5 books about forgotten female heroes to celebrate Women’s History Month

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By Clare Mulroy

Women’s History Month is almost at a close, but there is still time to add empowering reads to your TBR before March is over.

Stories of unsung female heroes are having a moment, like Kristin Hannah’s “The Women,” which spotlights the “forgotten” female veterans of World War II.

Kristina McMorris, the author of the bestselling historical fiction novel “Sold on a Monday” and the upcoming “Girls of Good Fortune,” told USA TODAY that women’s historical fiction is an uplifting space for readers and writers.

“There is something that is very special about having female bonds and friendships (where) we really understand each other and are there to support each other,” McMorris says. “We are so passionate about shining a light on these stories from the past that it never feels competitive. We are all just there to help lift each other up and spread word about each other’s stories and about each other’s talents as much as possible. It is an amazing community.”

Here are five books we recommend checking out and the real-life history behind them.

‘Harlem Rhapsody’ by Victoria Christopher Murray

"Harlem Rhapsody" by Victoria Christopher Murray

What’s it’s about: This novel follows Jessie Redmon Fauset, a high school teacher from Washington D.C. who arrives in Harlem as she becomes the first Black woman named literary editor of The Crisis magazine. But her secret affair with her older boss, W. E. B. Du Bois, threatens her position. Determined to prove herself, Jessie throws herself into helping The Crisis thrive by scouting writers who would someday become literary icons, including Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen.