Women Who Read Are Dangerous

An elegant survey of over seventy works of art featuring women reading throughout history.

What is it about a woman reading that has captivated hundreds of artists over the centuries? Stefan Bollmann's Women Who Read Are Dangerous explores this popular subject in more than seventy artworks—drawings, paintings, photographs, and print—by iconic artists such as Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper, Suzanne Valadon, August Sander, Rembrandt, and many more.

As the book’s provocative title indicates, a woman reading was once viewed as radical. In chapters, such as “Intimate Moments” and “The Search for Oneself,” Bollmann profiles how a woman with a book was once seen as idle or suspect and how women have gained autonomy through reading over the years.

Bollmann offers intelligent and engaging commentary…