Great Literary Sisters

By Janet Phillips

A celebration of sisterhood throughout some of literature's best-loved tales.

Sisterly relationships feature prominently in some of our best-loved classics. From Jane and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice to Hasina and Nazneen in Brick Lane, sisters have provided inspiration to novelists for centuries.

Sisters can be best friends, mother figures, rivals, heroes, sounding boards, or partners in crime, depending on literary genre, era, or plot demands. They can bring focus to women's changing societal roles, especially in works that predate the twentieth century, such as Middlemarch, The Woman in White, and The Old Wives' Tale. Their bonds with younger or older siblings, like those of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in Little Women, are often complex, nuanced, and even devastating.

Covering childhood, adventure, affairs of the heart, and mental health, this book explores the role of sisters in twenty individual entries. Including writers as diverse as Charles Dickens, E.M. Forster, J.D. Salinger, Toni Morrison, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it makes the perfect read for book-loving sisters, whatever their connection.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1851246215
• ISBN13: 9781851246212
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Bodleian Library
• Length: 208 Pages