As an English teacher, I'm ashamed to admit that I knew very little about either Elizabeth Barrett or Robert Browning before picking up this book. The story of their maid, Lily Wilson, gives an interesting perspective on the private life of Elizabeth and Robert. And I admired that Forster depicted the two famous literary figures as she saw to be accurate, rather than glamorizing and glorifying them as there might be a temptation to do. The two poets are very human, often fussy, melodramatic, and given to self-aggrandizement. That made me all the more interested in the story of Lily and the difference in their lifestyle and hers, and of course their indifference to the way they treated her. It's been a while since I read something like Jane Austen, so it was refreshing and fascinating to dip back into a world with social codes so different from ours today. This book must have taken years to research, and Forster's depiction of Victorian life shows the evidence of that research.

There was a page-long afterword that explained which parts of the book were true, but I wanted more. I wish Margaret Forster had written more books like this! You won't be sorry you picked it up.

I knew next to nothing about the subject matter of this book when my mother lent it to me (she loved it as well). Forster is able to completely personalize the social constrictions of Victorian society through the eyes of Wilson, Lady's Maid to the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Honestly enjoyable and a treat to read. I couldn't help noticing all the 5 star ratings here - well deserving of this fine author. Bravo!

I have to start out by saying that it has been 9 years since I read this book, but even now it stands out as one of the most telling books I have ever read about a genious writer named Elizabeth Barret Browning. In Lady's maid the story of Elizabeth Barret Browning is told from the eyes of her Maid servant. This unusual perspective gives the reader the ability to see the writer(Elizabeth Barret) from a third party focus instead of a introspective focus. The book is sooo good that you are instantly transfixed after the first page. If you are wise you will buy the book and read it when you can literaly sit down and read it cover to cover and enjoy it. It is that good! Enjoy and be edducated. Remember to have lots of tissue at the end, you will need it!

My ex girlfriend, Ashleigh, gave this to me years ago, before she was forced by her family to marry this guy. Long story but she sent this book to me and signed the inside.
Next to Shakespeare, this is the most bittersweet and poetic
poems of love that I have ever read.
It was said that a husband and wife team wrote these so one can only imagine how passionate their marriage was, huh?

This book of sonnets and poems is just wonderful. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's writing is able to get to the very heart of the reader with honesty and beauty. This collection really speaks to the romantic soul with passion and truth. I find her writings to be incredibly moving and this volume touched me deeply.

These sonnets ease my tension when I read them.

In a world full of hate, violence, and selfishness, this book helps us remember each other in the best of ways. It helped found the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and is responsible of Random Acts of Kindness week. The publishers at Conari Press have truly created a timeless work of inspiration and beauty. Go out and commit a random act of kindness yourself!

I listened to this book on tape on my morning walk. I've listened to it many times and it always starts my day off with a positive feeling. It inspired me to do kind things for people - like giving 10 hamburgers to a homeless man with my son. He told his class and many children went out that week and did more kind things so that they could share their kind acts with the class. It had a great ripple effect.

Random Acts of Kindness got me thinking more deeply about my actions and how I influence young people. It inspired me to write a children's book, THE KING OF KINDNESS.

This was my favorite book when I was little. I read it over and over again. Obviouslly having the same name made it mine but I think it has to do with the theme of being ignored. I am sure my family would say it is because I talked all the time. I like that Andrew was right all along and that everyone should have listened to him. I think kids today would indentify with this in light of how fast-past and distracted we are as adults. But buy the cheaper version. Who is their right mind would pay over $100 for a kid's book?

I read this book more than thirty years ago, and I still remember it, because I identified with Andrew so much. Andrew has something important to say, something he knows is true and valid and urgent. But for the life of him, he can't get any grown-ups to pay attention to him. They are all too busy, too numb and on remote-control, and could care less what a kid has to say

Andrew finally manages to get himself heard after a great deal of effort, and the whole town finally realizes that he has been right all along. It's a great book, but it shouldn't be $101.56, for Pete's sake!

This book covers everything a massage therapist needs to know, things I wasn't even taught in massage school. If you want to know it all, get this book. It is wonderful and I plan on using it as THE massage book for the massage school I am opening this year.

Needless to say, speed is everything in learning a language. One wants to be sure to use the right book with the "proven" system that yields the "remarkable" results. When I undertook to learn German on my own, the vast majority of books did the job adequately, none especially remarkably, but one did it well- Das Erste Jahr. I've come to find that in a language textbook, it's all about the sequence in which the information is presented. This is what sets Das Erste Jahr apart. Most textbooks seem to start off like travel guidebooks, presenting a great deal of vocabulary dealing with finding the train station, staying in hotels, ordering in restaurants and the like. Vocabulary, though important, is really just the leaves of the tree, so to speak. There's a stack of dedicated books that you can go to for vocabulary. Das Erste Jahr focuses less on vocabulary and more on the core of language, the basic grammar, with just enough interesting vocabulary to flesh things out. Grammar comes later in most textbooks, after the basic verbs, and when it comes it usually does so in the form of unappealingly utilitarian grammar charts with an admonition to "memorize the chart but don't place too much reliance on memorizing the charts". An overabundance of grammar charts, in my opinion, is the mark of a poor textbook. Das Erste Jahr presents the grammar very early on, unabashedly diving into dative articles and prepositions. Everything is explained clearly and simply. The student gains immediate advantage in understanding the core of the language because they've gotten the grammar up-front and consequently have more time to work with it. Their treatment of plurals is another effective departure, among others. So much research on language acquisition seems to focus on the optimum percentages of time that should be given over to reading vs. writing vs. listening vs. conversation, or the necessity for total immersion, or acquisition ability vs. age, etc. Little research seems to focus on the relative effectiveness of the way the material is presented in the book. In the end, the information's the same in every book. But in one, the process of absorption is slow and cumbersome, while in another, the neuron connections seem to link up without effort. This book seems to do this mysterious thing much better than others.

This is the 2nd historical novel Margaret Irwin wrote about Elizabeth I. The 1st, Young Bess, was about her childhood. This novel, covers the period of her sister Mary's reign. You don't need to read the 1st to enjoy the 2nd, although I HIGHLY recommend both. A historical novel should not only entertain but give the reader some feeling for what it was like to live in a particular time & place. This Margaret Irwin does splendidly. She portrays a young woman who had to watch every word & gesture to merely survive. Elizabeth, in my opinion, was one of the greatest rulers England ever had. Irwin's attention to detail help you understand what she had to endure to reach her throne & what made her the brilliant, courageous soul she was.

I have read this book several times--as well as parts of it at least a half dozen times--and have never failed to glean an enormous amount of information about the incredible lives of Eastern European Jews before World War II. The authors (all of whom are highly trained in their respective fields) have opened up to their readers a beautiful and yet painful world which those of us who live in freedom and prosperity probably never knew existed before.

The writing is clear and precise and the reader is offered many direct quotes as well as regional aphorisms and Yiddish terms used by the Eastern European Jews to describe their friends, family and surroundings. At times I was filled with laughter, other times brought to tears by the words of those who lived in the shtetleh of Poland and Russia.

The Jews of Eastern Europe were a simple people of faith---in their God, in their little run-down communities, in their family and friends---but they also lived in a world which evoked a constant sense of fear knowing that anytime day or night they were subject to the violent whims of their Gentile neighbors. During the worst pogroms, Jews were attacked and sometimes murdered in front of family members and friends. And yet, because of the social conditions in Eastern Europe, those who witnessed the horrors of a pogrom might actually come face to face the very next day with those same Gentile attackers in the marketplace, and they were expected to act as if nothing at all had happened. We of democratic laws and justice would not fair so well in such a society; they had no such choice, for to complain was to risk one's life and bring down further destruction on their shtetl.

With few exceptions, the Jews of Eastern Europe lived and died with dignity and courage despite the sometimes horrible conditions under which they were forced to live, and this book describes this world more simply and clearly than any other I've read. For them, life truly was "With People", and it opened up my eyes to the incredible value of my own family and friends and the freedoms so richly enjoyed in this, the nation of my birth. I was deeply moved by this book and would recommend it to anyone, regardless of their national origin or religious faith. John Edward Flynt

This is one of the better "novella" anthologies I've read in awhile.

Carmichael's "Wheels of Love" is a cute story of two people who are initially willing to marry for pragmatic reasons but find that true love is actually out there waiting. The comedic intervention of "romantic instigators," taking the form of a car and a computer, add a bit of spice, and the characterization of Samantha and the development of her relationship with Eric is especially well-drawn for a short story.

Barrett's "Cupid's Arrow" is also very charming, with wonderful development of the main character, Amanda, and her "bag lady" friend, Chatty. My only complaint is that Barrett includes several different romantic impasses between Max and Amanda that aren't explained or developed, so I ended up feeling confused as to why, exactly, they were problems at all. I know that the novella can be an impediment to such development, but even a short explanation (even an short sentence that said Amanda recognized Max's name and position) would have helped.

Bevarly's "Top Cat and Tales" was my personal favorite (although I must admit that Bevarly is one of my favorite authors of contemporary romances anyway). I laughed out loud repeatedly as I read the tale. I thought Cupid incredibly cute, and Abby was well-drawn and easily understood and liked. (Personally, I wish a Joel lived in MY building!) My only quibble is that the novella format, and the way the story developed, meant that the main characters "fell in love" without any real reason or provocation.

I thought Brownley's "Winning Ticket" was the weakest tale in the bunch, although it's by no means a bad story. Speaking honestly, it was probably the story where the characters "falling in love" made the most sense in the novella format, since they had a relationship and memories on which to build. But I didn't end up liking either of the characters all that much, and sometimes felt the motivations of the characters were too shallow.

All in all, though, this is a lovely book, full of stories I thoroughly enjoyed and will definitely re-read! A keeper for anyone that likes anthologies, and for anyone looking for new authors to discover.

This book really showed me the insite on a young bastardized Princess' life. I act in a Renaissance Faire and auitioned for the part of Lady Elizabeth at age 15 and got it. This book really helped me out on how her attitude on life was. It was a wonderfully written book that deserves more credit than it got. I don't recommend this book for young readers, it can be quite complicated at times. After reading this book you will certainly realize that Elizabeth was a truly amazing Princess, Lady and Queen.

I found this to be a wonderful, colorful, imaginative book. The plot was terrific and the characters very well evolved. It gave a thrilling account of the famous Queen Elizabeth's life as a young girl. I would advise it for ages 10 and over.

One of the best-written and most evocative historical novels ever. I first read this when I was twelve, and it is still one of my favorite books. Due to this book, I conceived a passionate admiration for Elizabeth I which I've never lost, as well as an interest in English history that's provided years of fascinating research. (I also fell madly in love with the Lord High Admiral, but that's another story....)