The “women in the workplace” genre might call to mind 1980s cinematic classics like Working Girl and 9 to 5. But women have been hard at work—and writing about their experiences—for much longer than ...

The “women in the workplace” genre might call to mind 1980s cinematic classics like Working Girl and 9 to 5. But women have been hard at work—and writing about their experiences—for much longer than that. The books below detail the hardship, sorrow, confidence, pleasure, and pride that work can provide. “There is plenty of work in the world,” exclaims Louisa May Alcott’s female protagonist in her 1873 book Work, “and I’m not afraid of it; so you’ll soon hear good news of me.”

1. Charlotte Bronte, Villette (1853)

2. Louisa May Alcott, Work: A Story of Experience (1873)

3. Colette, The Vagabond (1910)

4. Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929)

5. James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce (1941)

6. Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle (1961)

7. Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy (1964)

8. Miriam Tlali, Muriel at the Metropolitan (1975)

9. Elsa Joubert, The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena (1979)

10. Nayantara Sahgal, Rich Like Us (1985)

11. Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy (1990)

12. Meridel Le Sueur, Harvest Song: Collected Essays and Stories (1990)

Thanks to the colleagues and friends of Public Books who offered suggestions for this list.