Great female poets of the 20th century
Among the great female poets of the last century it is impossible to overlook Gabriela Mistral (Desolaci�n), Nelly Sachs (Eli), Alfonsina Storni (Languidez), Juana de Ibarbourou (La rosa de los vientos), Dulce Mar�a Loynaz (Poemas sin nombre), Elizabeth Bishop (North and South) and Sylvia Plath (Ariel), whose dramatic life has been adapted for the cinema. These women have been recognised for the undeniable talent and singular poetic voice.

Female novelists
Although the list is by no means definitive, here are just some of the greatest female novelists covering different styles, themes, nationalities and eras: Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), Louisa May Alcott (Little women), Edith Wharton (House of mirth), Virginia Woolf (Mrs Dalloway), Djuna Barnes (Nightwood), Carson McCullers (The heart is a lone hunter), Jane Austen (Pride and prejudice), Katherine Mansfield (The garden party), Doris Lessing (Sons of violence), Toni Morrison (Beloved), Natalia Gingzburg (Caro Michele), Agota Kristof (the trilogy of The notebook, The proof, The third lie) and Gertrude Stein (Four saints).

Among Spanish female novelists, the most prominent voices include those of Emilia Pardo Baz�n (La piedra angular), Isabel Allende (La casa de los esp�ritus), Carmen Mart�n Gaite (Cuentos de mujeres), Ana Mar�a Matute (Primera memoria), Rosa Chacel (Ida y vuelta), Clara Obligado (Salsa), Angeles Mastretta (Mujeres de ojos grandes) and Almudena Grandes (Modelos de mujer). What do all these women share? Talent. Their novels are essential components of any well-stocked library.

Little Nobel recognition
The list of great female novelists is frankly endless. However, it is significant that the Nobel Prize for Literature has only been awarded to women ten times in its 100 years of existence. Women clearly have to continue fighting for their voices to be heard. The Nobel prize winners in chronological order are as follows: Selma Lagerl�f (The wonderful adventures of nils), Grazia Deledda (Elias Portolu), Sigrid Undset (Hristin lavransdatter), Pearl S. Buck (The good earth), Gabriela Mistral (Tala, Lagar), Nelly Sachs (Flucht und verwandlung), Nadine Gordimer (The honourable guest), Toni Morrison (Beloved), Wislawa Szymborska (The end and the beginning) and Elfriede Jelinek (Das werk).

All these female novelists and many more besides have helped to foster and champion a uniquely feminine way of writing. The differences go beyond language and the best way to understand them is to read as many of these works in depth. Simply put: there are ways of saying things that can only stem from the pen a woman.