Welcome

Every March, Women’s History Month shines a light on the contributions women have made to history, culture, science, politics, and everyday life. At Sutton Libraries, we’re marking the month with a curated selection of books and eBooks that celebrate women’s achievements, amplify women’s voices, and explore women’s experiences across the world.

Whether you’re looking to learn something new, find inspiration, or simply enjoy a great read, our collections are full of stories by and about women—ready to borrow in your local library or online.

Explore women’s stories in our libraries

Across Sutton Libraries, you’ll find themed displays highlighting women’s history, biography, memoir, fiction, and social commentary. These collections showcase:

• Trailblazing women in history and science
  Discover pioneers who changed the world, from scientists and activists to artists and leaders.
• Memoirs and life stories
  Personal narratives that illuminate women’s lived experiences across different cultures and eras.
• Feminist writing and social change
  Books exploring gender equality, identity, and the ongoing journey toward women’s rights.
• Outstanding fiction by women authors
  Novels that centre women’s voices, relationships, and perspectives in rich and compelling ways.

Our staff picks throughout March will spotlight standout titles and hidden gems.

Try a staff-curated carousel of physical books: browse a selection from our shelves and tap “Learn More” to view each title in our catalogue.

Invisible Women

By Caroline Criado Perez

Award-winning campaigner and writer Caroline Criado Perez brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are excluded from the very building blocks of the world we live in, and the impact this has on their health and wellbeing.

Learn More

Women in White Coats

By Olivia Campbell

In the early 1800s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they avoided receiving medical care. Examinations performed by male doctors were often demeaning and even painful. In addition, women faced stigma from illness - a diagnosis could greatly limit their ability to find husbands, jobs or be received in polite society. Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake fought for a woman's place in the male-dominated medical field. 'Women in White Coats' tells the complete history of these three pioneering women who, despite countless obstacles, earned medical degrees and paved the way for other women to do the same.

Learn More

Girl, Woman, Other

By Bernardine Evaristo

'Girl, Woman, Other' follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends, and lovers, across the country and through the years.

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March, women, march

By Lucinda Hawksley

This volume uses anecdotes and accounts by both famous and hitherto lesser known suffragettes and suffragists to explore how the voice of women came to be heard throughout the land in the pursuit of equal votes for females. Using diary extracts and letters, the main protagonists of the women's movement are brought back to life as Lucinda Dickens Hawksley explores how they were portrayed in literature and art as well as the media reports of the day.

Learn More

Women & power: a manifesto

By Mary Beard

'HBritain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Elizabeth Warren. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. With personal reflections on her own experiences of the sexism and gendered aggression she has endured online, Mary asks: if women aren't perceived to be within the structures of power, isn't it power that we need to redefine?

Learn More

Brazen : rebel ladies who rocked the worldBagieu, Pénélope

By Pénélope Bagieu

With her characteristic wit, dazzling drawings and engaging storytelling, award-winning artist Pénélope Bagieu illustrates surprising and lesser-known portraits of courageous women rejecting cultural norms through the ages and from all over the world; from a little girl who grew up to discover that being a witch was better than being a princess, to the Queen of Ndongo, a bearded lady, rebel revolutionary sisters and an animal whisperer.

Learn More

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Availability can vary by branch and by format — use the catalogue links to place a reservation if you need to.

Explore our interactive Women’s History timeline

Read and listen online: free digital collections

Prefer eBooks and audiobooks? You can explore Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day from home with our free digital library collections. Borrow instantly (or place a hold), and read or listen on your phone, tablet, or computer.

• Women’s History Month: eBooks & audiobooks (OverDrive)

  A curated collection celebrating women’s stories, achievements, and voices across history and society.

  Browse the Women’s History Month collection

• International Women’s Day: eBooks & audiobooks (BorrowBox)

  Books and audiobooks to mark International Women’s Day, featuring powerful writing and inspiring lives.

  Browse the International Women’s Day collection

You’ll need your Sutton Libraries membership to borrow. If you’re not a member yet, you can join for free.

Explore more: two featured stories

Alongside books, we’re also sharing two short visual slideshows that highlight women’s history and local storytelling. Each slideshow links to a longer article if you’d like to read more.

Why Women’s History Month matters

Women’s History Month is a chance to recognise the achievements of women whose work has shaped our communities and our world, often against significant barriers. It also highlights stories that have historically been overlooked or under-represented.

Libraries play a key role in making these stories visible and accessible. By reading widely and sharing women’s voices, we help ensure that women’s experiences and achievements remain part of our collective history.

Visit, browse, and borrow

This March, visit your local Sutton Library to explore our Women’s History Month displays or browse our digital collections online. Whether you choose a biography, a novel, or an audiobook for your commute, you’ll be discovering a story that helps tell the full history of our world.

Free to join. Free to borrow. Open to everyone.