This book recognises the great legacy of Women's life writings. They provide an incomparable window into the various cultural and historical communities in which we live. Drawing from novels, memoirs, autobiographies, letters, religious records and many other sources, from many of the finest female writers in history, we critically examine how these writings both reflect and shape our communities.These writings are such that we can draw great insight into fields from cultural studies to feminism, postmodernism and new historicism. This is a Special issue of the Journal Prose Studies.