Dominican · 1890–1979
Jean Rhys reimagined "Jane Eyre" from the madwoman's perspective in "Wide Sargasso Sea," creating a postcolonial masterpiece. The Dominican-British author spent decades in obscurity before this 1966 novel revived her reputation. Rhys wrote about women's vulnerability with unflinching honesty, creating narrators who drink, drift, and survive without flourishing. Her earlier Paris novels had anticipated the later triumph.