Every few years someone comes out with a new book on the Heroine Journey, usually offering it as an alternative to Joseph Campbell’s Hero Quest model. Sadly, most of these authors seem unaware of the work others have been doing in this field for the past 30-some years. Here are the books that I am aware of that should be part of the research process for anyone working in this area, with a brief description of each. If you know of one that I have missed, please comment and I will add it.

Books Based on Campbell’s Model

These authors start from Campbell’s circular model, but rename and adjust the various stages to fit women.

The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness by Maureen Murdock (1990). The gold standard reference in this category. Murdock, a therapist, bases her argument primarily on the lives of women she saw as clients during the 1970s and 80s; women who were struggling to find their own path through life instead of following the traditional female roles of the mid-20th century or emulating masculine career trajectories. Arguably most relevant to Baby Boomers, but women are still facing similar challenges.

45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt (2001; revised 2011) contains a chapter differentiating the heroine journey from the hero quest. Similar to Murdock’s model, but some reviewers feel Schmidt’s stages have broader applications.

Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: The Hero’s Journey and Beyond by K.M. Weiland (2023); similar to Schmidt.

From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend by Valerie Estelle Frankel (2010). Heavily based on Campbell’s model. Argues that the ultimate goal for a woman is to become a wife and mother.

The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger (2021). Carriger is a best-selling author of popular fiction whose aim is to help other authors write their own female-centric novels.

Books NOT Based on Campbell’s Model

These authors build their models for the female journey from original sources instead of “in answer to” Campbell.

Archetypal Patterns in Women’s Fiction by Annis Pratt (1982). Pratt, a professor of literature, found distinctive patterns and archetypes in women’s literature that she argues can be used as guidance for a woman’s own personal psychological journey.

The Bridge to Wholeness: A Feminine Alternative to the Hero Myth by Jean Benedict Raffa (1992). A description of Raffa’s own journey to integrate her masculine and feminine sides; based largely on Jungian psychology.

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1992). An absolute must-read for anyone writing about the female journey. Estés, a storyteller, pulls from folk tales to offer examples of the trials women often face in life.

The Virgin’s Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual and Sexual Awakening by Kim Hudson (2011). Hudson looked at movies with female protagonists to create her own playbook of how to write a female-centric script, offering insights on other common secondary characters. She also argues that the “virgin” doesn’t have to be female, but can be anyone trying to live an authentic life despite opposition from family and society.

Jane Eyre’s Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine Story by Jody Gentian Bower (2015). My book is based on a pattern I began seeing in women’s novels in the 1980s, that of the wandering heroine, and eventually realized is present in many female-centric stories dating from the 15th century on (including works by men). The same pattern can be seen in biographies of famous women. Unlike Campbell’s circular model, the path of the wandering heroine takes her out and away until she creates a new life for herself somewhere else.

The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar (2021). Folklorist Tatar seeks to find the “women missing from Campbell’s model” while avoiding “the trap” of revamping his model to fit women; like Pinkola Estés’, she uses myths and folk tales to illustrate issues women face. Some reviewers have objected to what they see as a polemical condemnation of Campbell.