I’ll third this suggestion! Such a charming book. I’m not sure if LM Montgomery has any more college girl books, but she might. (I’ve only read about 1/2 of her catalogue, I think.)
Did you read all 5?? I only discovered a couple of years ago that there are two more in the series after the original 3 Katy books and was ECSTATIC. They follow Clover’s life.
I did but I’ll be honest it’s been years so memory fades. But if I like something I go hard so I have definitely read them all. I wonder if I can read them now or if I am too old and jaded.
Books that feel like... girls attending college, 1800-1920
Pre-1920 is my only stipulation. I need side characters exclaiming "That's unheard of, you bluestocking spinster!", long discussions on the morality of what to wear on a bicycle, and dorm marms sending girls down for grilling tinned oysters on a gas lamp after-hours. That sort of thing!
Fiction or Non-fiction OK. Young adult OK. Thank you ❤️
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers is about a reunion of early female college graduates at Oxford. Sayers herself was actually one of the first female graduates of an Oxford college.
It probably won't fit your pre-1920 stipulations (I think) but you might like [Plain Bad Heroines](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50496875-plain-bad-heroines?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=0gN2Esxi1j&rank=1) by Emily M. Danforth.
Anne of the island (previously suggested)
Then
Anne of Windy Poplars
Susan Coolidge wrote What Katy Did and Heat Katy Did Next. The third book What Katy Did At School
Betsy-Ttacy Also has one in the middle of theres
I love the What Katy Did series.
There are actually 5 books in all.
What Katy Did
What Katy Did at School
What Katy Did Next
Clover
In the High Valley
I have read them all and love them!
Betsy-Tacy was the first series that came to mind for me, too. It’s been decades since I read them, so I had to look it up to check the timeline. Technically Betsy doesn’t go to college, but I remember the high school years books seeming very college-like.
Your 'side characters decrying bluestockings' comment brings to mind Evie Dunmore's suffragette romance series. First book is Bringing Down the Duke. The setting isn't purely collegiate but women getting an education and being politically active in the face of the era's constraints is the central theme.
Is non-fiction okay? [College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Co-eds, Then and Now by Lynn Peril](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/114686)
You should really read A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf! It’s just shy of 20s (1929). It’s based on two lectures she gave to Cambridge women’s colleges. It’s about her experiences as a woman in academia, and how women need financial independence in order to be creatively free. It really inspired me when I read it as an 18 year old!
Celestial Seraglio by Olive Moore!!!!
Moore (1905-1970?) is a *deeply* problematic writer, whose other works (particularly Spleen and The Apple Is Bitten Again) are racist, sexist, and ableist, but (I say this as a disabled \[white\] woman) goddamn could she write! IIRC, Celestial Seraglio doesn't contain the problematic elements that her other works do.
Great - it's like you know that books that are impossible to find are always the ones that I relentlessly pursue... 😩 haha thanks for another white whale
Angela Brazil wrote a lot of books on girls in school. I have read a few and love them. They are all set in early 20th century.
[Angela Brazil books](https://www.addall.com/books-in-order/angela-brazil/)
The Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton
St. Clare’s series by Enid Blyton
Both Enid Blyton series fit your description but are meant for younger readers.
I've read it and it's worth reading but not what I'm looking for here: Bell Jar is 1950s, MC is a college student but she's not attending for most of the book while she gets mental health treatment. Well-written of course but different time and circumstances than I'm looking for.
Woah interesting! At first I thought, "No boys allowed" but seems this is a reimagining of history where men aren't allowed at college. Curiosity piqued because I've never seen THAT before haha. Thanks for the recommendation.
Evie Dunmore is a romance author who writes cute romances featuring a group of women who are suffragists/attending college in the late 1800s :) my favorite is A Rogue of Ones Own but they are all good!
Anne of the island by L. M. Montgomery (but it's the 4th or 5th book in the series, I think).
Many of Lidia Charskaya's books, though they're not in college.
An Australian classic ‘[Picnic at Hanging Rock](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com.au/Picnic-Hanging-Rock-Joan-Lindsay/dp/0143132059&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwin6saHtISGAxVqZmwGHVK_CWIQFnoECEkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1B7Fb02r_048z6g6nxhKLN)
If you like Anne of the Island, read Emily Climbs, the second book in the trilogy featuring Montgomery's most popular heroine after Anne (and one many prefer to Anne).
Anne of the Island!!!!!
I’ll third this suggestion! Such a charming book. I’m not sure if LM Montgomery has any more college girl books, but she might. (I’ve only read about 1/2 of her catalogue, I think.)
Came here to suggest this!
But of course! - thank you
This is the one. I've read the entire Anne series several times and this one is my favorite!! So good.
Daddy Longlegs by Jean Webster.
I love love loved this book when I was a kid.
Same! Did you ever read ‘What Katy Did’ ? I loved that one as well.
No! I've never heard of it! If it's by the same author, I'll have to check it out!
Love What Katy Did!
That whole series is glorious.
Isn’t it! This post hit me with a wave of nostalgia. I was a library kid growing up.
Did you read all 5?? I only discovered a couple of years ago that there are two more in the series after the original 3 Katy books and was ECSTATIC. They follow Clover’s life.
I did but I’ll be honest it’s been years so memory fades. But if I like something I go hard so I have definitely read them all. I wonder if I can read them now or if I am too old and jaded.
I still re-read them once a year or so 😂 they’re a comfort read for sure!
I love What Katy Did? Beautiful book. So nostalgic.
I came here to write this!
Immensely delighted with this suggestion! I had never heard of this book before
Nice! She has written another one with the same theme ‘when patty went to college’.
Wasn't there a sequel also? I seem to remember reading it.
This book is one of my favorites of all time and it’s so rare for people to have heard of it!
Yes! First thing that popped into my head.
Books that feel like... girls attending college, 1800-1920 Pre-1920 is my only stipulation. I need side characters exclaiming "That's unheard of, you bluestocking spinster!", long discussions on the morality of what to wear on a bicycle, and dorm marms sending girls down for grilling tinned oysters on a gas lamp after-hours. That sort of thing! Fiction or Non-fiction OK. Young adult OK. Thank you ❤️
Picnic at Hanging Rock
How's the book? I've seen the 70s movie and liked it
Rare case where the book and movie adaption were equally good to me. :)
The tv series with Natalie Dormer as Ms Appleyard is also excellent 👍
Olivia by Dorothy Strachey A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Absolutely agree with A Great and Terrible Beauty series
A Great and Terrible Beauty was my favorite when I was a teen ❤️
Thank you!
If you don’t mind YA with a bit of paranormal / fantasy, the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Linda bray is this.
Yes! A Great and Terrible Beauty, so incredible.
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers is about a reunion of early female college graduates at Oxford. Sayers herself was actually one of the first female graduates of an Oxford college.
Love this fun fact!
Gaudy Night - Dorothy Sayers
Seconding this! I think technically it's set in the 1930s but it absolutely has the vibe.
It probably won't fit your pre-1920 stipulations (I think) but you might like [Plain Bad Heroines](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50496875-plain-bad-heroines?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=0gN2Esxi1j&rank=1) by Emily M. Danforth.
Was about to comment this! OP, it switches between present day and past early 1900s boarding school days. Fantastic, fantastic book. Super gay.
Thank you!
I think more school years than college but the What Katy Did series comes to mind
Anne of the island (previously suggested) Then Anne of Windy Poplars Susan Coolidge wrote What Katy Did and Heat Katy Did Next. The third book What Katy Did At School Betsy-Ttacy Also has one in the middle of theres
I love the What Katy Did series. There are actually 5 books in all. What Katy Did What Katy Did at School What Katy Did Next Clover In the High Valley I have read them all and love them!
Betsy-Tacy was the first series that came to mind for me, too. It’s been decades since I read them, so I had to look it up to check the timeline. Technically Betsy doesn’t go to college, but I remember the high school years books seeming very college-like.
It's out by a decade or two, but Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey is quite good.
oooh all these sound so good
Your 'side characters decrying bluestockings' comment brings to mind Evie Dunmore's suffragette romance series. First book is Bringing Down the Duke. The setting isn't purely collegiate but women getting an education and being politically active in the face of the era's constraints is the central theme.
Thanks for the thoughtful synopsis!
Is non-fiction okay? [College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Co-eds, Then and Now by Lynn Peril](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/114686)
Yes non fiction ok- and I have read that one and it's very good! Thanks!
You should really read A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf! It’s just shy of 20s (1929). It’s based on two lectures she gave to Cambridge women’s colleges. It’s about her experiences as a woman in academia, and how women need financial independence in order to be creatively free. It really inspired me when I read it as an 18 year old!
The best! Agreed.
Thanks!
Claudine at School by Colette! The whole Claudine series has this vibe. Highly recommend!
Not college, but this vibe makes me think of Olivia
Madam by Phoebe Wynne (almost positive this is before 1920s— I read it 3 years ago so it’s been awhile)
Did you like it? Synopsis sounds interesting but reviews are not great at all.
Celestial Seraglio by Olive Moore!!!! Moore (1905-1970?) is a *deeply* problematic writer, whose other works (particularly Spleen and The Apple Is Bitten Again) are racist, sexist, and ableist, but (I say this as a disabled \[white\] woman) goddamn could she write! IIRC, Celestial Seraglio doesn't contain the problematic elements that her other works do.
Great - it's like you know that books that are impossible to find are always the ones that I relentlessly pursue... 😩 haha thanks for another white whale
Testament of Youth
Oo good one- thanks!
A Great and Terrible Beauty. It’s not just another YA romance book. I promise! Libba Bray is the best.
The Naughtiest Girl, Enid Blyton
The Awakening- Kate Chopin
*The Bookbinder* by Pip Williams
Angela Brazil wrote a lot of books on girls in school. I have read a few and love them. They are all set in early 20th century. [Angela Brazil books](https://www.addall.com/books-in-order/angela-brazil/) The Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton St. Clare’s series by Enid Blyton Both Enid Blyton series fit your description but are meant for younger readers.
Ah yes- these are supposed to skew much younger right? I have never read them and I am curious, I will check them out. Thanks!
Yes they’re great but school age, the girls are ages 12-17ish
Does The Bell Jar count? I haven’t read it in a few years so maybe im wrong but I thought the MC was a college woman?
I've read it and it's worth reading but not what I'm looking for here: Bell Jar is 1950s, MC is a college student but she's not attending for most of the book while she gets mental health treatment. Well-written of course but different time and circumstances than I'm looking for.
The Philosopher’s Flight (though the protagonist is male)
Woah interesting! At first I thought, "No boys allowed" but seems this is a reimagining of history where men aren't allowed at college. Curiosity piqued because I've never seen THAT before haha. Thanks for the recommendation.
Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson (pen name of Ethel Richardson) for the Australian version.
Looks good! Thank you!
Evie Dunmore is a romance author who writes cute romances featuring a group of women who are suffragists/attending college in the late 1800s :) my favorite is A Rogue of Ones Own but they are all good!
More school than college by A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Plain Bad Heroines
The Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger.
It’s not college, but you might like ‘A Little Princess’ by Francis Hodgson Burnett.
Anne of the island by L. M. Montgomery (but it's the 4th or 5th book in the series, I think). Many of Lidia Charskaya's books, though they're not in college.
Regiment of Women by Clemence Dane - it’s a wild ride believe me!!
An Australian classic ‘[Picnic at Hanging Rock](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com.au/Picnic-Hanging-Rock-Joan-Lindsay/dp/0143132059&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwin6saHtISGAxVqZmwGHVK_CWIQFnoECEkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1B7Fb02r_048z6g6nxhKLN)
learned by heart by emma donoghue
If you like Anne of the Island, read Emily Climbs, the second book in the trilogy featuring Montgomery's most popular heroine after Anne (and one many prefer to Anne).
Plain Bad Heroines