as Art, Private Lives, Public Identities, Protection and Profit) and the distribution of each authors between the chapters was also brilliant.
I loved learning of these women too.

This was good, well-researched and informative! The illustrations were a plus!
Would definitely recommend it to anyone who would be interested in the backgrounds of some iconic women writers. Definitely inspiring!

Why She Wrote by Hannah K Chapman and Lauren Burke with beautiful illustrations by Kaley Bates is a glimse into the motivations of some of history's most notable female novelists, poets and columnists. From Louisa May Alcott to the Bronte Sisters, Anne Lister to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many more , the book looks at a single pivotal moment in each of the women's lives and explores its impact on their writing careers through the medium of Bales' illustrations. The authors also provide background biographical information about the authors as well as a bibliography of their publications, in an easy to access format that makes the book suitable for readers of all ages and a great stepping off point to inspire further research and reading. I appreciated the inclusion of suggested reading included at the back of the book and could certainly see myself seeking out some of the titles at a later date. While I was familiar with many of the women included in the book I was also introduced to some new writers, most notably Edith Maude Eaton who wrote about the experiences of Chinese immigrants in North America. This is an inspiring and informative book that should grace the shelves of libraries everywhere.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I seen this on Netgalley and figured i would love to learn about the amazing women who wrote back in the 18, 19, & 20th centuries. Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Lister, and more like who would not want to learn about how they became who they are/were!

I found this to be a beautiful introduction to so many female authors. Many I've read from, but there were still so much I learned about them and all the others that were new to me. This book lets it be known that this is just suppose to be a jumping off point to get to know some of the most famous female authors, and I loved how after each author's segment there was a list of their publications. The art in this was also so cute, and I really enjoyed when there was cameos of the other women or side "characters" in different stories. I really want to read more from all the authors mentioned!

Why She Wrote
Author: Hannah K. Chapman and Lauren Burke
Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir, History

When NetGalley showed this ARC as a graphic complication of the lives of 18 fascinating women novelists from the past, I couldn't let the chance pass me by. As it is, I love graphic novels, I love memoirs, I love the classics, and I love Jane Austen! When a book promises me all four, what more would I want?

The above shows the expectations the ARC created in me. Are the expectations met on reading this book? Read on!

If I have to describe the book in one word: I would say that it is FASCINATING! Shucks, I want one more word. It is INSPIRING as well.

So this is how the novel is structured: The 18 novelists are divided into six groups of three each, based on some common parameters. So we have the group information about what is common to the upcoming trio, then an introductory page featuring the author/poet in that section with one of her thought-provoking quotes, then a little writeup revealing the background and fascinating insights about her, then a graphic presentation of a key event in her life, and finally a couple of trivia to round up the section before moving on to the next author/poet. Every graphic presentation has been
researched and recreated using memoirs and/or letters written by the authors. Can you see the hard work that has gone into the making of this book? Unbelievable!

More than the graphic panels, I enjoyed the little snippets of information about each of the authors. There are such a lot of facts that I wasn't even aware of, not even for my favourite Jane Austen. The lineup of esteemed ladies covered in the book is equally astounding; it reads like a veritable who's who of the literary world of the 18th-19th centuries. And should I even write about the gorgeous cover? Oh my! It's been so long since I've gushed this much about a book!

I am so excited after reading this beautiful little gem, I feel like hugging it to my chest like Gollum, growling "My Precious!" Too bad I only have the digital copy for now!

This book at it's core is "Empowered Women, Empower Women*.

This book takes an interesting look at what inspired different women to take up their own mantle and put their own thoughts and ideas out there.

And through the course of this book we see often it's the women who came before them, inspiring them to follow in their footsteps.

It's a poignant reminder that we to may someday be the person someone looks up too.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to lie. At first, I judged Why She Wrote by its cover. I'm intrigued by the catchy title, the color scheme, and the cover illustration. I knew I had to get my hands on this book as soon as possible. My wish came true when I received the e-ARC from the publisher and NetGalley (once again, thank you!).

Why She Wrote did not disappoint. I love everything about it, from the narrative structure to its illustrations. I love the format and how it's divided into several parts according to the themes. The biographies of various inspiring female authors are very fascinating and insightful.

However, I wish more authors of color are included in this book. It's sad to see that there are only three authors of color among the eighteen authors featured in this book. The rest are white and mostly Europeans. If there's ever a second volume of this wonderful book, I really hope it will be more diverse.

As I've said before, I love the illustration, but the comic strip could be pretty confusing because sometimes it has little to no correlation with the biography. Last but not least, the script font in the comic strip is also hard to read and I hope the publisher would consider changing it to a more readable font.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I will definitely check out the authors' podcast (Bonnets at Dawn) after this!

If you’re looking for a book about women writers in history, whose books are considered classics, then that’s the one for you! ‘Why She Wrote’ summarises the story of many female writers, mostly from the 1800-1900s, and their stories are also illustrated by Kaley Bales in a way that makes it a fun and lighthearted read.

It’s a good way to know more authors, since some aren’t as known mainstream as others, and to know more about the lives of those you already know. This book is just perfect for people who want to start reading classics and classical authors, but find them particularly difficult to understand or keep up with, or those who don’t have much time in their hands to do so. Basically, it’s the perfect way to become familiar with classics.

It is also a very interesting reading in a historical point of view, to analyze the context those texts were written and which struggles those writers had to go through socially to be able to speak their mind and live their life as they wished.

Basically, it’s a book that deals with heavy topics, as expected from any form of media about women who lived a century ago, especially some who were sapphics, women of color or in poverty, but the narrative of this book is as lighthearted as possible, considering the topics it portrays. It’s a great book you should certainly read if you’re interested in history and/or literature.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why some of the most famous authors out there were inspired to write? Well, the creative team behind Why She Wrote asked themselves that question, and here is their answer.

Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers is an accurate description, and title, for this graphic novel. As this graphic novel tackles the stories of eighteen famous and beloved female authors.

This is a story that any interested reader should make a point of picking up. It allows for a quick glimpse into the lives and motivation of many authors we've known and loved for years. More importantly, it portrayed what some of them went through during the time they were making the decision to publish. It is something that adds almost a painful amount of context to their writing, in some instances.

It's also inspiring, in a way that I'm sure was intentional. And when not inspiring, it certainly is informative. I know that I learned a few things that my education or personal research never turned up. Gotta love it when that happens!

Why She Wrote is split into chapters, giving time to focus on each of the eighteen authors included. Each chapter includes a page (or more) of written history, details, and more about each author. Following that are the images that define this novel. They bring these true stories to life, in a way that is approachable for almost any age range.

Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke and Hannah K. Chapman asks why some of the great English-language women writers chose to write. These women lived during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries – times when women were often discouraged from being authors.

Some of the women profiled in this book are very well-known. I read about Jane Austin, Mary Shelley, Louisa May Alcott, the Bronte sisters (each one has a separate chapter), and even Beatrix Potter. But others are forgotten today – many people today probably have never heard of Ann Radcliffe, Mary Wollstonecraft, or Elizabeth Gaskell, or read any of their works.

This is a cross between a biography and a graphic novel. Each section includes some text that gives a brief biographical overview of the individual. This is followed by a comic that focuses on a key point in the writer’s life. The artwork is simple but engaging and the material is very readable. One thing I particularly like is that a list of selected works is included for each writer. So if I would like to take a foray into works by early women authors, this book basically provides a reading list.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a free e-copy of this book.

Wonderful! Original, inspiring and very informative.
The reasons why those eighteen women started writing are indeed the same. Some of them had more reasons to add, such as earning money to help their families, but the essence is always the same.
There are several details about many of these writers I didn't know, so it's been quite an enjoyable reading.
The comics about each one show determined moments of their lifes in relation to their experiences with writing: declined manuscripts, mysogenist comments and critics about their works and/or personal life, lack of time, among others.
Another experience they all have in common is how hard they had to work to prove they could write important and outstanding stories; they had to struggle daily with a sexist society, where writing, as well as many other things, was for men. If women were to write, they could only do it about religious topics or flowery romance. They weren't believed to be able to write serious and/or clever stories.

Thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is an inventive and beautiful collection of biographies on some of the most well-known but sometimes misunderstood female writers. I love the structure of a one page biography leading into a graphic novel glimpse of the writer’s personality, lifestyle, and potential conflicts faced. Providing a book list for further discovery of the author is a wonderful edition as well. I can see using this as a teaching tool, inspiring students to try out classic literature, and returning to this text to find out more information about the authors. Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC!

⭐️3 Stars ⭐️

A beautifully constructed graphic novel that explores the lives of women writers throughout time while educating the reader about their past, what influenced their work, and how they affected literature and culture even after their deaths. In reading this novel, we understand why these women wrote.

Since this book features biographical pages and comic panels that detail significant events about the women's lives, I feel that it gives a unique, intimate look into the lives of those it covers. Although, at times, I felt that the level of detail included in the biographical sections impacted the pacing of the comic panels negatively, this did not hinder my enjoyment of this book. I believe that this novel contains some beautiful scenes able to deepen the feeling of intimacy between the reader and the historical figure. I learned about the lives of queer women, whom I knew little about before reading this novel. And I enjoyed these chapters immensely. I would love for the editors of this novel to collaborate again on a second volume of this wonderful book. If they were to do this, I would like to see a more diverse selection of women than those they chose to cover in this novel, perhaps covering more POC writers and queer writers of history.

This book is suitable for readers of any age who want to learn about some of the most influential women writers the world has ever seen. And since each section ends with an invitation to read the featured authors' works, I feel that this novel will encourage many young readers to enter the realm of classic literature with an open mind so they can be ready to read critically and question the canon popularised by old white male academics.

You Should Read This Book if you Like:
+ Easily Digestible History 📚
+ Beautiful Art ✍

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily 📚.

This book is unlike anything I've read before. It's a non-fiction historical novel about some of the greatest female writers that lived in the 18th, 19th, and 20th century. There are stories about Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, the Bronte sisters and so many now. I didn't even know some of the authors that are written about so that was really interesting.

The coolest aspect of this book is that it isn't just your classic non-fiction collection of short bits of information about different people. With every person, there's a short summary and then a quick comic that shows a story of why each of them wrote. It shows us a glimpse into their lives in a really fun and interesting way. I definitely love this concept because it makes learning about history more fun and accessible.

I really want to get a physical copy since my main issue was that reading the eARC was quite difficult because the text is small in the comics. (If you have a tablet, that would also be much better.) Overall, this was just really interesting and fun and I really recommend it if you want to learn a bit more about some female writers.

* I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review *

This was a fast, enjoyable read, much in the same vein as The Secret Lives of Famous Authors. The book is an interesting, engaging hybrid of a traditional book and a graphic novel. The other interesting thing is that as far as I can remember, there wasn't much in the way of profanity or adult situations, so this book could easily be given to middle-grade readers in a classroom setting.

The book is organized into six sections, with three profiles per section for a total of 18 authors. While it bears mentioning that the profiles are overwhelmingly straight white women, there is some representation of non-white and queer writers, which is always a welcome sight. Each section introduces a specific literary concept or social norm these female authors navigated (or broke a glass ceiling with), and after the introduction, each section has three author profiles. Each profile has an illustration of the author (in a frame, like a portrait or a cameo), their dates of birth/death, and a famous quote. This is followed by about a page of introduction and historical context about each other, leading into the best part of the book, the graphic novel section illustrating a pivotal event in each author's life. The section then ends with a brief epilogue (a page or less), with a rundown of the author's selected works.

You'll find just about all the names you'd expect to see: Jane Austen, all three Bronte sisters, Mary Wollenstonecraft and Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley, Louisa May Alcott, etc. There are some curious authors left out, like Emily Dickinson, Sojurner Truth, Phyllis Wheatley, or Harriet Beecher Stowe, and the book doesn't really cover m/any twentieth century authors. Whenever there's a book like this, someone's bound to be overlooked, so it's better to focus on who IS included and overall, it's a great place to start.

It was very easy to read, enjoyable, and I think best intended for a middle-grade or high school reader (or a light casual read). It definitely whets the appetite to discover these authors or revisit their work.

This is a lovely introduction to a variety of brilliant bygone female writers. The introductions offer a bit of biography and context, while the graphic novellas offer a bit of life and color. The art style wasn't totally my favorite, but I really appreciated how individual each one was.
A great introduction for younger readers to important women in the formative years of Western lit.

This is a nice overview of the lives and motivations of a selection of women writers from the 18th to early 20th centuries... and not just the ones you'd expect, either. Most readers will probably encounter at least a couple of names they haven't heard before. The reader grasps how incredibly easy it has been throughout history for women's creative works to be ignored, dismissed, or minimized. It's thought-provoking to consider that the catalog presented here is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to women who write.

The book is part text and part graphic story, with each graphic depicting an author at a potential turning point in her life. I felt that the graphic stories would have benefited by some annotations (like those Sydney Padua made use of in The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage). There were multiple places where I could tell something interesting was being referenced in the artwork, but felt blind to its significance because I couldn't stitch together what it meant.

Although I wanted that little bit of extra explanation, I did enjoy the book for the lively way it presented these women, and the emphasis on their reasons for writing. It made them feel very human and real, as opposed to distant, legendary, buttoned up figures.

A good book to inspire young female writers with the history of female writing at large. It was truly informative for young audiences and a great gateway to the literature represented in the book. That being said, the typography of the graphics were difficult to follow, and I oftentimes found myself wandering off while reading. For some of the sections, more text is needed before transitioning to the graphics, as I was left confused at times as to what I was reading.

An interesting look at the complicated lives of some of literatures most iconic authors and their legendary works. 'Why She Wrote' weaves together a series of portraits that tell the tales of the lives of female authors who sought freedom, independence and liberation challenging the strict paradigms of their time.

This graphic novel is a celebration of female authors who changed the world and redefined the art of writing. This book opened my eyes to the way female writers have inspired each other and worked together to empower and encourage in each other in pursuing their craft. A must read for any bibliomaniac!

This book is a wonderful introduction to female writers of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. With short but sweet details about each author such as Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Shelley, and many more, readers will enter the world of the female writer in a time when it wasn't considered proper for women to write. So the question must be asked: why did they? Get ready to learn the answers.

The organization of this novel is very unique--it is pitched to the reader as a graphic novel, when it has elements of both normal biographies and graphic novels. The authors begin each chapter by introducing three women whose writing or experiences were much alike. After the initial introduction, each woman is discussed individually with normal text and then the challenge they overcame or the reason they became a writer is given to the reader in graphic novel format. It was very entertaining to read about 18 women generally kicking butt in this particular fashion and I really appreciated the work that went into portraying so many different stories. Something else of note is how the women all came from different ethnic groups and backgrounds as it kept the story diverse and provided characters for everyone to relate to. The artwork lends itself to this piece by presenting an almost classical cartoon style to assist our authors in telling the stories.

I give this book a 4/5 and recommend it to YA readers as well as anyone who is looking for an introduction to some of the classics in a brief and engaging format.

I really really wanted to like this.

As I was going through I really kept hoping I'd like the random little blurbs about the different writers and the comics in between them but the constant changing took me out of it. I wasn't a fan of the art all that much either and it just got to be so much of a chore.

Maybe if the whole thing was a graphic novel I would've enjoyed it more?

I don't know.

The two stars are for the obvious effort and time the authors put into this but it just wasn't for me.

I was given this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

A wonderful book that gives an overview of the greatest female authors of the 19th century (+ending of the 18th and beginning of the 20th). A lot of facts were presented, accompanied by a few pages of comics that highlighted one special occasion or struggle in their lives.

I especially liked how the authors tried to find the connections between these authoresses and the ties that bind them together. You could get a real feeling for what these women were struggling with and how writing was often a respite, a relief from burdens in their lives or their means to support their familys. It also gave me new authors to read and reserarch and I'm excited to learn more about them.

What I didn't like was especially the portrayal of Charlotte Bronte as a controlling, bad-tempered woman and the very modern perspective that was presented, that often reduces these complex women to feminists and bread-earners, because that is how contemporaries like to see women, but they were so much more than that and would have disapproved of many of our modern and feministic notions.

I thank Netgalley and Chronicle books for an ARC to read and review.

The only problem with this graphic novel is that it made me add to many books to my Wishlist. I realised that those women are pioneers in the field of women’s literature and it is important to know what they have written. This graphic novel is very well, structured; it makes connection between the different presented authors (six section presenting three authors that wrote for similar reasons).
I enjoyed it a lot. I took my time to read it section by section, without rushing through. It is nice that every presentation starts with a general explanation about the author’s life and then a few drawn pages on a specific moment in the author’s life. Of course, the book is not enough to learn everything about each author but it is a great introduction which makes you want to learn more. Moreover, there were some authors I hadn’t even learnt about so that was really interesting. Finally, the artwork was very nice. It was a nice addition to the story, making it easier to read.
I absolutely this insightful graphic novel.
4/5

Chapman and Burke explore the lives of eighteen classic women writers in this graphic novel. Each chapter highlights key incidents in the lives of three of these women, describing their struggles and triumphs. This book is a tribute to the contributions of these women and how each of them helped change the world in which they lived. Each of these women challenged how women were treated, both as authors and as people.

This book is unlike anything I have ever read before. Each section begins with a narrative portion that is followed by graphic elements representing each author’s life. Each chapter highlights a central theme and introduces three women writers. The themes describe the ways these women influenced their world and paved the way for greater equality. I enjoyed learning about the lives and impact of these women. I found some of the graphic sections to be lacking in detail that could make them clearer. However, I thought the graphics added interest to each section and helped bring each writer to life.

This book could serve as a great introduction to classic women authors for anyone looking to learn more about the influence of women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There are some more mature thematic elements that make this book most appropriate for teens and adults, those some mature older children could also enjoy it.

All these strong women writers from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries
Didn't back down for obstacles and saw life as a barrel full of possibilities

They followed their heart and dreams, and clearly had a mind of their own
You'll often be amazed by the pieces of their life that in this book are shown


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BONNETS AT DAWN

It all started with the podcast 'Austen vs. Brontë: Bonnets at Dawn'.
Initially only 12 episodes were planned in which the lives and works of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë would be compared to each other. But along the way it became clear that both women showed lots of similarities and that - even though their writing was different - their struggles and independent visions were very much alike.
Furthermore, by talking about these two women in the podcast, it became clear that other female authors always came back in the conversations: authors who influenced Austen and Brontë and/or authors who were influenced by them.
'Austen vs. Brontë' was dropped from the name and the podcast became a space where the lives and work of women writers from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries were discussed.
If you're interested to discover this podcast (which already counts 136 episodes now), you can head over to: https://www.stitcher.com/show/bonnets-at-dawn


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NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO A DETERMINED WOMAN

The hosts of the podcast, Lauren Burke and Hannah K. Chapman, worked together with illustrator Kaley Bales to create a book about 18 of these inspiring women authors.

Six chapters shine a light on a different aspect that each time connects three women:
- The horror of the everyday
- Finding their voice
- Activism as art
- Private lives
- Public identities
- Protection and profit

Thus 18 fascinating portraits are presented, both from women who are very well-known (like the three sisters Brontë, Louisa May Alcott, …) as women who may be lesser known but therefore certainly not less interesting (like Frances E.W. Harper, Anne Lister, Edith Maude Eaton, …). Of course, this also depends on your own foreknowledge.

Each chapter follows the same structure:
An introduction of two pages lets you discover what the three women have in common with each other and thus how they relate to the main theme of the chapter.
Then every woman writer is put in the spotlight. After an interesting one page-biography follows a graphic novel that often delves deeper into a certain aspect of their life. Finally some fun facts are presented as well as a bibliography which is classified according to the type of works (travelogues, short stories, novels, nonfiction, plays, poetry).

The visual appeal is the greatest asset of this book.
Not often do you encounter books with a combination of interesting text, graphic novel and fun facts.
Although the graphic novel-parts may be a bit confusing as they go back and forth in time or the characters sometimes look alike, they add a nice touch to the whole.
As 'old' literature is presented in such an attractive way, it's easy to imagine that this book could be successfully used in high schools to encourage younger generations to read 'classics'.

Does this mean that this book is suited for everyone? No.
If you already know much about these women, the content will probably be too concise.
But if you don't know them already (or at least not so well), this book is a very nice first acquaintance that incites you to further explore their interesting lives and many works.


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WARNING

Reading about these pioneers in different fields (equal rights for women, coloured people, …) and about their modern views (about gender, business, society, …), can have severe side effects.
Not only will you want to learn more about these women themselves, but your 'want to read'-list will grow as well because lots of their books will make you curious.
Bearing in mind that these women authors lived in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, most of the mentioned works are part of the public domain and thus can be read through websites like Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/).


*Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not very good at reading classics, so I try to compensate through other means, like reading this graphic novel about some of the classic women writers. Enjoyed learning more about their life struggles and triumphs... and well, 'discovering' new names as well. I just wish the eARC was clearer/sharper so I could have appreciated the art and the reading experience more, but overall, I still liked this because we love seeing women win

As I continue my endeavour to read more classics and heading into the new year with fresh reading resolutions, Why She Wrote couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I wasn't aware of this book until my co-blogger, Celeste, read and reviewed it most favourably. Furthermore, the first book we picked up in 2021 was Anne Bronte's debut, Agnes Grey. Knowing that all the Bronte sisters were featured, I thought it would be interesting to read this title in tandem.

What a great decision that turned out to be. Why She Wrote is a whimsical and beautifully produced graphic novel that provided the most fascinating and unexpected insights and stories behind some of history's greatest women writers. Firstly, these writers were grouped into sets of threes representing the 'banner' that underscored the reason they wrote. Each set starts with an overarching introduction of the three writers, followed by each writer's biography told via a combination of a one-page narrative, comics, fun facts and bibliography. I've never read anything in this format before, but I'm definitely a fan because it was so delightful and highly engaging.

From the most renowned classic writers like the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott to the relatively lesser known ones (to me anyway) like Edith Maude Eaton, Alice Dunbar Nelson and Anne Lister, their stories made me appreciate the works that I've read and eager to get to the ones that I haven't. Most notably, I think my experience of concurrently reading Agnes Grey was enhanced as I got to know the Bronte sisters more. The dynamics between Charlotte, Emily and Anne, as well as their individual differences were most intriguing; having read both Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey now, I can see how their personalities were represented in the stories they wrote. As for Louisa May Alcott, her story definitely made me look at Little Women in a different light, and also quite eager to reread it. Same goes for The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Books like this make me want to buy a few copies and gift them to friends, in the hope that it will spur them to read more from these writers. As a celebration of women writers, Why She Wrote also provided great historical perspective on the challenges of being a woman in the past, which made their stories even more remarkable and inspiring. Recommended!

I love reading classic literature and I was so excited to read something that explored the inspirations of some of my favourite authors. The focus on women, however, just increased my interest in this. I think it's an easy read that also offers up a bunch of interesting anecdotes and lingering questions that historians and fans have of these authors. By having all of the authors in the sections linked to one another was a clever way to keep the reader following along. I found it to be informative, but also empowering to read about the struggles that these women faced. As mentioned in the book itself, these struggles are not unlike the ones that women still face today. The graphics were charming and I'm not usually a fan of graphic novels!

Overall, it was such a fun read!!! I also got a podcast recommendation out of it, so I'm very pleased.

Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.