Fascinating Biofiction: Novels About Real-Life Women
By Nava Atlas | On May 8, 2025 | Updated May 9, 2025 | Comments (0)
If you love learning about fascinating women of the past, but aren’t inclined to read full-scale biographies that take you from the second they were born (or earlier) to the minute they died, another fantastic route into their lives is via novelizations, also known as biofiction.
This type of novel usually focuses on a particularly interesting portion of a fascinating real-life person’s journey. This seems to be a growing genre, and when done well, as in the small sampling following, is entertaining as well as illuminating.
To create these novelizations successfully requires a delicate balance involving deep research and creative license. Here’s a small sampling.
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Saving Vincent:
A Novel of Jo van Gogh Bonger
Last year, my book group read The Secret of Sunflowers, which, like Saving Vincent, fictionalizes the story of Jo van Gogh Bonger. Sunflowers alternates chapters about Jo with those about a fictional modern-day woman who is pretty forgettable. I found the contemporary story distracting and after finishing the book, I wished that someone would write a novel focusing only on Jo.
I got my wish with Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh (2025) by Joan Fernandez. It’s based on the true story of the widow of Theo van Gogh, Vincent’s devoted brother. She singlehandedly rescued Vincent van Gogh’s artistic legacy — without her, he would have been lost to history. Here, Joan introduces her novel:
“In 1891, timid Jo van Gogh-Bonger lived safely in the background of her art dealer husband Theo’s passionate for selling work by unknown artists, especially his ill-fated, deceased brother Vincent.
When Theo van Gogh died unexpectedly, Jo’s brief happiness was shattered. Her inheritance—hundreds of unsold paintings by Vincent—was worthless. Pressured to move back to her parents’ home, Jo defied tradition, opened a boarding house to raise her infant son alone, and chose to promote Vincent’s art herself.
Her ingenuity and persistence drew the powerful opposition of a Parisian art dealer who vowed to stop her and sink Vincent into obscurity. It would take Jo fifteen years for the world to finally take note of Vincent van Gogh.”
Can you imagine a world without the art of Vincent van Gogh? Jo made the world a richer place with her passionate belief in her brother-in-law’s brilliant work. Read more about Saving Vincent.
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Solitary Walker:
A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft
I’m a bit obsessed with Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter, Mary Shelley. The elder Mary was an early women’s rights advocate, best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and the younger Mary for producing the first work of science fiction, none other than Frankenstein (1818), written while still in her teens. Mary died nine days after giving birth to her namesake daughter.
N.J. Mastro’s novel, Solitary Walker, skillfully imagines the most formative and fascinating episodes of Mary Wollstonecraft’s brief life. From the publisher’s description:
“England, 1787. Mary Wollstonecraft is an avowed spinster. At 28, she moves to London to live independently as a writer. With her publication of A Vindication for the Rights of Woman a few short years later, she emerges as a leading figure for women’s equality. But when a humiliating faux pas threatens her reputation, Mary travels to Paris to write about the French Revolution, where she unexpectedly falls in love with American adventurer Gilbert Imlay.
Her ill-timed affair occurs just as the Reign of Terror begins, forcing Mary to decide whether to leave Paris—and Imlay. Her writing has branded her a revolutionary. If she stays, she is sure to face a trip to the guillotine. The choice Mary makes alters her life forever.
Readers of biographical fiction will embrace this carefully researched novel about the woman historians widely consider the world’s first feminist. Told against the backdrop of Wollstonecraft’s incredible rise as a writer, the French Revolution, and a solo journey along the remote shores of Scandinavia, Solitary Walker is the timeless story of women forging their own path.”
My favorite parts of the novel were those that involved Mary’s relationship with Gilbert Imlay, because let’s face it, complicated relationships are so compelling. This novel of the complicated and compelling Mary is an engrossing read, illuminating the a brief and blazing life.
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The Personal Librarian
(a novel of Belle da Costa Green)
The aforementioned N.J. Mastro, author of Solitary Walker (just above), contributed this article about Belle da Costa Green, the real-life figure behind The Personal Librarian. Within it, Mastro includes a review of the novel:
“The Personal Librarian is poignant, engaging, and instructive. Readers discover Belle da Costa Greene while the authors also bring to life two unique worlds, that of rare books and fine art.
Upon the recommendation of his nephew Junius Morgan, J.P. hires Belle da Costa Greene to purchase and curate his growing collection of rare books, manuscripts, book-related artifacts, and artwork. At the time, Belle was working as a librarian at Princeton, a white male-only university. Junius discovered Belle’s talent during his frequent visits to Princeton’s rare book collection. Her exceptional knowledge impressed him, as did her witty, animated personality.
Belle dazzles her new employer from the start. Because a great deal of business occurs in social settings as much as at auctions and by private arrangement, J.P. introduces her to New York society, where she makes an indelible impression. Soon she is traveling the world searching for the rarest of books, the most exquisite artwork money can buy, and antiquities few people have ever seen.
Throughout what appeared a charming, glamorous existence, Belle is forced to carry the secret of her true identity. If discovered, she would be fired. Not only would this destroy her career as a librarian, it would also take away her livelihood. Besides supporting herself, she was the breadwinner for her mother and siblings, to whom she provided food, clothing, shelter, and education.”
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Harlem Rhapsody
(a novel of Jessie Redmon Fauset)
I hope to get to the The Personal Librarian (above) soon; but I jumped ahead and listened to the new book by Victoria Christopher Murray (co-author of The Personal Librarian) — Harlem Rhapsody, a novel of Jessie Redmon Fauset.
I so enjoyed this book, as I am completely enamored of the Harlem Renaissance era and its writers. It’s wonderful that Jessie Fauset, who was not long ago in danger of being completely forgotten, is being honored in this way. She was a talented novelist, essayist, and poet in her own right; and in her capacity as literary editor of NAACP’s iconic journal The Crisis, she discovered and nurtured many of the legendary writers of that era (not the least of which was Langston Hughes).
The novel draws upon newly discovered evidence of the love affair between Jessie and the eminent W.E.B. Du Bois. It touches on the racial bias that Jessie, an intellectually gifted and highly educated woman had to continually endure in her quest for professional advancement. Sometimes the prose is a bit workmanlike, and occasionally the research jumped out, but I loved every second of the listening experience (narrated by Robin Miles).
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The Bohemians by Jasmin Darznik
(a novel of Dorothea Lange)
This is a wonderful novelization of the early career of Dorothea Lange, the esteemed photojournalist. Her photographs captured many major historical events of the twentieth century, including the Dust Bowl and the Japanese-American internment camps. She’s best known for the instantly recognizable portrait “Migrant Mother.”
Jasmin contributed 10 Fascinating Facts About Dorothea Lange, which makes an excellent introduction to this trailblazer. About the novel, from the publisher:
“In 1918, a young and bright-eyed Dorothea Lange steps off the train in San Francisco, where a disaster kick-starts a new life. Her friendship with Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking Chinese American with a complicated past, gives Dorothea entrée into Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of the city.
Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art, and politics. She also finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with the brilliant but troubled painter Maynard Dixon.
Dorothea and Caroline eventually create a flourishing portrait studio, but a devastating betrayal pushes their friendship to the breaking point and alters the course of their lives. The Bohemians captures a glittering and gritty 1920s San Francisco, with a cast of unforgettable characters, including Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and D. H. Lawrence.
A vivid and absorbing portrait of the past, it is also eerily resonant with contemporary themes, as anti-immigration sentiment, corrupt politicians, and a devastating pandemic bring tumult to the city—and the gift of friendship and the possibility of self-invention persist against the ferocious pull of history.”
I found this novel incredibly satisfying, as I had watched a documentary about Dorothea Lange just before listening to it. I loved its focus on her early career and San Francisco years, highlighting the challenges a woman with her talent and ambition faced some one hundred years ago. Some things have changed, others haven’t …
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The Other Alcott (a novel of May Alcott)
The Other Alcott (2017) by Elise Hooper is an imagining of the life of May Alcott. The youngest of the Alcott sisters, she inspired the character of Amy March in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. May (after marriage known as May Alcott Nieriker) was a talented visual artist. In this work of historical fiction, Elise Hooper gives readers a glimpse into the youngest Alcott’s artistic pursuits and her side of the sibling rivalry. From the publisher:
“Many of us grew up knowing the story of the March sisters, heroines of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. But while most fans cheer on Jo March, based on Louisa herself, Amy March is often the least favorite sister. Now, it’s time to learn the truth about the real Amy — Louisa’s sister, May. This lesser-known sister, the free spirit, the girl who decorated her walls—was she really the brat she was portrayed to be in her sister’s novel?
May begins to question her relationship with her sister as well as her dream to be an artist when her illustrations for Little Women are received poorly by reviewers. This inspires May to embark on a quest to discover her own true identity as an artist and a woman. Starting with art lessons in Boston and moving on to Rome, London, and Paris, this talented, and determined woman forges a life on her own terms, making her so much more than merely ‘The Other Alcott.’”
In this conversation reprinted on Literary Ladies Guide, Elise Hooper sums up why she chose May as the subject for this novel:
“She was such an optimistic figure, despite the many challenges that faced her, and she’s always been overshadowed by her infinitely more famous older sister, making me feel that her story needed to be told. Furthermore, I thought many modern readers would relate to May’s struggle to balance her desire for a career with her search to find love.”
Interestingly, Elise Hooper, like Jasmin Darsnik, also came out with a novel of Dorothea Lange’s life titled Learning to See. Though I haven’t read it, it sounds like it would be a good companion to Darznik’s novel, above, as Learning to See centers around Dorothea’s documentation of the Japanese American internment camps of the WWII era.
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Charlotte & Arthur
(a novel of Charlotte Brontë)
Charlotte & Arthur by Pauline Clooney (2021) is a richly imagined novel about the wedding and subsequent Irish honeymoon of Charlotte Brontë and Arthur Bell Nichols, the curate who worked with her father at Haworth parsonage. This novel is based on meticulous research by Ms. Clooney, an award-winning short story writer and the founding director of Kildare Writing Centre in Ireland.
The narrative focuses on a little-known time in Charlotte’s life. Though she’s a celebrated author at home and abroad, the siblings she grew up with (Emily, Anne, and Branwell Brontë) have all died, leaving only Charlotte and her father, the Reverend Patrick Brontë, from a family that once numbered eight members.
Charlotte is bereft and lonely, but the Rev. Brontë isn’t enthusiastic about her marriage to his curate. She herself took many years to warm up to Arthur. But finally, he won her heart, and this is where we pick up the story.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Pauline Clooney, and asked why she chose the novel form to tell the story of this part of Charlotte’s life. She responded:
“I think the story of her marriage to Arthur is as romantic, and alas, because of the brevity of their time together, as tragic, as the Brontë’s lives and works, and I felt the novel form might do more justice to that mix of romance and tragedy, than the hard facts of non-fiction.” Read the entire interview here.
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