Literary splendour

So I've read three incredible books lately (with some less incredible books in between, which are the ones you tend to forget about pretty quickly), and today it hit me that all these books were written by women (Eleanor Catton, Kate Atkinson, and Elizabeth Gilbert, to be exact). Three completely different women, from different parts of the world, but three women nonetheless. Which is pretty amazing, because a) there are still fewer women then men writing 'serious' novels and b) those novels don't seem to make it to the Netherlands all that often. To which I could add c) most of my favourite authors thus far have always been men.
So what is different here? Firstly, they're all pretty big books, 500+ pages, meaning that we really get into the story. The other book written by a woman I've read in the past weeks, The Love Affairs of Nathanial P, was about 200 pages, and that feels like typical chick lit size. When you get above 500 pages, we get into proper psychological depth and character building. Also, all novels had an elaborate setting, either in the nineteenth or early twentieth century, that needed a lot of exposition and explanation. Also, all of them have something that is 'different' about them in structure or outward appearance. The Luminaries has its astrological connection and decreasing chapter length. Life after Life similarly has some very short chapters, and combined with the repetition found through the reincarnation theme the structure is pretty extraordinary. The Signature of All Things has the most conventional structure - chronological and with chapters of about equal length - but contains botanical images and a distinct font that still set it apart.
But what really makes these novels so great are the characters. The Luminaries has more protagonists than you can count on two hands, but all of them have a proper history and depth. Also, most of the characters are male, but they are not caricatures of men as you find in so many novels written by women (Nathanial P being a case in point). In Life after Life the protagonist is a girl / young women whom the reader gets more acquainted with as her life progresses through its various cycles. Apart from gaining a deeper understanding of the early twentieth century and general European history, you get to know her and those around here better and better with every reincarnation. In The Signature of All Things the protagonist is also a woman, who leads a pretty tranquil and confined life, but still manages to fill page after page with her experiences and revelations. In short: all these characters take their lives in their own hands, make proper decisions, and then live with them. They are all strong, observant, and still full of conflict, making them very real people.
I don't know if any of this has anything to do with the fact that these novels were written by women. I've read the same type of character in novels by Yates or Ian McEwan, so I don't really think so. Also, these women are from three very distinct corners of the globe (Canada/New Zealand, the eastern US and the UK), writing in three very different literary traditions. So maybe it's a pure coincidence that these three wonderful novels came to me so close together. Or maybe it's a sign of the times, of many more psychologically developed character rich historical novels to come. Either way, I've had a very rewarding literary summer.