My DH has expressed an interest in reading a book by a woman

[ringle]

He is an academic and very well and widely read. Save that he has never read a book by a woman.

He likes classic texts basically. Stuff that would make him better read.

Where to start? Could you help me make a shortlist?

Not Britain, English speaking though.

"Thanks Bertrand. Hurray for the more realistic answers! I had forgotten the JK Rowling thing"

I suggest you read the rest of my post.........

Fairly (ish) similar culture to ours at that time.

Yes I've read it. I'm thinking!

"we are talking pre Boy George"

How much "pre"? What country.

Sorry but the country he is from makes a huge difference

the fact he hadn't read Shakespeare shows that as anyone who did English exams at school in this country would have read him

So.... to be fair, he would not describe himself as "well read". He would describe himself as having a deep knowledge of X,Y and Z.

Also to be fair, the background lit. In this field is very international.

And many posters have made the point that female writers throughout history have published under a male relatives name or with initials only

Dick Francis admitted his wife did most f the writing didn't he?

Apologies, there are multiple posts about my mum's mental health under this name so I can't out us.

I have tried to start threads on the topic before but never got a response. Only my criticism of DH provoked answers!

I still don't believe any of this.

He has read books by women, more than he knows, because clearly he forgot about the three you mentioned, so there will definitely be more.

Just tell him, he's read books you women, and it is a non issue, he can easily look up books by women that he might like.

Why does his wife have to post on MN for him if he is so ashamed as he claims?

Did he never read any Enid Blyton as a child even??
Has it been a deliberate decision of his, or just a coincidence? I don’t even consider the author’s name when choosing a book, unless in deliberately looking for a book by an author I like.

Herat rtft

The country he grew up in won't out you - this site is full of foreign born people!! Particularly from English speaking countries

Yes, he will have read more than he knows.

I think the problem is that the world considers him well read. There is something that makes me uneasy.

You could search for women Pulitzer prize winners and buy him a few of those for Christmas.

There are (and have been) countless brilliant writers who are female all across the US, the Caribbean, Australasia, Africa (north, south, east and west - some English speaking some less so,) the rest of the UK and Ireland (not to speak of the not primarily English speaking bulk of Europe. And all the places I've missed out - and all the literature available in translation)

Personally I feel sorry for every single student "taught" by this man. They have been dreadfully shortchanged. (I also worry about the effect on his research.)

Re Shakespeare, I expect he had some minor exposure at school but didn't get it /it didn't sink in at that stage.

At a guess, I suspect that when he says he has never read a book by a woman he really means that he has never read a book that deals with stereotypically "feminine" subject matter (i.e. stories about romance and relationships with female leads). The things he has read by women (e.g. Adrian Mole) haven't been remembered by him as being by women because they don't fit this stereotype.

To be fair, he is a superb lecturer and supervisor, and his students are not shortchanged. He doesn't lecture on English lit.

Yes! You've hit the nail on the head. Thank you.

"At a guess, I suspect that when he says he has never read a book by a woman he really means that he has never read a book that deals with stereotypically "feminine" subject matter (i.e. stories about romance and relationships with female leads). The things he has read by women (e.g. Adrian Mole) haven't been remembered by him as being by women because they don't fit this stereotype."

He doesn't lecture on English lit.

That doesn't matter. The effect of his ignorance must be felt far outside one specific academic department. Every professional and social relationship he has will have been coloured by this ... thing.

(I'm speaking as someone whose entire life has been scarred by other people's determination to "see" a stereotype rather than to see me.)

I agree Gruach that there will be a ripple effect.... that does not make him a bad lecturer though.

Ok, we've had a chat.

Here's the upshot.

He has never read a book by a woman with a female narrator. He has read The White Hotel (man writing in woman's voice). And he has, it turns out, started but got stuck on Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein (male narrators).

“I agree Gruach that there will be a ripple effect.... that does not make him a bad lecturer though.“

No, if he hasn’t ever read a book by a woman, it does make him a bad lecturer.

In fact I need to ask if he manages to read his female student essays/work ok?