Role Model: Inspirational Books About Great Women

“Coco Chanel. Life as told by herself – Coco Chanel

This book is not just a memoir, it is an incredibly frank confession of the greatest woman of the twentieth century, who was able to turn the whole world of fashion and style, told by herself. To a marriage proposal from the Duke of Westminster, the richest man in Europe, she replied: “There are many duchesses, but Chanel is one.” This woman never climbed into her pocket for a word, she never obeyed the rules. Short skirt to the knee, instead of puffy crinolines; an elegant, barely perceptible smell of perfume instead of a suffocating floral aroma; jewelry, not huge diamonds; a trouser suit, which no woman of that time could think of; and of course the little black dress – all this is the unique style of Chanel, which has become a classic.

“Catherine the Great” by Henri Troyat

Catherine the Great. How many books have been written about her and her politics, about her men and favorites. However, not all of them can capture and understand the very essence, the soul of this great Russian ruler, to whom Voltaire addressed with the words: “… You are not the northern lights, you are the most brilliant star of the North, and there has never been a luminary so beneficent!” . “Catherine the Great” – this is a fascinating story, told with incredible historical and textbook accuracy, about the era of Catherine’s reign, about the most important cultural and political events, as well as about the most striking episodes of her turbulent personal life.

“Audrey Hepburn. The life she told herself. Declarations of Love by Audrey Hepburn

This autobiography, written by the great actress, model and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn in the last years of her life, is an amazingly bright and vibrant legacy that she left behind. In it, she talks not only about herself, but also about the people who surrounded her in life, about her family and friends. Also from the book you can learn about Hepburn’s difficult childhood: she lived without a father and survived the German occupation. After starting her film career, the actress quickly became famous for her roles in such films as: Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady, How to Steal a Million. Nevertheless, Audrey Hepburn always considered joint charitable work with UNICEF to be the main achievement of her life.

Faina Ranevskaya. Laughter through tears” Faina Ranevskaya

This book is more than a collection of witticisms and anecdotes of the well-deserved people’s mocker of the Soviet Union, from which one can learn a lot: “If you have nothing to repent of, life has been lived in vain”; “If life turned to you w … th, give her a kick in the ass!”. This is not just a memoir, not just an autobiography, which Faina Georgievna could start with the phrase: “My father was a poor oilman …”, this is the real tragic voice of a great actress who only alone could show that her laughter is through tears.

“Diana: The Doomed Princess” Dmitry Medvedev

The well-known publicist and historian Dmitry Medvedev, author of books about Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, this time tells about the bright and tragic fate of Diana, Princess of Wales, one of the most beautiful women of recent decades. To prepare for writing this work, Medvedev studied many sources in all possible languages ​​in order to get the clearest understanding of the fate of Diana and the ill-fated day of her death. You will learn secrets from the princess’s childhood, the complexities of her relationship with Prince Charles, and the subsequent events of her personal and social life, full of emotions and incidents.

“Princess of Monaco” Geoffrey Robinson

The amazing fate of the brilliant actress and incredibly wise and kind woman Grace Kelly is described in Jeffrey Robinson’s book Princess of Monaco. All her life she dreamed of playing leading roles in films, but as a result she played, perhaps, a much more significant role – she became the Princess of Monaco, the wife of Prince Rainier III and the mother of three children. For the sake of the family, Grace gave up her career as an actress, although Alfred Hitchcock called her back more than once, offering interesting roles. She devoted her life to her family and charity, becoming one of the most respected and loved by society personalities of that time.

“Sold into Slavery” by Amani Huisaal

The title of this book is shocking, however, it is not so much about how hard it is for a woman to experience certain events in her life, she is about how to accept her fate, forgive betrayal and accept long-awaited happiness. The author of the book does not give her real name, but she is the wife of one of the richest people in the world, an Arab sheikh, and today she lives in the Emirates, wears a hijab, bathes in luxury and love. During her life, this woman had to go through a lot: her Russian family sold the girl abroad at the age of 6, she was brought up in the “house of brides”, was in captivity and as a concubine, lost a child. However, strength, courage, nobility and generosity were able to help Amani tell the story of her life, creating a sincere and very honest confession book that will make you look at the world differently.

“Princess Tarakanova” Edvard Radzinsky

The historical book of Edvard Radzinsky tells about one of the most mysterious personalities of the 18th century – Princess Tarakanova. She posed as the last representative of the Romanov dynasty and heir to the throne. This woman had a difficult and tragic fate: on the orders of Catherine II, she was kidnapped and sent to St. Petersburg, even then Tarakanova did not admit to slander and continued to assert her rights to the role of empress. The princess died in custody in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and remained in her opinion. Until now, the details of her life are shrouded in mystery – you can read about the most incredible theories in Radzinsky’s book.

“I am Malala” Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize. She is on the list of the 16 most influential teens of 2013 according to Times magazine, and People magazine named her Heroine of 2013. On her 16th birthday, she delivered a speech at the United Nations and was greeted and followed by applause. She is a Taliban sentenced to death and miraculously survived a young girl from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, who campaigns for access to education for women around the world. She was able to challenge the Taliban and resist international terrorism. In 2014, she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in its history “for fighting against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to an education.”

“50 Greatest Women” Vitaly Wolf, Serafima Chebotar

If you want to know at once about all the great women of the 20th century, then you should definitely read the book by TV presenter Vitaly Wolf. Here he brought together 50 of the brightest personalities, whose fame only becomes brighter over the years. Among these women are catwalk and screen stars, film and theater actresses, writers and politicians. Faina Ranevskaya and Lyubov Orlova, Coco Chanel and Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, Anna Pavlova and Galina Ulanova, Marina Tsvetaeva and Anna Akhmatova, Gala Dali and Frida Kahlo, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, Virginia Woolf and Francoise Sagan, Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana – each of these women, bright and unique, strong in spirit and talented, determined the face of their era and became its symbol.

We thank the LitRes e-books online store for their help in preparing the material.