Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Books about women in their 50s/60s

59 replies

changednameagainobvs · 10/01/2026 23:40

Can anyone recommend books about women in their 50s or 60s? Nothing too heavy, relatively easy to get into. Thank you.

OP posts:
EsmeArcher · 12/01/2026 20:16

Anne Tyler writes well about the complexities of families, often from an older woman’s perspective.
Three days in June and The Amateur Marriage spring to mind.

AncientMarina · 12/01/2026 20:20

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 12/01/2026 08:47

Almost certainly won't meet the brief but anything by P. G. Wodehouse featuring one of his formidable aunt characters.

"Aunts! Nature's howler".

Mumblechum0 · 12/01/2026 20:21

TabbyTom · 11/01/2026 06:47

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

Olive is actually an older woman, probably in her 70s, and the book is about her looking back across her entire adult life. Each chapter or story is a moment in time - about love, loneliness, regret, moving on.

It’s actually one of the best books I’ve ever read, full of great characters and so well observed - very wise and moving, but also very funny in places…

I love all of the Olive Kitteridge books (some of ES’s books mention her as a minor character too)

AncientMarina · 12/01/2026 20:25

I'm sorry, this is another period piece and the protagonist is perhaps a bit younger than your specification, but I just had to mention Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield. A fabulous, fun read.

Have you read the Flappy books by Santa Montefiore? Middle aged social queen at the centre of village life. Entertaining and light.

ShackletonSailingSouth · 12/01/2026 21:45

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans. Written a few years ago and set in 1928. Mattie Simpkin age 58 is a powerhouse, a former suffragette in need of a new project to fire her up. Her companion Florrie (known as The Flea), also in her fifties and a former suffragette, is a health visitor for the poor women of the postwar slums. Chalk and cheese, but they are great friends. It's hilarious and moving. Highly recommend.

deplorabelle · 12/01/2026 21:46

Philandbill · 12/01/2026 19:57

@deplorabelle Many years ago I lived in London in a shared house. My landlady's Canadian cousin from Winnipeg was visiting, she was in her sixties then. We were talking about books and I said "Do you know Carol Shields?" meaning had she read any of her novels. I was quite surprised when landlady's cousin replied "Oh yes, I serve on the library committee with her". Still wish I'd asked more questions....

Oh that's amazing I'm so jealous

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 13/01/2026 07:34

AncientMarina · 12/01/2026 20:20

"Aunts! Nature's howler".

It is no use telling me there are bad aunts and good aunts. At the core, they are all alike. Sooner or later, out pops the cloven hoof.

when Aunt is calling Aunt like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps

I feel a big re-read coming on.

(Apologies for derail.)

DisplayPurposesOnly · 13/01/2026 07:42

Don't forget the granny of them all though...Miss Marple.

And the forerunner to Miss Marple - Miss Silver (by Patricia Wentworth).

[But doesn't fit OP's brief for contemporary novels, sorry.]

Getupgetout · 13/01/2026 07:54

Marzahn, mon amour by Katja Oskamp

The main character is 44 at the start so not quite the brief, but close! She’s a podiatrist and her clients are mostly older women. Published 2019.

BestIsWest · 13/01/2026 08:01

I adored Carol Shields too. Unless is my favourite of hers.

For a spot of light reading I enjoyed Clare Pooley - The People on Platform 5 which had a great character in her 50s/60s.

BestIsWest · 13/01/2026 08:05

For Cosy detective, though mostly set in the 80s and 90s, Hazel Holt’s Mrs Malory books are great. A widow in her 50s/60s who seems to know a lot of murderers through her charity shop work or the WI or various friends and relatives. Set in a fictional version of Weston Super Mare.

changednameagainobvs · 13/01/2026 23:52

BestIsWest · 13/01/2026 08:01

I adored Carol Shields too. Unless is my favourite of hers.

For a spot of light reading I enjoyed Clare Pooley - The People on Platform 5 which had a great character in her 50s/60s.

Thank you, I've ordered The People on Platform Five.

OP posts:
changednameagainobvs · 20/03/2026 15:05

I've just finished The people on platform 5 and absolutely loved it. I'm about to start The Weekend.

Thanks for the recommendations.

OP posts:
Bippertyboo2 · 20/03/2026 15:08

Erica James books for a contemporary, light read

Mayim · 20/03/2026 16:02

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

RolandOnTheRopes · 20/03/2026 18:44

I'm currently reading The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr. It's about a woman who sets up a puzzle society in her fifties. It goes back and forth in time with her story and her adopted son.

fyooshia · 20/03/2026 21:14

The Greek holiday by Maeve Haran is a story of 4 women in their 50s who recreate their student holiday to Greece. Easy read, lighthearted and fun.

Dappy777 · 20/03/2026 21:45

How about Anita Brookner? Superb stylist and very underrated.

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway is a personal favourite.

As for P G Wodehouse, I worship at his feet.

JohnBullshit · 20/03/2026 21:51

Going Gently by David Nobbs takes you through an elderly woman's adult life, with the more interesting bits happening in middle and later years.

hayyouuu · 20/03/2026 21:58

Kerry Fisher’s books!

MissyB1 · 20/03/2026 22:03

EsmeArcher · 12/01/2026 20:16

Anne Tyler writes well about the complexities of families, often from an older woman’s perspective.
Three days in June and The Amateur Marriage spring to mind.

Three days in June is an excellent example of what you are looking for OP. It was one of those books I loved so much I didn’t want it to finish.

icecreamphoenix · 20/03/2026 22:09

Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being might fit the bill

amzn.eu/d/09SXs6dv

NowInNovember · 20/03/2026 22:12

I read Unless by Carol Shields when my children were very small and it stayed with me. I reread it last year and it was as good as I remembered. It's one of the best books ever written about motherhood. I'm so happy to see that other Mumsnetters rate it as highly as I do.
I also loved Old Baggage and Three Days in June.
A few other books that might fit the brief are The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and The Most Fun We Ever Had by Clare Lombardo.

Cleaningismycardio · 20/03/2026 22:36

The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend (and if you want a bit of royal humour, which you may or may not wish in the current climate then The Queen and I or Queen Camila by the same author)

Life Death and Vanilla Slices by Jenni Eclair. Are you looking exclusively for novels? I enjoy autobiographies and people like Jo Brand or Miriam Margolyes have some very funny offerings. Happy reading.