Hiii, can anyone recommend me books featuring female main characters that are mean/cruel? Cunning and jaded is a bonus, but ideally she is outwardly rude or has a scathing internal monologue.
I'm looking for realistic settings, not fantasy/sci-fi, maybe like a school or work environment? Any time period is fine, including historical fiction 🙂 What I'm not looking for is stuff like "evil queen takes over a kingdom" (they're great but not my current vibe!)
I would prefer it not be about romance or redemption, ie. a "mean girl finds love/friendship and becomes nice" story. It's okay if she changes or gets better but I really would like her antisocial-ness to be unapologetically integral to her identity!
Thank you ♡♡
by loverzer0
22 Comments
Misery by Stephen King
Yellowface by RF Kuang. The main character is very unlikeable and racist. It takes place within the publishing industry.
No scathing internal monologues from what I recall in The Eyes Are the Best Part, but she does get a lot of revenge.
The protagonist of Diavola is considered a bad person and she does have some internal monologues but there’s a ghost.
And then there’s My Sister, the Serial Killer whose protagonist is fed up with her family.
Forever Amber
Havoc, by Christopher Ballen
Kathryn Hulme’s The Nun’s Story; Rumer Godden’s Black Narcissis – subtle but cruel women in power
Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede
Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana (caution: extremely graphic)
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser is a Cinderella retelling from the stepmothers pov without magic. She’s definitely jaded and passes this on to the kids. She’s also cruel but it’s her breaking point. She gets married twice and is trying to get her daughters married but it’s not a romantic book. It’s more focused on mother and daughter relationships, blended families, and patriarchal society.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
**All the Other Moms Hate Me by Sarah Harman** — The MC is a very messy mom. I’m not sure if I’d call her anti-social, but she’s definitely rude and unapologetic about it.
Vanity Fair
There is Merteuil in *Dangerous Liasons* by LaclosÂ
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh has a troubled main character who can be really mean and nasty to those around her.
Flowers in the Attic and its sequels deal with all kinds of troubled/evil/cruel women.
My Year Of Rest And Relaxation
Sula
The English Understand Wool
She’s not the viewpoint character but Rebecca is about a woman like this.
Yellowface was the first to come to mind, and it’s already eben mentioned. I will add:
My Husband, by Maud Ventura- it is a full on inner monologue book, and what a crazy ride it is!
Rouge, by Mona Awad, is another one I could barely tollerate
Never Saw me Coming by Vera Kurlan, about a young college student who also happens to be a psycopath and a killer.
This thread made me realize there are very few stories where the main character is a female villain. Very interesting. Thank you!
The character Freya in The Elements by John Boyne
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims.
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.
Miriam Black series by Chuck Wendig.
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa is a dark romance. The bad girl is one of two main characters. This is outstanding literature with rich characters and powerful story telling. Vargas Llosa won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Best female villain I’ve ever read.