Novel idea: The women bringing their imaginations to life

THEY say everyone has a book in them; but it’s not everyone who turns their dreams of literary success into reality.

restricted how women could live and what they could do. The poet came from a back- ground of writers and philosophers.

ly matched but Bustos’ involvement in the newspaper industry gave de Burgos an interest in working with words.

bines psychological rigour with spiritual power - helping you to become the best version of yourself and create a life of happiness and abundance.

It’s only fair to let the boys play too, so we’ve included this global bestseller on our list to help optimise every spare minute of your busy work day.

The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM, Hal Elrod What’s widely regarded as “one of the most life changing books ever written” may be the simplest approach to achieving everything you’ve ever wanted, and faster than you ever thought possible. A must-read.

Any search for Spanish women writers online is sure to return a slew of results. There could never be enough written in a single piece to list the achievements of Spanish women in literature.

Instead here is a selection of some of the brightest and best female authors. We begin in the 10th century with the poet Aisha. The writer was born Aisha bint Ahmad al- Qurtubiyya and although little is known about the details of her life, scholars believe she was born in Cordoba.

What is known is that Aisha came of age in a Spain ruled by the Muslim Moors, where traditional social values often

She was able to break the mould set for her by society and went on to pen some great literature of the time. One of her most famous works is a poem about her turning down a marriage proposal.

Part of it reads: ‘I am a lioness, and will never allow my body, to be anyone’s resting place.’

Almost 1,000 years later in the 19th and 20th centuries Carmen de Burgos picked up the pen and continued with the Spanish female literary tradition. Burgos was born in Almeria to a middle class family and fled them before meeting her husband of 17 years Arturo Asterz Bustos.

The two were unhappi-

Soon after leaving her husband she wrote her first book. Her growing feminist convictions led her to write many works commenting on the position of women in society at the time.

Today one of the female writers helping to keep the Spanish female literary tradition alive is Angela Vallvey, 59. Vallvey was born in Ciudad Real and studied Modern His- tory at the University of Granada.

She published her first book, a children’s story, in the 1990’s before going on to write several critically-acclaimed novels. She has taken part in several radio and television shows as well as writing poetry.