Don't read this because you are single. Don't read this because you are unmarried. Don't read this because you have cats. Read this because you are FEMALE... or if you love writing/writers/literature. It's one of the most important and richly researched books I've read about women in modern society, as told with the help of five women in history, all writers of one kind or another.

My only small complaint is the title, although the author goes some way at the end to try and justify its selection. For me, this book is about so much more than being a "Spinster". It's about confronting societal and cultural norms that have come about for a multitude of reasons, and examining in closer detail how restrictive and suffocating these can be for women, knowingly or not.