By: Jenni L. Walsh

On this day in history, May 23rd, American outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, after twenty-seven months on the run, went down together in a hail of bullets. In that moment, Bonnie Parker’s name and story became one for the ages, and also my novel, Side by Side, and its prequel Becoming Bonnie. Who else were historical fiction’s vixens? These 7 novels feature women who broke the rules, created mysteries, incited scandal, and more.

 

Wu Zetian

The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel

At the age of fourteen, Wu Zetian faced an unwanted life as a nun. Instead, she secured a position as consort to the emperor, quickly gaining favor with him and scheming her way to empress, before becoming the first and only female emperor of China in the year 690.

 

Mary I

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory

During the Tudor dynasty, Mary I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, eventually rising to queen of England and Ireland in 1553. Like her father, who was responsible for many executions, Mary’s five-year reign accounted for hundreds of religious dissenters being burned at the stake, earning her the nickname “Bloody Mary.”

 

Grace Marks

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Sixteen-year-old Grace Marks, a maid, was convicted for murdering her employer and committed to an asylum, some believe as a result of Grace pretending to have psychological problems. Eventually, she was transferred to a penitentiary in 1852 and, after almost thirty years, Grace was pardoned. Afterward, all trace of Grace was lost.

 

Kate Warne

Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister

In the tumultuous years of the Civil War and during a time when a woman’s ultimate purpose was to marry, Kate Warne chose to go undercover as a spy. She became the first female Pinkerton detective, with the mindset that a woman detective would be “most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective.”

[Editor’s note: Check out Greer’s list of fun historical novels here.]

 

Lizzie Borden

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. As no one was subsequently charged for the murders, over 100 years later there continues to be speculation about the crimes

 

Zelda Fitzgerald

Z by Therese Anne Fowler

Originally from a prominent Southern family and a daughter of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Zelda Fitzgerald became known as “the first American Flapper” during the Roaring Twenties. She was a socialite, novelist, and painter, along with the wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, though wild drinking, infidelity, and allegations plagued their marriage.

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Jenni L. Walsh is the author of SIDE BY SIDE (June 5, 2018; Tor/Forge), the story of Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree, told from the point of view of Bonnie; and its prequel, BECOMING BONNIE (May, 2017; Tor Forge). Her middle grade debut series, BRAVE LIKE ME, is forthcoming from Scholastic in Spring, 2019 and will feature true stories from women who, at a young age, accomplished daring feats of perseverance and bravery. A native of Pottstown, PA and a graduate of Villanova University, she now lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband and their family. You can visit her at www.jennilwalsh.com.

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Twitter and Instagram: @jennilwalsh

(Ampersand photo courtesy of: instagram.com/kjpaynter)