Women’s History Month reading recommendations from Anna Trench

In celebration of Women's History Month, Anna Trench, author of the upcoming debut graphic novel about football, Florrie, shares the five books she recommends adding to your reading list in March.

No Modernism Without Lesbians by Diana Souhami

Souhami’s group biography celebrates four literary lesbians and their lovers in Paris in the early twentieth century who in their enjoyably overlapping ways were vital for Modernism. Without Sylvia Beach’s tireless efforts Ulysses wouldn’t have been published; without Bryher’s money or Natalie Barney’s parties many writers and artists wouldn’t have survived or had so much fun; and without Gertrude Stein, poetry (and Picasso’s legacy) would look very different. But more than just the books and the art, Souhami’s book showcases women who lived openly queer lives. And for that, I think they’re not only groundbreaking, they’re heroic.

My Beautiful Sisters by Khalida Popal

Popal’s love for playing football and her belief in the freedom it can bring shines through this powerful memoir. After fleeing the Taliban as a child and growing up in a refugee camp, she returned to Afghanistan to co-found and captain the Afghan women’s football team. She created opportunities for hundreds of girls to play and at every level battled sexism, exploitation and corruption. The horrific danger and abuse she and her teammates suffered just for wanting to play sport is shocking. When the Taliban returned in 2021 she worked across international borders to save the players. It’s a remarkable, eye-opening account of recent history.

A Women's Game by Suzanne Wrack

Wrack’s very readable history covers the game from the British Ladies’ Football Club’s first match in 1895 to the Lionesses’ thrilling victory in Euro 2022. She explains its growth in the WW1 munitions factories, the impact of the 1921 ban, journey to the 1971 World Cup and development of the WSL. Despite the massive rise in women’s football, many people still don’t know about the extraordinary 1921 ban, where the FA labelled the game ‘unsuitable for females.’ Women's football was hugely popular before then, and it’s taken a long time to build back what was taken away. As a sports journalist who has done so much to champion the game, Wrack is perfectly placed to bring us this story.

Sally Heathcote: Suffragette by Kate Charlesworth, Mary M Talbot and Bryan M Talbot

Sally Heathcote: Suffragette is a collaboration between three titans of graphic novels. The book they created together richly evokes the exciting and turbulent events of the women’s suffrage movement in the early twentieth century, and is packed full of historical detail. Charlesworth’s beautiful drawings are full of feeling, immersing the reader in Sally’s world, who lights up each inky page with her flame-coloured hair. We follow her as she gets drawn passionately into the campaign for the right to vote: fighting injustice, falling in love, and flying the purple, white and green flag with the Pankhursts.