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- Samantha Ellis on literary heroines
When I felt like I wanted to change, I used to read about the good-girl heroines of Victorian novels, but as Jane Austen rightly said, ‘Pictures of perfection…make me sick and wicked’, and now, if I try reading What Katy Did, Little Women or (aarghh) Pollyanna, I’m liable to get so mutinous that I throw down the books, drink all the whisky, put on my best dress and go rampaging. But here are some heroines I still reach for when I need inspiration.
Rachel Samstat, from Nora Ephron’s Heartburn
In the kitchen, the best heroine of all is Rachel, not just because Ephron’s book is full of excellent recipes but because her key lime pie is the best thing to throw at your philandering husband. I don’t have a philandering husband but I like to be prepared. And in the meantime I can eat the pie.