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

by Erin Blakemore

A testament to inspirational women throughout literature, Erin Blakemore’s exploration of classic heroines and their equally admirable authors shows today’s women how to best tap into their inner strengths and live life with intelligence, grace, vitality and aplomb. This collection of unforgettable characters—including Anne Shirley, Jo March, Scarlett O’Hara, and Jane Eyre—and outstanding authors—like Jane Austen, Harper Lee, and Laura Ingalls Wilder—is an impassioned look at literature’s most compelling heroines, both on the page and off. Readers who found inspiration in books by Toni Morrison, Maud Hart Lovelace, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Alice Walker, or who were moved by literary-themed memoirs like Shelf Discovery and Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume , get ready to return to the well of women’s classic literature with The Heroine's Bookshelf .

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Essays, Classics, Biography, Literature, Feminism

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Erin M. Blakemore learned to drool over Darcy and cry over Little Women in suburban San Diego, California. These days, her inner heroine loves writing, hiking, and soaking in the scenery of her adopted hometown, Boulder, Colorado.

Reviews

[Janet Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read 7 of the 12 essays but loved all that I read...I plan to read the five books that Blakemore wrote about that I haven't read yet in 2011. My own personal reading challenge.

Here's the full lineup:
Self - Austen, P&P, Elizabeth Bennet
Faith - Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford
Happiness - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of GG, Anne Shirley
Dignity - Alice Walker, The Color Purple, Celie
Family Ties - Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Francie Noaln
Indulgence - Colette, Claudine novels, Claudine
Fight - Margaret Mitchell, GWTW, Scarlett O'Hara
Compassion - Lee Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch
Simplicity - Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter, Laura
Steadfastness - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Jane
Ambition - Lousia May Alcott, Little Women, Jo March
Magic - Frances Hodgsen Burnett, The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox

I will be reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Color Purple, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the Claudine novels, and Little Women so that I can read the rest of the essays.

The seven essays I did read were interesting, inspiring, affirming, and comforting. This is definitely the kind of book you give to the people in your life who encouraged you to read!

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind every unforgettable heroine stands her remarkable creator. Debut author Erin Blakemore explores this theme in The Heroine’s Bookshelf, twelve essays devoted to her favorite literary heroines and the unique correlation between their writer’s life and the character she created. From Jane Austen’s spirited impertinence of Elizabeth Bennet, to the effervescent optimism of Lucy Maude Montgomery’s Anne Shirley, to the dogged determination of Margaret Mitchell’s Scarlet O’Hara, anyone who has ever sought solace in the pages of a classic novel or inspiration for new perspective during troubling times will be enthralled by every essay in this book.

Literature is comfort food for me and there is something inherently reassuring about reconnecting again with the books that we read for the first time during our childhood and early adult years. Blakemore and I share this affinity which she elaborates upon in her introduction.

“Call me a coward if you will, but when the lines between duty and sanity blur, you can usually find me curled up with a battered book, reading as if my mental health depended on it. And it does, for inside the books I love I find food, respite, escape, and perspective. I find something else too: heroines and authors, hundreds of them, women whose real and fictitious lives have covered the terrain I too must tread.”

The twelve heroines and their authors she chose to evaluate and share with us are several of my favorite too. Some fight physical hardships, poverty and hatred, snobbery and prejudice and emotional insecurities, and others the foibles and follies of human nature. Each is memorable to me because they faced struggles and challenges, confronted them boldly and creatively, and emerged victorious; a stronger and better person for their endeavor. Just their names alone: Scout Finch, Jane Eyre, Francine Nolan, Mary Lennox, Jo Marsh and Laura Ingalls evoke nostalgia, sending me in an instant to a faraway happy place of comfort, adventure and romance. In addition to revisiting my favorite heroines, my pleasure was heightened by knowledge of their author’s lives that I had not previously known, giving me a deeper understanding and respect for each of the heroines and their creators.

Besides blogging about Jane Austen, I am a bookseller at Barnes & Noble. Occasionally, when a book just bowls me over like The Heroine’s Bookshelf, I select it as my staff rec and talk it up amongst my fellow booksellers. A group of us were seated in the break room yesterday afternoon; ladies who are passionate about reading and love classic literature. As I lifted up the cover and firmly told everyone that this book is a must read, I proceeded to list all of the twelve heroine’s discussed. The ooo’s, ahh’s and immediate enthusiastic chatter that erupted sent shivers up the back of my neck. Just the mention of each heroine’s name sparked such vivid and happy memories. Everyone had their favorite heroine and a personal story to go with it. It was like a drug, a literary endorphin rush! I asked who wanted to read my copy next and a unanimous reply of “me” resounded like the joyous hallelujah chorus in Handle’s Messiah! Sweet music for a passionate reader, joyous bookseller, and dedicated book blogger.

The Heroine’s Bookshelf is a frothy literary latte; rich and sweet and deeply satisfying. Beautifully designed, it will make the perfect gift for the literature lover in your family or circle of friends. I wholeheartedly praise it to the skies and recommend it to all who wish to become the heroine of their own life.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book about literary heroines, this was surprisingly unliterary. The themes are simplistic and the writing is featureless and repetitive. Really, it's like one of those little books of life lessons that are frequently given as graduation gifts. Not what I was expecting.

It was interesting to read about the lives of the authors (which is why this gets two stars instead of one), but the lack of references disturbed, even incensed, me. There is no way Erin Blakemore did original research on these authors. I am sure everything she wrote about them came from other people's thoroughly researched biographies and painstakingly edited collections of letters. So why didn't she acknowledge them? Blakemore writes, "As time weathers the pages of history books, writers like Jane Austen and Zora Neale Hurston move ever further from our grasp." Well, not really, thanks to the biographers and researchers who've kept them alive. I feel confident that work will last much longer than this book will.

[Leeanne G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually only read 5 of the 12 chapters but I will still write a review. Each chapter of this book focuses on a different literary heroine and her author.

Here are the chapters:
Self: Lizzy Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin
Faith: Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
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 The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Steadfastness: Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
Ambition: Jo March in Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Magic: Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I only read the chapters about Anne Shirley, Scout Finch, Laura Ingalls, Jo March, and Mary Lennox. I will have to read the rest of this book after I have finished the other stories it talks about. I didn’t want to spoil any of them, even a little bit.

The chapters I did read were all very interesting. I think the chapter about Scout Finch was my favourite. Partially because I only just recently read To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time, (and immediately fell in love with it) and also because I didn't know much about how Harper Lee or how the story came to be. Little is known about her life because she never talked about it much. I did know Atticus was based off of her father: so much so that when the casting of Atticus for the movie was going on, Nelle insisted that Gregory Peck play Atticus because he reminded her of her father. That bit of information isn't included in this book, that's just my bonus detail. :)

I already knew the basics of Maud Montgomery’s life, but this went into considerably more detail. Her life pretty much sucked from the start. There were times when it got better for a while, but then it would fall apart again. Yet, through all her frustration, misery, loneliness and intense longing for something better, she gave us Anne Shirley, one of the happiest literary heroines of all time.

After reading one of the first reviews of Anne of Green Gables that wrote “the book radiates happiness and optimism”, she wrote her reaction to it in her journal in 1908.

"When I think of the conditions of worry and gloom and care under which it was written I wonder at this. Thank God, I can keep the shadows of my life out of my work. I would not wish to darken any other life--I want instead to be a messenger of optimism and sunshine."

Through her work she was able to do just that.

I am very informed on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the title of Simplicity absolutely fits her. She was all about the simple things in life. The information shared about Laura wasn’t really new to me, but I didn’t mind.

On the other hand, I knew absolutely nothing about Frances Hodgson Burnett. She was a self-described “pen-driving machine” and through that supported her husband and family for years! Her life wasn’t as bad as some of the other authors but it was a little “all over the place”.

I was unaware how truly depressing a life Louisa May Alcott lived. It is the most depressing out of all the authors I read about in this book. It did disappoint me to know that she didn’t write Little Women or any of the following books with pleasure, in fact she hated it. I'm very glad she powered through it anyways because Little Women and its sequel are two of my favourite books.

I enjoyed learning about how Erin Blakemore discovered each book, what it meant to her and how she connects to each one. Reading this has reminded me why each literary heroine stands out to me, and made me think about how they have inspired me in my life so far. Some of these books were written over a hundred years ago, yet they still hold relevance to today. All women today can still be inspired by the women - real or fictional - who have gone before us. That’s what makes something a classic I guess.

"As women, we are the protagonists of our own personal novels. We are called upon to be the heroines of our own lives, not supporting characters… Luckily, we’re not required to be brave to be heroines… all we have to do is show up for our own stories. Even if the reality is less glamorous than fiction."

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sounds great, right? Blakemore does write with gusto (or maybe that was just the lively audio book reading) and the introduction showed some promise, but unfortunately it just went downhill from there.

I strongly disagree with the author's worldview, and I didn't expect the book to be steeped in such a relativistic, hedonistic, secular ideology. She constantly returns to the theme of self-fulfillment as being the highest good, and "self" as being the only constant. As a Christian, that's obviously not a viewpoint that I believe in.

She does seem to focus more on the difficult and salacious aspects of the author's stories, and a lot of this stuff I would have been fine not knowing. I get that she's trying to make the point that although they didn't have everything figured out, these authors were still able to produce an enduring literary work, but it seemed like the lens with which she was viewing their life stories was prevailingly focused in on the negative.

I could relate to Blakemore's description of how books can provide companions, escape, and insight when navigating the ups-and-downs of everyday life. I also thought some of suggestions for when to “read this book” were clever. But that's where the praise ends.

The chapter centered on the virtue of "faith" is a theological quagmire. And I ended up skipping most of the Colette chapter; I hadn't heard of those books before, but they sound like trash—and not something I have any interest in filling my mind with. At this point, about halfway through the book, I really just wanted to rip it up and throw it across the room. Since it was from the library, I restrained myself and ultimately decided to finish the book because I was curious about what she would have to say about Laura, Jane, and Jo. Ultimately, although the Jane Eyre chapter did have a few stomachable sentiments, I didn't really learn much of value from this book or glean any great new insights.

While the concept for this book was interesting, I definitely would not recommend it.

[Haylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it halfway...couldn't make it any farther than that. Kinda felt like I was reading a book report on other books and the authors who wrote them.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance I thought the worst of this book. Nonfiction-chick-lit. Oy. Like we need another one of those in the world, another book passing itself off as literary criticism praising grrl-power and womyn writers and whatever else. (Yeah, funny coming from me, a feminist. I have issues on both sides, folks. Suck it.)

But I sat and read this (in one sitting) and actually found myself enjoying it. It's not the deepest thing I've read all year, but then Blakemore never claims it is. What she wanted to do was write about the books and authors that helped form who she is today, something any voracious and self-defining READER can certainly appreciate. Books change us; they get up in our face and in our skin and we become Harriet the Spy and Lily Bart or whoever your literary heroes or heroines are. That's Blakemore's thesis here and she does a fine job of it.

The chapters are short and sweet, covering a quick blurb of the author and the work that most affected Blakemore. As soon as the reader gets a good handle on the basics of an author there's a small discussion of the book itself, usually including a passage from the book to help illustrate her point. At the end of each chapter Blakemore suggests three occasions when it's best to read that particular book (like Anne of Green Gables should be read "When someone repeatedly misspells your name or implies that they'd rather interact with a man") and three other literary characters ("literary sisters") the main character from Blakemore's discussions could be related to. At first those two small sections bugged me. By the end she totally won me over with them. (I must be getting soft.)

I would have loved to have seen more. A lot of the titles included in this book are ones that are universally beloved, like To Kill a Mockingbird or Little Women, books that have been covered (oh so often) in so many other books similar to this. Her choices here aren't often very dark, and I'd be more interested to see how Blakemore feels about some of the darker heroines in literature - the second Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca, for example, or even (as I mentioned above) Lily Bart in The House of Mirth. Offred in The Handmaid's Tale.

Still, this is a nice, quick read. If I were 10 years younger I'd probably dig this even more. But for what it is, it's pretty decent, and as a debut book I'm impressed. As a more cynical reader today I'm not as convinced by a lot of the outlooks of the characters chosen here, but that's certainly not Blakemore's fault. I do agree with her in her argument of how powerful literature can be, and how important an escape it is during life's tumultuous and joyous occasions. I don't know where I would be now if I didn't learn to love books the way I did. I think for that reason alone Blakemore and I would have a good chat over a couple mugs of tea or something. We could talk the shit out of some damn good literature.

[Eva-Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Guess I rated this just one star because I'm feeling blah right now and this book did NOT live up to any of my expectations. (Plus, I spent a good chunk of an Amazon gift card on it. Yippee.) It was bland and boring and I didn't agree with the author's uber-feminist worldview. I skipped maybe a third of the chapters in this book, because I hadn't read the books they featured and the chapters I did read were forgettable. Plus, almost none of the featured heroines were favorite heroines of mine. (With the possible exception of Jo March.)

I wanted to like this book...and it didn't happen. *sigh*

[Silver Petticoat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this entire review here: THE HEROINE’S BOOKSHELF – A GREAT READ FOR FANS OF LIZZIE BENNET, ANNE SHIRLEY AND OTHER WONDERFUL HEROINES!

Review by Elinor Cackett

Overall Rating = 5

The Heroine’s Bookshelf (Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder) is part literary analysis and part self-help. Erin Blakemore is a journalist; this book is her debut and only novel to date. She asserts that though the time in which these books were written gets further away and further away, there is still much we can learn from the extraordinary heroines that live in their pages.

The author begins by addressing each writer’s life and the similarities they share with their heroines. She goes on to analyze the heroine’s journey and admirable traits. Each chapter has a heading such as Dignity, Faith or Happiness. These headings correspond to each heroine and the lessons we as modern heroines can glean from their example. Each chapter ends with a recommendation of when to turn to the novel in question and each heroine’s ‘literary sisters’. This will either delight or annoy you. I found myself enjoying this little quirky addition.

You will be familiar with many of the author’s choices but not all necessarily. The author has chosen favorites that many of us also hold close to our hearts such as Lizzie Bennet, Jo March, Jane Eyre, Celie and Anne Shirley among others that may be less well known. It is an uplifting homage to the women that have captured our collective imagination and long outlived their unique creators. Finding the parallels in the author’s own lives does not detract from those of their heroines but rather enriches and improves our understanding of the chosen texts. Each chapter is scattered with pertinent passages from the novels in question which illuminate things further.

Told with sensitivity and great love for these great authors and their notorious creations, The Heroine’s Bookshelf is a joy to read, and it is a short read that you can fly through. The book is also very easy to dip into and can be read in no particular order. Truly, The Heroine’s Bookshelf is a book as informative as it is enjoyable. You will probably find yourself learning a great deal while finding much gentle encouragement throughout. It is a book that makes you proud to be a woman and will likely send you back to old favorites for a reread. You may even find a new heroine to follow.

Above all, this is a book by a fan for other fans and if you didn’t enjoy the books Blakemore discusses then you will likely not find it entertaining. However, if you love these characters and want to know more about their authors, then The Heroine’s Bookshelf is for you. If you are looking for a fun and informative read to crack open whenever you’re doubting yourself then look no further than this useful little to me.

Read this entire review and others (especially if you love old-fashioned chivalrous romance) at: THE SILVER PETTICOAT REVIEW

[Euge Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente! Recomendadisimo!

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

In times of struggle, there are as many reasons not to read as there are to breathe. Don't you have better things to do? Reading, let alone rereading, is the terrain of milquetoasts and mopey spinsters. At life's ugliest junctures, the very act of opening a book can smack of cowardly escapism. Who chooses to read when there's work to be done?

Call me a coward if you will, but when the line between duty and sanity blurs, you can usually find me curled up with a battered book, reading as if my mental health depended on it. And it does, for inside the books I love I find food, respite, escape and perspective. I find something else too: heroines and authors, hundreds of them, women whose real and fictitious lives have covered terrain I too must tread. Don't we all need some heroines in our own lives?

In the latest book, The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore, the author takes an interesting journey into what reading our books teaches us about how to deal with life from the characters in our book and at times from the authors life as well. I had never really considered it before until I read this book at my own personal collection of books I have read from childhood til now. The stories that comprised my life and little did I know the lessons I have taken from them.

In the Little House On The Prairie Series for example I learned that the simple life isn't just about doing without. It's about being content with what you have. It's about knowing the relationships are more important than the things we can buy, that those are priceless. We learn about perseverance instead of giving up, we learn that success is achieved after long years at times of hard work. We also learn that new experiences are all part of life's journey and we may not know their purpose until we get through it all.

Erin Blakemore takes the readers into some of our classic characters like Scarlett O'Hara, Jane Austin, Jane Erye, and showcases what types of lessons we may have learned through not only reading them but rereading them. She does some amazing research as well into the lives of the writers who wrote them, what inspired them, what did they achieve out of their book being published and how did society view them. Being a huge literary fan, this book was a home run for me and an eye opening lesson into reading any book today.

I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and highly recommend it. This is such a treasure that any book fan or lover would adore! For that reason I rate this book a 5 out of 5 literary stars! It will make any book shy person, pick up a book and discover the hidden treasures within its pages.

[Michelle]

For such a small book, The Heroine's Bookshelf packs quite a punch. It is one of those books that makes a reader proud to be female, while also making one appreciate the lessons learned from childhood heroines. It is the perfect novel to read when feeling blue or at a crossroads in one's life because it simultaneously reminds one of all those who have experienced similar thoughts/sensations/emotions while confirming the idea that we are not alone in our struggles. In a book filled with lessons, it is the most powerful lesson of all.

Ms. Blakemore does a fantastic job of presenting each beloved character in a fresh new light while simultaneously confirming why they are beloved in the first place. At the same time, she shares the struggles each author had to overcome in order to present these extraordinary characters with the world. Fighting to be heard among men, fighting depression, letting one's voice be heard - they are all issues that these authors dealt with while writing, which lends a note of familiarity to the entire proceedings because they continue to be problems today.

The Heroine's Bookshelf posits the idea that heroines in novels can be important roles models in spite of being fictional. From Scarlett, one learns never to give up the fight. Who can forget the importance of happiness and looking on the bright side of things learned from Anne? What about staying true to one's own beliefs, as shown to us by Jane? Often, the authors' stories can be just as, if not more, inspirational than the heroines themselves. If they can overcome their own conflicts to write these extraordinary characters, we all can do the same in our own lives.

The Heroine's Bookshelf makes me want to revisit and rejoice in each heroine all over again. Read at a time when I am struggling with my own demons in my personal life, Ms. Blakemore reminded me that I need to stay true to my own values, to fight for them, to never forget my sense of wonder, and to have faith. It is a reminder that I feel everyone needs to receive, and one that I will truly cherish.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the idea of this book. The author posits that we find strength through reading and that our favorite heroines teach us, inspire us, and help us to go back out and live life. In the introduction she writes, "My literary companions would never live in the ranch house with the atrocious rust-red carpet my parents couldn't afford to replace, but no matter. They accompanied me to my first kiss and my first breakup, through college and into the weird uncharted territory of quarter-life crisis and grown womanhood. Somehow, painfully, I came closer to myself with every book I read" I actually stopped here to check if I wrote the book! Everything from the carpet, to the quarter-life crisis and into the self discovery were very much true for me.

She covered a few authors I had never read and she did not succeed in convincing me to read them. Most books came out of serious suffering from the author's life, she did a great job highlighting the suffering, but failed to show the brightness that the book was and bring the audience out of the depressing side and into a happier note which most of these books were. And she made her biggest mistake when she got to Charlotte Bronte by talking AT LENGTH about the depressing weather in Yorkshire England! Not so, Blakemore, not so!

The idea is great, the tone is easy to read, but she fails to push the idea as far as the topic needed to go. She left me unsatisfied.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is that, in times of trouble, novels can save you. In particular, the heroines from a handful of novels can give you qualities you need to keep going. (For example, Scout Finch can teach you compassion and Jo March can teach you ambition.)

Obviously, this is something that I completely believe. While I haven’t read every novel referenced in this book, I’ve read most of them and it was delightful to get to see my friends again. (And yes, I DO think of Mary Lennox, Francie Nolan and Scarlett O’Hara as friends.)

I feel like a lot of people look down on books as a sort of waste of time, especially when there are real problems going on in the world. I’ll admit that I tend to use them as an escape and when I’m reading more than usual, odds are I’m running away from something. Part of that, though, is because of this book’s thesis–books and their characters can save you.

Another interesting thing is that she weaves in discussions about the authors. I didn’t know anything about Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee, Louisa May Alcott–any of the women in this book, really. I’m not sure if I can say that it will make me appreciate the books more, but it’s always good to learn things.

I’d recommend this book to everyone who loves books (and even those who don’t, because Erin Blakemore is better at explaining why books are important than I am).

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention all bibliophiles! If you have ever tried to channel your inner Scarlett O’Hara, Jane Eyre, or Scout Finch, this is the book for you! The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore is an ingenious little book. Blakemore deftly combines author biography and character study to create a highly readable look at the females, both real and fictional, that have influenced generations of women. Broken into twelve chapters, each centering on a different author and her heroine, Blakemore illustrates the true art of writing fiction. For example, the chapter entitled Magic focuses on the character of Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; and if ever there was a women who was in need of a little magic it was Frances Hodgson Burnett. Facing a downward spiral in both her career and her private life, Frances Hodgson Burnett creates a character and a novel, full of the magic of the ordinary, which is cherished by generations of readers. Each chapter also ends with an oftentimes witty When to Read This Book section and a section on the Literary Sister of the chapter’s featured heroine. Inspiring and informative, The Heroine’s Bookshelf is thoroughly delightful.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin Blakemore's "The Heroine's Bookshelf" is a slender volume jam-packed with ideas, inspiration and information. Featuring twelve female authors and their well-known heroines, the book delivers on its promise: there are life lessons here.

With heroines as varied as Scout Finch and Jane Eyre, created by women who have little in common with one another beyond gender, there is much to see here. Blakemore provides some biographical information on each of the authors, talking about some of the difficulties they encountered with publishing. She matches up each heroine with a concept (e.g., Scout Finch represents compassion) and explains clearly why this is so.

At the bottom of this book is an explanation of why we subconsciously return to certain books over and over again. There is something elemental about the stories of "Jane Eyre" and "The Secret Garden" and "Little Women" (as well as the other nine books discussed here) that speaks to us as we relate to the heroines' challenges.

This is a book I will look to repeatedly during times of challenge. Highly recommended for literature lovers.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It suits me that The Heroine's Bookshelf takes Pride and Prejudice as its first subject, since that is my second-favorite book after The Lord of the Rings. And I enjoyed many of the other books it mentions in high school and college. But Blakemore's book is more than a mere summary of these childhood favorites. Not only does the author choose a theme for each chapter ("Self" in the case of Lizzie Bennet in P&P), but she also discusses the authors' lives at length, which for me was the most interesting part of the book. I was also impressed by the organization of each chapter, in which Blakemore begins by discussing the author, moves to compare the author's life to the character's life, and then works in the book's personal relevance. This is a book I'll keep and reread from time to time.

One other thing I want to note: with the exception of Alice Walker and Zora Neal Hurston, all the authors profiled are white. In the "Literary Sisters" section at the end of each chapter, the author mentions books by Toni Morrison and Sandra Cisneros as well. It would be interesting to see this book turned into a series by women of different races and nationalities and ages.

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, the author takes up twelve books that she feels contain inspiring heroines, and draws parallels between the struggles that the fictional heroine and her creator faced. She also points out lessons that each heroine's and creator's life offers to a reader. It was very nicely done. Each chapter was themed to a particular virtue, and I especially liked how she started with Self and closed with Magic. That felt right. None of the other virtues will really take hold if you don't have a firm sense of your self and your right to live in this world. And, ultimately, even after we've acquired all the other virtues, we all need a touch of magic in our lives.
All of the books she chose would be readable by an intelligent teenager, and some of them are books that are read by girls in middle school or younger. I've always been of the opinion that the books we read have the power to shape our character. One of the books Blakemore discusses, Jane Eyre, had a powerful influence on me

[Kimberli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book!

Each chapter is devoted to a life lesson learned from a particular favorite book. We learn about each writer's life & specific book, then Blakemore gently intersperses bits about her own life into the narrative to demonstrate how this book enriched her life. My favorite elements were learning about each writer. I had no idea that L.M. Montgomery suffered so from depression or actually didn't die of heart failure, but took her own life. How Collette's heroine shared many similarities to her own life; the tragic last years of Nora Zeale Hurston's life, and just how secretive Margaret Mitchell was about her writing. Each chapter ends with lovely little bullet points on "when to read this book" and other "literary sisters" to read.

A fantastic, absolutely charming gift for any well-read woman and a great book club pick (especially for a mother-daughter type group).

[Cathe Fein Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve books written by women with strong female characters make up what the author calls The Heroine's Bookshelf. Children's titles like The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables made the list, as well as adult titles including The Color Purple and Pride and Prejudice. The author explains how the heroine can help with different life challenges such as: Compassion, Fight, and Faith, and gives related books/heroines that also exemplify that characteristic. I found the insights into the books and what we can learn from them interesting, but what I enjoyed even more was the information about the authors and how the author's experiences shaped the characters in the books. There were several books profiled that I haven't read, but are now on my "to read" list . . . as well as several I want to reread. This is a great little book.

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I’m really drawn to the premise of this book, I can’t help but feel like its execution falls flat. Each chapter has the feel of an essay, but they never seem to go very deep into their subjects. There is a lot of time spent discussing the authors, which wouldn’t be a bad thing necessarily, except that there is in turn surprisingly little time spent examining the actual heroines of the novels discussed. The majority of the time it feels more like a look at how the authors turn their lives into fiction rather than an examination of how heroines function in literature, which is what I wanted from this book. While it’s a nice, quick, light-hearted read, it wasn’t at all what I was hoping for (which was something more academically focused....I was hoping for something more akin to literary criticism).

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like several of the other reviews said, I loved the *idea* of this book. But when it came down to it, I really only cared about the histories of the authors. The recaps of their heroines felt a bit like a book report to me. I found myself skipping these sections entirely, jumping back in when the authors' history started to converge a bit with the characters.

Cool idea, though. Nice to think about some old favorites, and their noteworthy characteristics. And somehow I never read Anne of Green gables??? *adds to TBR*

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved,loved,loved it!! More please! Blakemore (who is now one of my heroines) shares background on many great female authors and hi-lites one of their heroines. Listening to this book was like going to lunch with good friends, tears and laughter, don't want it to end.

From the chapter on happiness, Anne Shirley:

"A heroine is better served when she opts for internal pleasure rather than appeasing others, and like Anne, we'd do well to cultivate happiness on the inside in the hopes that we'll see it all around."

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a delightful read. I was reaquainted with some of my favorite "friends" from my early readiness days. The chapter about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her relationship with her daughter Rose really makes want to reread the whole series.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the lives and journeys of the authors of some of the most classic novels for young women. I had read about half of the books talked about and added several to my to-read pile. I would have liked a little bit more detail about the lives of the authors she discussed though.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the book, but the execution has some problems for me. Applying authorial intent, revealing the endings and climaxes (arguably OK), and inconsistent levity and personal narrative.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved most of the essays. EB created a lovely mix of an author’s life, her singular character, and personal experience with the novels. She chose some of my most beloved novels. All the authors and characters were women.

[Selah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of 12 short biographies of famous female authors, as well as somewhat gushing “critique” of their most famous heroines. A perfect read for #femmemarch

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to peruse. Lots of recapturing what I already knew about authors I had read but still a good read to pick up when you want something Lightroom read.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine pairing some of your favorite heroines in literary history with their female authors and analyzing both the similarities and differences in their lives. That’s what Erin Blakemore has done in The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, From Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

In her introduction, Blakemore talks abut the need to read and find inspiration, especially when times are difficult. She also mentions how she has turned to literary heroines throughout her own life in times of upheaval.

Each chapter highlights a quality, such as Faith, Dignity, and Indulgence, then talks about how a literary heroine displays this quality. Twelve authors and their heroines are covered, including some you may expect, such as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and others you may not, such as Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.

I was fascinated by the barriers so many women had to bringing their stories to print, and how so many authors that we think of as successful struggled with poverty their entire lives. As such, The Heroine’s Bookshelf is fascinating both as a historical look at women writers as well as literary analysis of the characters they wrote.

It would take some work, but I can see a mother-daughter book club with girls aged 14 and up, or a women’s book club choosing each of Blakemore’s titles and reading it as a group along with the chapter she writes about it. Even if you’re not in a book club with your daughter, you may find this is a great activity for just the two of you take on together.