The Little Book of Feminist Saints

by Julia Pierpont, Manjit Thapp (Illustrator)

This inspiring, beautifully illustrated collection honors one hundred exceptional women throughout history and around the world.

A Stylist Must-read Book of 2018

In this luminous volume, New York Times bestselling writer Julia Pierpont and artist Manjit Thapp match short, vibrant, and surprising biographies with stunning full-color portraits of secular female "saints" champions of strength and progress. These women broke ground, broke ceilings, and broke molds--including

Maya Angelou - Jane Austen - Ruby Bridges - Rachel Carson - Shirley Chisholm - Marie Curie & Irene Joliot Curie - Isadora Duncan - Amelia Earhart - Artemisia Gentileschi - Grace Hopper - Dolores Huerta - Frida Kahlo - Billie Jean King - Audre Lorde - Wilma Mankiller - Toni Morrison - Michelle Obama - Sandra Day O'Connor - Sally Ride - Eleanor Roosevelt - Margaret Sanger - Sappho - Nina Simone - Gloria Steinem - Kanno Sugako - Harriet Tubman - Mae West - Virginia Woolf - Malala Yousafzai

Open to any page and find daily inspiration and lasting delight.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, History, Biography, Womens, Adult, Social Justice

189 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2018

About the author

Julia Pierpont is the author of Among the Ten Thousand Things, her debut novel. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the M.F.A. program at N.Y.U., where she was a Rona Jaffe Graduate Fellow. She lives in Brooklyn with her lunatic dog, Dash.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for in terms of feminist collections. I mentioned before in my reviews for equally striking books (Bad Girls Throughout History & Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls) how I’m not keen on Wikipedia-esque entries, instead, I prefer anecdotes that bring the women back to life through words. And oh, how Julia Pierpont delivered with The Little Book of Feminist Saints.

“These entries are not meant to serve as short biographies, summaries of each woman’s life that could just as easily be found online. I tried, instead, in my daily research, to zero in on the colorful, the anecdotes I would find myself repeating to a friend that night.”

My most important thing with these collections is that I want to educated myself on something new in an engaging way, without feeling like I'm reading a textbook. And because The Little Book of Feminist Saints focused on telling witty stories that captured the spirit of each woman, there wasn’t ever a case of reading the same repeated history lesson, especially with the more well-known personalities. I got enlightened on so many phenomenal sheroes over the course of the book, and I had the most fun doing so.

This read also managed to pack many experiences into a short amount of pages. Ranging from leading ladies, philosophers, readers, dreamers, travelers, athletes, students, and rebels.

Speaking of which, here were some of the noteworthy women I was very in tune with that I'd like to highlight:

1. Oprah: Matron Saint of Every Home.

“She connected with audiences because she knew people, and she let them know her.”

2. Yayoi Kusama: Matron Saint of Visionaries

“The visions started in childhood—flowers would talk to her; the floor would disappear.”

3. Gloria Steinem: Matron Saint of Sisterhood

“There was something,” she remarked, “about seeing women tell the truth about their lives in public, and seeing women take seriously something that only happens to women. In my experience, things were only taken seriously if they also happened to men.”

4. Maya Angelou: Matron Saint of Storytellers

“In times of strife and extreme stress, I was likely to retreat to mutism. Mutism is so addictive. And I don’t think its powers ever go away.”

5. Rachel Carson: Matron Saint of Future Generations

“The threat is infinitely greater to the generations unborn; to those who have no voice in the decisions of today, and that fact alone makes our responsibility a heavy one.”

6. Katharine Hepburn: Matron Saint of Leading Ladies

“As one goes through life,” she wrote in her memoirs, “one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.”

7. Anne Frank: Matron Saint of Diariest


8. Frida Kahlo: Matron Saint of Color


The Little Book of Feminist Saints exceeded all my expectations, thanks to both the striking illustrations by Manjit Thapp that set the tone for what to expect, and the accompanying anecdotes written to the strengths of our leading ladies.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: March 6th 2018



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[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way:

READ THAT TITLE.

LOOK AT THAT COVER.

DO BOTH AGAIN!!! PREFERABLY REPEAT STEPS 1-3 UNTIL YOU’RE SURE - REALLY SURE - YOU HAVE APPRECIATED EACH TO BOTH YOUR FULL CAPACITY AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEY DESERVE APPRECIATION.

When done, feel free to continue reading. Or don’t - we’ve already done what really matters here.

Basically this book is teeny and gorgeous and smart and creative and unique and I love it so much. I read it right after the high of reading Brazen, one of my favorite books of the year/another amazing feminist book about badass ladies in history, and it held up pretty well. It’s not AS good, but nothing is and it’s pretty close!!!

Also please look at the cover again and then think about the title because I’m just sure you’re capable of further appreciation.

Bottom line: This book is teeny and cute inside and out! And those are my aspirations right there. (Hoping ending on that note makes this review seem cute in addition to teeny.)

------------
pre-review

what? oh, sorry, i only read nonfiction anthologies of the stories of under-discussed badass women from history alongside beautiful art now.

it's a rebrand for the ages.

review to come?? who can say

[da AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outwardly charming & lovely, this seemingly sweet little book sinks deep into the heart with the seriousness of how so many sung & unsung heroines exist...

[sAmAnE · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب زنان بدون مرز اثر جولیا پیرپونت شرح‌حال مختصری از زنان سراسر جهان که به نوعی سرشناس و معروف بوده‌اند، را گردآوری کرده. از شخصیت‌های هنری و زنان هنرمند، سیاستمداران، فعالان اجتماعی، نویسندگان و ... اطلاعات کوتاهی در حد دو صفحه آمده است.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

We’ve been reading “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” for more than 6 months with my little daughter which she really loved. So, I chose this book only to see if I could read it along with my daughter.

First, more than a half of the women were from the States, the author might have considered this fact while naming the book (American Feminists and Some Others?)... And, there were also some comments on YouTube or Instagram the author chooses to mention in the stories! Oh come on, this is not a blog, but a book, must have been more serious! Lastly, according to the author, Marie Curie won The Nobel Prize twice in Physics, which is not true (Second time was in Chemistry)! Making such a mistake in Mme. Curie’s story shows the book is lack of good knowledge. I like the illustrations, though.

[Mansoor · Rating 1 out of 5]

چیزی که در این کتاب توجهم را جلب کرد چندتایی انتخاب جسورانه‌ی نویسنده بود. در کتاب‌هایی از این قماش که به قصد برانگیختن و الگو دادن به دختران و زنان جوان نوشته می‌شوند، به ندرت نشانی از چهره‌هایی چون فروغ فرخ‌زاد، امی نوئیثر، لیز مایتنر یا جین آستین می‌بینید. مشکل اینجا است که هیچ کدام از این زنان درخشان خودشان را فمینیست نمی‌خواندند. در ضمن بعید مستبعد است اگر بنا بود کتاب، به جای 2018، امسال منتشر شود، نویسنده همچنان جرات می‌کرد مارگارت سنگر را بین انتخاب‌هایش بگذارد

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like A Glorious Freedom, this is a celebration of women’s achievements, especially those that have been overlooked. Each “matron saint,” presented in chronological order by birthday, gets a two-page spread, with a full-color portrait on the left (by Manjitt Thapp, a young British artist) and a very short biographical essay on the right that highlights the saint’s background and her contribution towards greater opportunities for women. The first two subjects give you a sense of the range covered: Artemisia Gentileschi and Michelle Obama. There are about 90 profiles here, and while I recognized most of the figures, a number of the mathematical/scientific pioneers and civil rights activists were new to me. A perfect coffee table book to gift to the women in your life this year. Out on March 6th.

[l · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a cute idea but:

- the art isn’t great. some figures are unrecognizable and there’s no real thought put into how they’re being portrayed. depictions of saints generally reflect something about them and their lives; these don’t.

- some inclusions are... bhutto?? madonna?? hillary clinton??

- the blurbs are not great tbh

- it’s too white. an attempt was made but over half are still white and unnecessarily so. honestly I think at this point if you’re making a list, you need to see if you can replace all the whites with woc and if you can, do it. I made a list of women’s memoirs recently operating with that principle and think it’s a better list for it 🤷🏽‍♀️ (and yes white women were still included but there’s such a default to white women that we need to take extra steps to ensure a diverse selection ).

- it also needed more re lesbians rep and more disabled women rep.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always great to read these types of books.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautiful illustrations and I really liked the diversity of women present in this little book. The tidbits about these women's lives also made them feel more dynamic and memorable, rather than just a straight list of facts & accomplishments. With the descriptions of the women you felt you could see a bit of their personalities. Of course, it's also a helpful guide to what these women have accomplished and how they are important figures to the feminist movement. However, I liked not being bombarded with a bunch of random facts and preferred the more personal style.

There were many women in this book that I had not heard of and am happy I know of now. There were also women who I had heard of but learned something new about. As mentioned, I really liked the representation. We have women of all ages, backgrounds and orientations in one little book. This is a great book for a quick read or something to peruse on some down time. This book might help you at a trivia night, realize that women are badass, or make you feel inspired.

Thanks to this book I found out that Jane Austen is now my bae. She is a sassy author who preferred her writing more than people. A girl of my heart. It's also a book I could find myself reading again and one I would recommend to someone who admires strong independent women.

[Lorilin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short and concise book that highlights important women over the years. There is a crazy range of personalities in here, from all different countries, religions, areas of expertise, and time periods.

Featured women are artists like Yayoi Kusama (who used art as a way to process her hallucinations), actresses like Bea Arthur (who embraced her deep voice and tall stature to portray tough, no-nonsense women), explorers like Amelia Earhart (whose strong independence helped her become the first woman to make a transatlantic flight), activists like Dolores Huerta (who helped found the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez), journalists like Nellie Bly (who posed as an insane person so she could expose the horrible conditions of mental institutions), and writers like Maya Angelou (who used words as a way to cope with rape and other traumatic experiences in her life).

The write-ups on each woman are short but personal. These aren't one-page obituary-like essays that report birth, death, and major career milestones. Instead, author Julia Pierpont shares one or two specific stories about each woman, little vignettes that actually get at the humanity, the real core, of the woman featured. It's an interesting format, and the book is educational, yes, but also extremely genuine and revealing. Ultimately, I ended up absolutely loving this one.

See more of my book reviews at www.bugbugbooks.com!

ARC provided through Amazon Vine.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This captivating book brought a diverse collection of both renowned and lesser known feminist trailblazers to life with vivid illustrations and meaningful details about why they should be remembered!

[Helen Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little Book of Feminist Saints is quite the treasure and I’m thrilled that I had a chance to read it before it was published. Modelled after the format of the Catholic little books of saints, Pierpont chose an interesting format that works well for the content. While reading this book, I sometimes recognized the well-known male counterparts in the bios of women that I hadn't even heard of. This is evidence enough of how much a book like this was needed.

Rather than providing a dry biography of each saint, Pierpont chose to focus on something they did that was of significance. She tells anecdotes that I wouldn’t have otherwise come across. Some of the feminists are well-known icons, and others are women who should be recognized for what they did. I also greatly appreciated the diversity of the women. She includes women of colour, women with disabilities, women from around the world and throughout history, and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

The little nods to the inspiration for the format are adorable. Pierpont calls each feminist a “matron saint”, and their illustrations depict a halo around each and every woman’s head. The bite-size write-ups for each feminist makes this book much more approachable for those who might otherwise find a non-fiction book like this intimidating. You can't argue that you don't have time to read when each saint is merely a page. You can put this book on your nightstand and read about one feminist icon before bed every night. While I do wish that some of the lesser-known saints had a little more information about them, this book provides the perfect introduction to each person, so the reader can research whomever they’re interested in learning more about.

5 stars!

*Thanks to Random House for a copy of this ARC for an honest review*

[Paula Bardell-Hedley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution.”
Malala Yousafzai, Matron Saint of Students (Feast Day 12th July)

Its publication date scheduled to coincide with International Women's Day, Julia Pierpont's The Little Book of Feminist Saints is a joyous celebration of one hundred women who achieved something of significance during their lives.

A variety of female voices contributed to the final selection of names included in the collection, from friends and editor of the author to employees of Random House. Pierpont says that when the list reached four-hundred it was, with difficulty, whittled down to a more compact but concise selection of “matron saints”, each with her own unique feast day. We are told that during this process, Katharine Hepburn received five independent nominations, and Marie Curie eight.

Rather than produce a mundane roll-call of biographical facts, every individual in this “secular book of saints” is summed-up with a telling anecdote or pithy witticism, and each vignette is accompanied by a stunning full-colour portrait, courtesy of the British artist Manjit Thapp.

Pierpont finds connections between a number of the women – sometimes fairly obscure, but often more direct - and she describes finding these as like stumbling upon a “great sisterhood.” She's aware countless noteworthy individuals are missing from the collection, but attempting to include every single suggestion was never an option. Therefore, at the back of the book she provides a section for you to add your own matron saint.

“She alone, out of an enormous and dull catalogue of heroines, does not get married at the end of the film, does not die, does not take the road to exile, does not gaze sadly at her declining youth in a silver-framed mirror in the worst possible taste.”
Colette writing on Mae West

The author is a New Yorker, so there is inevitably a strong US flavour to this volume, however, the selection is diverse in so much as the women's accomplishments cover multifarious disciplines, with names ranging from Maya Angelou, Rachel Carson and Billie Jean King to Sappho, Mae West and Jane Austen.

This is a highly enjoyable romp through the lives of gutsy, gifted, awe-inspiring women whose lives have made - or continue to make – powerful impressions long after their passing. Every library, educational institution and young family should aspire to possess at least one copy.

Many thanks to Random House for providing an advance review copy of this title.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book a million stars, I would. I cannot say enough good things about this book. This book is like chicken soup and some sort of massive energy drink for my inner beast mode feminine soul.
Celebrating women such as Ada Lovelace, Wilma Mankiller, Sojourner Truth, Sally Ride, Malala Yousafzai, and so much more, and modeled after the "Saint of the Day" books, Pierpont looks at a diverse cross section of women throughout history. Casting them as "Matron Saints" of various endeavors and granting them their own feast days, she brilliantly devises portraits of them which allow their inspiring accomplishments to sing. The illustrations are charming and fit well with the book.
If you are a fan of Amy Poehler's "Smart Girls" movement or stories from the Facebook Page, or wished Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls had a counterpart for adults, this is your book. You will also like it if you are just a human who likes to read about cool things other humans do. I DEVOURED this book and will certainly go back to these Matron Saints when I need inspiration in my own life!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and RandomHouse for granting me an ARC - in return I am honestly reviewing and I can honestly say I ADORE THIS BOOK.

[Shomeret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the concept of Matron Saints. I decided to post a list of my favorite ones above my desk in case I wanted to dedicate a blog post to a Matron Saint. There were unexpected nuggets in some of the one page profiles. My only complaint is that I wish Pierpont gave us source notes.

My favorite Matron Saint title was the Matron Saint of Going Off Script which Pierpont bestowed on Marlene Dietrich.

One of my favorite stories was the one about Shirley Chisholm visiting George Wallace in the hospital after he was shot.

This is a special book. It should be in feminist reference libraries.

[AleJandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2018
Un libro acerca del Feminismo.

Reseña pendiente…

[Jessica T.]

Oh boy. I loved this. This book is set up as a Catholic saint of the day book with feast days and beautiful art. It's a diverse selection of feminist icons. There were several times i had to go look up someone because i had never heard of them before. This is perfect for an adult or your little feminist at home.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first picked this book, I thought, oh another book about famous women. Wonder if I'll learn anything new.

Answer, yes, yes, I did.

This is more than just short histories of famous women. This is a collection that calls out why these women are famous and should be known about, and what they were known about. Yes, it is odd to make it out to be saint days, but why not?

And these are not light little nothings about famous women. These are all statements of why we should honor and listen to these women from the past and present.

For example, here is the excerpt about Rachel Carson, whose feast day is April 14:

The cancer had metastasized and her body had burns fromt he radiation.
Even the wig she wore when she went out was hot and itchy. And no one-her critis in particular-could k now of her condition, for fear it might be used to call her objectivity into question:
Silent Spring's unprecedented claim was that petrochemicals were linked to human cancer. That day in San Franscico, she emphasized the urgency of her findings. "We behave,
not like people guided by scientific knowledge, but more like the poverbial bad housekeeper who sweeps dirt under the rug in the hope of getting it out of site." "The Pollution of Our Environment"
would be her last speech: she died six months later.

And here is part of the excerpt about Nina Simone, the matron saint of soul:

"When I heard about the bombing of the church in which the four little balck girsl were killed in Alabama," she said, "I shut myself up in a room and that song happened."
The result was "Missisippi Goddam," a rallying cry for the movement and one of Simone's most famous protest songs.
Everybody knows about Missisippi-goddam.

And while I had heard and knew of Nellie Bly, the famous female journalist, I had not considered how important her story on the Insane Asylum was. And although I knew that Frances Perkins was the first female member of a U.S. president's cabinate, I was not aware of how much work she did to make the Social Security Act be established, or minimum wages, or the forty-hour work week, and the banning of child labour.

This is a great book to get people to read, and realize how many great women are out there that we should know more about.






Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Zahraa Maytham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, another book that I was looking forward to read and got me really disappointed.

The book has a cute form and cover, the illustrations are really pretty, but the content was extremely disappointing. I don’t think she chose her figures right, most were unrecognizable or didn’t do much to actually change the world if we compared them to other ones. Also the little biographies didn’t give much explanations of why were they considered “saints” and why were they chosen over several other women who really deserve the title.

Also the author should’ve done more research and included more people who weren’t from the US cause there are some real saints out there!

The writing style wasn’t so good either, there were some information that seemed wrong and I’m not sure if the author cared about her references, (one reference was actually a comment on YouTube!)

But I guess I liked the main idea (though there are many books nowadays that have a similar one and may even have a better content). The stars given are mainly for the illustrations and some of the figures that I’ve only discovered when reading the book.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt motivated as all get out both while reading this book and reveling in it now that I have finished it. Although each feminist is only touched on briefly, there were many feminists I was not aware of who did important work and were super interesting to learn about, and many feminists I already know of whom I learned more about. The artwork was beautiful and the writing was touching.

"The early church declared her 'a sex-crazed whore who sings of her own wantonness'."

My girl.

[Jesica DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a book inspires you to learn more, to strive and imbues you with awe then it settles into your heart. I will take the lives introduced in this book with me to challenge me going forward in life!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going through this day by day and learning about new, important, amazing women (or learning new things about women I thought I already new) was such a delight. I implore anybody who loves women to buy this and follow along. It's an absolute delight.

[Joudy Shedid]

Should be renamed AMERICAN feminists tbh, which is fine, but don't pretened this is about women globally, because it's not.

[Paya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fajne. Czytałam sobie do poduszki, podobało mi się to, że nie były to biogramy a anegdotki. Ładne ilustracje. Zbiór bardzo amerykański, ale kobiety z reszty świata też się w miarę załapały.

[Geoffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced electronic copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

To try and sum this up as succinctly as this work’s various entries, “The Little Book of Feminist Saints” does two things incredibly well.

The first is how it educates. Yes, it mentions many of the prominent women that one would expect, such as Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Amelia Earhart, etc. However, it also provides more exposure to many of the great women that we may know only by name or face, but don’t necessarily know what made them such grad figures of worthy note (Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, to name just two who jumped out to this particular reader). Then of course there are the scores of women who many of use have unfortunately have probably never heard of before opening this book, like Kara Walker, Junko Tabei, Mary Edwards Walker, Jin Xing, Juana Ines de la Cruz….all extraordinary figures whose entries will leave one wondering, “Wait, I haven’t heard of her yet HOW?”

Secondly, and although this is only stating the obvious, but “The Little Book of Feminist Saints” inspires. Thanks to the entries that successfully capture the essence of every extraordinary woman and their varied accomplishments in only a few paragraphs each, this book is perfectly formatted so that after the first read, one can come back again and again and again to read a section or several if they need to be inspirited, and quickly so.

Julia Pierpont, simply put, has crafted a marvelous compilation of amazing figures that one should not hesitate to pick up if provided with the opportunity.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

All through high school I kept a list of famous women. Not actresses or celebrities, but women who made their mark, women who were game-changers. Maria Mitchell, Lucy Stone, the Bronte sisters. By the time I graduated I had pages of names to back me up whenever a boy scoffed and said "Women can't do that." Yes, we can, I said - which took guts, because I was a shy girl, but being told I couldn't do something merely because of my gender made me angry enough to come out of my shell.

This book is a gorgeous, perfect update to my high school list. Many of the names I recognized from long ago, and some were new to me. Plus, a lot of talented/brave/intelligent women have come along since 1974.

Best quotes (to me):
Maya Angleou - "The writer has to take the most used, most familiar objects - nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs - ball them together and make them bounce, turn them a certain way and make people get into a romantic mood; and another way, into a bellicose mood. I'm most happy to be a writer."
Frances Perkins - "One thing I know: Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American Psychology today that no politician...could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system."
Ida B. Wells - "O my God! Can such things be and no justice for it? American Christianity heard of this awful affair and read of its details and neither press nor pulpit gave the matter more than passing comment."

I need this book in my life and on my bookshelf. Every woman does.

[Mainon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool idea. Each of the featured women is named a matron saint--for example, Harriet Tubman is the "Matron Saint of Freedom"--and given a feast day, followed by a short biography. I learned a lot, actually. Did you know Tubman (at around age 40) became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War?

The Combahee River Raid, led by Tubman and Union Colonel James Montgomery, and remembered by the New York Times as 'arguably the most beautiful scene ever recorded in a war,' facilitated the escape of more than seven hundred men, women, and children--the largest liberation of slaves in American history.

The book rightly features many less famous (at least in America) women, too: Benazir Bhutto, Gertrude Bell, Bella Abzug (the matron saint of lawyers!), Dorothy Arzner, Juana Ines de la Cruz, Kara Walker, and Margaret Hamilton are a few of the ones whose stories stood out to me.

My one criticism is that because the bios are so short, they can start to feel a little perfunctory, and it's hard to read more than a handful in a sitting. But then again, what a wonderful book to pick up every now and again to remind yourself of how many unsung female heroes we have to learn about.

I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4 STARS
2018; Random House Publishing Group/Random House
(Review Not on Blog)

The Little Book of Feminist Saints is a great book for all ages. Each brilliant woman has a very brief biography, with an illustration. If you like Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women you will like this!

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

[Lorri Steinbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in prepub. Due out March 2018. I loved this book so much. I want to put this into the hands of every woman and girl I meet. It was inspirational, even for women's studies loving, hardcore feminist like myself. While the "usual subjects" are included, I was introduced to lesser known icons. It is also just a beautiful physical object. I read it digitally, but immediately placed my order for the book.