Some say youth is wasted on the young—maybe adventure is, too. After all, life doesn’t stop at 50 or 60 or even 80. Looks inevitably fade, even with the best interventions money can buy, but more years on the clock and a few laugh lines shouldn’t relegate women to supporting roles in literature or in life.
If you’re looking for the best books with seasoned female protagonists, you’re in the right place. These stories have it all: action, laughs, love and sex. Whether in mid-life or late-life, these stereotype-busting heroines are proof positive you don’t have to be under 30 to be the main character in your own life.
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
In Pooley’s latest novel, 70-year-old Daphne is using her ‘older woman invisibility’ to stay under the radar and hide from her past. When she decides to break out of her lonely existence and join a Senior Citizens’ Social Club, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime by taking on the bureaucrats determined to close the space down. With gangs, heists and stakeouts, this is not your ordinary novel about senior citizens. Prepare to be thoroughly entertained.
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
This clever novel by Newman follows Rocky, a mum in her 50s sandwiched between caring for her parents and her grown-up kids on their annual holiday to Cape Cod. Newman paints a vivid picture of family life and proves that middle-aged characters can be funny, sympathetic and fascinating. It is a beautifully written, moving novel that touches on the complexity of female sexuality and fertility and explores how every pregnancy leaves an indelible mark.
The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson
After losing her loyal husband Arthur, 82-year-old Mabel sets out on a quest to discover the meaning of his last ‘to do’ list: ‘find D.’ Sure it relates to her best friend Dot, whom she hasn’t seen for 60 years, Mabel sets out on a mission to track her down. In doing so, she makes new connections, forms new friendships, and in her own inimitable way, manages to shake up the lives of those around her. Proving that age is just a number, Mabel is a loveable, feisty and intelligent heroine.
Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood
At the novel’s beginning, you might be forgiven for thinking Grace Adams is having a breakdown. The 45-year-old abruptly abandons her car in a traffic jam and sets out to walk to her daughter, carrying an ill-fated birthday cake. But instead the tragi-comic heroine’s bizarre journey becomes the conduit through which she seizes back her power and fixes issues in her life—albeit after a close encounter with the law.
Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey
Forty-six-year-old Clover has finally had enough of conforming to society’s expectations and meekly saying yes. She’s had it with the daily juggle of her life and being taken advantage of by everyone from her difficult mother to her disagreeable boss. She decides she’s going to take the day off from conforming—and in doing so shakes up her world. This hilarious novel will keep you hooked.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Think 50-year-olds are boring? Too old for romance? Not suitable to be the main character of a drama filled with sexual tension and longing? Meet Elle, fifty years old and a mother of three, as she juggles the affections of her loving husband Peter and Jonas, her oldest friend and newest sexual partner. This complex book covers hard-hitting subjects, past tragedies and the longing for roads untraveled, as well as proving once and for all that 50-year-olds can be the center of complex love stories.
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Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
People often remark that older women feel invisible. But is that such a bad thing? It is this ability to go under the radar that enables Vera Wong, a tea shop owner, to turn amateur sleuth after discovering a dead body one morning. Suspects approached by Wong have no reason to question her motives, but maybe that’s her superpower.
Ana Turns by Lisa Gornick
Is 60 too old to ‘come of age’? Gornick’s main character, Ana Koehl, seems to do just that when she realizes the time has come to face up to her past and seize the future with both hands. With its cleverly interwoven timelines, the book powerfully shows the complex life of the 60-year-old main character and defies stereotypes by showing Ana still in control and shaping her future.
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Perfectionist Britt-Marie, 63, shows that age is no barrier to personal growth. The somewhat prickly, socially awkward character creates a brand new life after leaving her cheating husband and acquiring a new job as caretaker of a rec center. When she takes on the dubious responsibility of leading the local children’s soccer team, she forges new community connections, comes to understand her past and finds a new purpose for her future.
It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan
Those of us in midlife or beyond may agree that aging can be scary. And it’s easy to buy into the belief that, as we age, our best years are behind us. Terry McMillan begs to differ in her novel It’s Not All Downhill from Here. The main character, Loretha, is a thriving businesswoman of 68 who has no intention of slowing down. When an unexpected loss throws her, Loretha is determined that by harnessing her inner strength (and leaning on her brilliant friends), she will not be broken.
