Females in the Fellowship

[Lush]

Would a male author really be able to make a good central female character?

I don't think Tolkien could write females well, but that doesn't mean that no male author can create a convincing central female character.

I nominate people such as:

Michael Cunningham (I met him!) for The Hours, where all the central characters are female. This book went on to win the Pulitzer, and the movie adaptation has been nominated for 9 Oscars.

Philip Pullman for the His Dark Materials trilogy, which is centred on a girl named Lyra.

Leo Tolstoy for Anna Karenina. Nevermind that Tolstoy was in part a mysogynist pig (and some people think Tolkien sexist? Ha!), he wrore about the title character with amazing depth.

How about D.H. Lawrence as well?

And others?