The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder

Author Erin Blakemore is a marketing strategist who reads; she also has a sense of humor and is a fine writer. Presented as "life lessons", each chapter is constrained by one concept and one character as Blakemore expertly weaves each author's autobiography into the relevance of that character to our lives today. Chapters are: Self ... Lizzy Bennett in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Faith ... Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Thurston Happiness ... Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery Dignity ... Celie in The Color Purple by Alice Walker Family Ties ... Francie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Indulgence ... Claudine in Colette's Claudine novels Fight ... Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Compassion ... Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Simplicity ... Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Steadfastness ... Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Ambition ... Jo March in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Magic ... Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Each chapter concludes with three humorous "you should read this when" instances, and three literary "sisters". The author has chosen twelve admirable heroines, and I would love to read about more. The stories of the authors' lives are compelling and the case for relevance to our modern lives is made. I liked the format and the content, enjoying both the chapters on those authors I was familiar with, and adding to my list of "books to read" on the ones I didn't. The Introduction and Epilogue are interesting as well. Very well done.

I really loved this little book! Author (and reader)Erin Blakemore examines some of the greatest female characters in literature and their creators as well in an engaging and spot on way in this lively little book. Chapters are titled after the concept Blakemore feels the characters portray and she identifies them with most strongly (ie Jo March,/Louisa May Alcott, "Ambition"). Each chapter is a truly a gem, an honest portrait of the authoress and her "offspring", and each chapter gives appropriate, recommended reading as well, which is wonderful and thoughtful. A reader can quickly read the whole book, or read each chapter on its own in conjunction with reading the books referred to. This book would be a wonderful gift to any female reader, aged 12 and up, and would be great for book groups too, or as a jumping off point for mothers and daughters to discuss their favorite literature together. I was especially fond of the Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee and Betty Smith chapters, although many of my favorite books were mentioned. Blakemore delves into the lives of the authors to connect them with their stories quite expertly: Bronte's struggles with illness, death and poverty in her family, Alcott's unhappy writing process, Harper Lee's noble attempt to pay homage to her special father, etc. These are stories you already love, but you'll want to revisit again soon after reading this book.

This is a great book. Each chapter is about a character in literature that we all know and love. The chapters all start out with a quote from the book by the character, then there is a little bit of a biography of the author. The biographies all nicely lead right up to where the book being talked about was written and then it goes on about the character who the chapter is about. Each character is chosen for a personality trait - Lizzy Bennet in Pride and Prejudice for Self, Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God for Faith and my favorite, Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird for Compassion. There are a total of 12 chapters in the book. What I really loved and was surprised to find was at the end of each chapter, the author gives us three situations we might all encounter in our lives where the book being discussed might be helpful to read. Then, she gives us three Literary Sisters of the characters, so we can also read more books about similar characters. This is a very small book that would be perfect for keeping on your nightstand or for giving as a gift to a book loving friend.

Like Mary Murphy's celebration of Harper Lee in "Scout, Atticus, and Boo," Erin Blakemore pays homage to literature in her new book of essays, "The Heroine's Bookshelf." She reminds us why we read: to escape the stress of our lives, to watch others make our mistakes, to learn. She has divided her chapters into headings: self; faith; happiness; dignity; family ties; indulgence; fight; compassion; simplicity; steadfastness; ambition; magic. To go along with each heading, she explores a heroine and the conflicts that heroine faces in her book. There's Lizzy Bennet in "Self" and Scout Finch in "Compassion." As well as providing new insight into the books and characters, Blakemore goes farther by offering at each chapter's end a list of "When to read this book." The lists are sometimes funny (when your mom is too intrusive) and sometimes hitting the sore spots ("When your personal Melanie Wilkes thwarts your self-centered plans.") In addition, she points the reader to other books with similar heroines, some of which will be new to readers of the classics and some of which we might have thought of ourselves. Throughout, Blakemore writes with passion about the women and girls in books who taught her about life. We learn about authors' lives and the way their heroines are and are not themselves. I don't often wish I were still teaching, but Blakemore's book awakened the teacher in me. These insights are too meaningful not to share. This is a fine book, well told, for those who have cherished these same books. Blakemore puts into words the way each author writes to our hearts, our spirits, our minds.

What a thoughtful book, about all the childhood classics that I loved. The review of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was esp interestng becuase I just loved that book. The writer really digs into the stories of the women writers, and so many had unhappy lives, so it can be a sad book to read, overwhelming, so I read a chapter a day. Anyone who complains about Womens Lib, should pick this up to understand how hard life was for women before the 70's.