What would it be like for a freeborn black adolescent to go from Yankee prisoner to slave during the Civil War? Author Wanda Dionne takes this fascinating premise and makes it irrestible with memorable characters, clear prose, and more twists than a Texas tornado.

_A Yank Among Us_ is an entertaining read for young people from fourth through eighth grade level. Parents and teachers will appreciate an accurate look at a little-known facet of Civil War history.

Title: A Little Princess
By: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Reviewed By: ...
Period: 4

There is a young girl named Sara. She is a very smart, kind and clever girl. Sara likes to read books and imagine things. Her father had to go off in India for a job so he left Sara at a school. They were a very rich family. Sara always wore the fancy clothes and she got everything she desired. At the school, everyone always looked at her. She made some friends but very few. A few Years later, her father dies. She becomes a poor, dirty maid who cleans at the school. She still has contact with her friends but very few. She met a neighbor that just moved in. It turns out that he is looking for her because he was a close friend of her dad. The neighbor doesn't know that Sara is the girl at the school next door.
Later on they meet, and Sara's life becomes a lot better.
I liked this book because it kept making me want to read on. I didn't want to stop. It was such a interesting book. I've never read a book like this one. It's so fun how she is very happy at first and then sad later on. " Nobody but Sara herself ever knew what had happened in her room after she had ran upstairs and locked the door. In fact, she herself scarcely remembered anything but that she walked up and down, saying over and over again to herself in a voice which did not seem her own: 'My Papa is dead! My papa is dead!'" That was the sad part.
This book always made me think about how nice of a girl Sara was and what a kind heart she had. I was crying when she had become a poor, maid after her father died and left no money. She always cared for others and was an excellent student at school. "'Ah, Madam, ' he said, ' there is not much I can teach her. She has not learned french; she IS french. He accent is exquisite." That is what her french teacher told The head mistress.(She is very smart)
My favorite part of the book is when she meets friends. Although she had kind ways to talk to people, she always met people in a strange way. For instance, when she met one of her friends, Lottie,it was when Lottie was crying. Lottie was screaming out that she had no mother. Sara never really met her mother. Then, Sara offered to be her adopted mother.I thought that was strange but nice of her. It stopped Lottie from crying so hard and she became very close friends with her. That is what I liked about the book.

This has got to be one of my favourite movies. I'm the type of person who loves orphan stories such as The Secret Garden, Annie, etc. But this one touched me like no other. It's about a little girl named Sarah who loves storytelling. She hasn't any brothers or sisters, nor a mother, so she just has one father whom she loves more than anyone. They both live together in India. Then her father is called to battle, and Sarah is sent to a boarding school in New York, where her mother used to attend as a girl. When her father is killed in battle and there's no one to pay for Sarah's school fees, the cruel headmistress forces Sarah into a life of poverty. She quickly befriends the other servant girl whose name is Becky, and somehow manages to live through the hardships that come her way. The ending just blew me away. The ending isn't the same as the book, because this movie is only based on the book, not a recreation. But all the same, you'll love it. The perfect family movie, and a great movie to introduce not only girls-but boys also-to the world of poverty children in England used to suffer.

This book was a favorite of mine in my childhood, and, when I returned as an adult to re-read it to my own daughter, I discovered it all over again.

This is a story about a different kind of princess than one might imagine; a princess that is an orphan - lonely, cold, hungry and abused. Sara Crewe begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a rich man. When he dies a pauper, she is thrown on the non-existent mercy of her small-minded, mercenary boarding school mistress. Stripped of all her belongings but for one set of clothes and a doll, Sara becomes a servant of the household. Hated by the schoolmistress for her independent spirit, Sara becomes a pariah in the household, with only a few secretly loyal friends. But through her inner integrity and strength of will, Sara Crewe maintains the deportment, inner nobility and generous spirit of a "real" princess.

It is a fabulous story of the triumph of human will, and good over evil.

This story is a real classic, and needs no re-writing to be as enjoyable and readable today as it ever was. Ask my 8-year-old daughter, who has already re-read it twice. Accept no substitutes, re-writes, abridgements or copies! This is a work of art, and should not be tampered with.

This is the most extraordinary book I have ever read, and read, and read! While it requires a little effort to "get into" the story, the end rewards are great indeed. The plot involves mysteries inside mysteries, and you're not even aware that they ARE mysteries until the answers begin to unfold. Anna's life, as revealed through her diaries, is masterfully told, from her girlhood, through her marriage and child-raising years, into her old age and death. We get to know Anna intimately, her joy, her pain, her prejudices, and we learn the truth about Swanny, the child her husband rejected.

In most of Barbara Vine's novels, the identity of the killer is known from the beginning. The mystery lies in the nature of the crime and the criminal's mind, which are gradually revealed as the story unravels. ANNA'S BOOK deviates from the rule in that the question of whodunit is not revealed until the very end. For that reason, it may be the most "mysterious" of Vine's tales.

Anna Westerby is a young Danish woman living in London in the early 1900's. She keeps a record of her life in her diary, writing mostly about her beautiful young daughter, Swanny. After Anna's death, the diaries are published to great critical acclaim, but they slowly reveal a chilling pattern. One of the entries is missing, it turns out, an entry that may shed light on the murder of Lizzie Roper, a crime that took place not far from Anna's old house. There are mysteries beyond whodunit, however. Questions arise concerning Swanny's illegitimacy, and the whereabouts of the missing Edith Roper, Lizzie's daughter. The novel alternates between selections from Anna's diary and a narrative by Anna's granddaughter, Ann Eastbrook, who begins to investigate the murky secrets behind her family history.

This is one of Barbara Vine's most complex, intricately plotted mysteries. The solutions are not revealed until the final chapters, and Vine once more dazzles us with stunning ingenuity, giving us some of her most "Why didn't I think of that before?" revelations ever. But above all, this is a wonderful, richly textured novel. Vine writes beautifully; the diary passages are poignant, convincing, and marked by wry humor, and the characters are vivid and real. While ANNA'S BOOK lacks the chilling suspense of some of Vine's earlier novels, it is nonetheless one of her best.

I first saw this book in a discount store in the late 90s, and barely scanned it, but liked what I saw. I checked it out of the public library and read it through three times. I didn't even know who Ruth Rendell was. I bought a copy, I can't remember where, to add to my permanent collection, and have read it many times. It is completely realistic. I've caught myself thinking that the Anna diaries actually have been published (like Anais Nin's) and that one of these days I'll have to buy a set, and catch Cary Oliver's "Roper" film on Masterpiece Theatre. Diaries, dollhouses, missing children (especially, as Anne points out, missing white, blonde, girl children) and gruesome unsolved crimes, are compelling elements when combined and used wisely. Rendell's use of Danish words and bits of Danish culture also help to give the story a wonderful sense of unity. She seems to do this with all her books. She really did her homework for "Shattered Silk" and another one I read a couple of years ago about a lady who inherits a jewelry business. I am NOT a big fan of fictional mysteries (real-life ones, like the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Little Miss 1565, or Amelia Earhart, are another matter) and don't even care for most Agatha Christie or Anne Perry. "Anna's Book" was so true to life that it crossed the "reality" line for me. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an extremely absorbing, intricate but very readable tale.

When I think about the images evoked by a reading of Shep's "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories : And Other Disasters," I know that my son will enjoy this book as much as I did when I first heard the stories about the Old Man, Ralphie, Schwartz, and Flick. This is a must read for anyone who ever managed to navigate though the tempest-tossed waters of childhood. The next time you order a drink at the Red Rooster, understand that a "double bourbon" is not a brand of bourbon. THIS IS A CLASSIC!

Granted, this review biased. I have been a Shep fan since the 1970's, since his nightly radio show on NPR. "Wanda Hickey..." is a series of what one assumes to be semi-autobiographical stories about the author's teen years spent near the depression in industrial northern Indiana. The title story is a blow-by-blow of everyone's prom nightmare, a lovingly-told epitaph to high school. Other great stories include the semi-fictitious protagonist nearly becoming ensnared by the siren song of cabbage and polka by the new Polish girl next door, and a literary rumination of the county fair which sounds like any county fair I've ever seen. Shep's most well-known contribution to the American national consciousness was his penning the original short stories that were compiled into "A Christmas Story", on which he also serves as the narrator. Most of these stories came from "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash", another classic from what I consider to be one of the best humorists of his generation. This is one of my prized books, one that does not get loaned under any conditions.

After reading the hilarious "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" by Jean Shepherd, there was no doubt I had to read this gifted humorist's other books (fortunately, my local library carries them all). "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories: And Other Disasters" is a collection of short stories which further chronicle the growing-up years of Shepherd's alter ego in the mythical town of Hohman, Indiana along with Ma, the Old Man, and the ever-whining kid brother Randy. Our boy hero from "In God We Trust" is now a teenager, complete with puberty and dating. Only men can understand and identify with Shepherd's rich descriptions of falling head-over-heels for a girl, mustering enough courage to ask her out, and painstakingly preparing for "the big night", including the mishaps that accompany the whole process. In addition to memories of long-lost loves, Shepherd gives us the complete, unexpurgated story of the Bumpuses, those hillbilly neighbors whose 700-plus dogs were profiled in the motion picture "A Christmas Story". The reader is also treated to a day at the county fair and the family's yearly fishing trip. One short story in "Wanda Hickey's" actually takes place in the present, when our hero (now a grown man living in New York) receives a package from his mother one Christmas; what the package contains I will not reveal. Once again, Shepherd does an outstanding job blending "good ol' days" nostalgia with poignant satire; well-known staples of 1930s and '40s Americana become hopelessly pedestrian in his hands. Even the avant-garde, art-film culture of today's big city does not escape the satirist's wrath. Now that I have obviously recommended this book, it is time for me to move on to the next Jean Shepherd offering: "A Fistful of Fig Newtons".

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett is about a girl, Mary Lennox, who has spent her entire life in India. When her parents encounter a strange and mysterious illness that leads to death, Mary must move to England and stay there with her uncle, whom she's never seen or met before. Strange things are going on at Misselthwait Manor, like a garden that's locked up for an unknown reason, and a strange crying sound in the middle of the night. I enjoyed this book a lot because Ms. Burnett made the characters seem real, the plot exciting, and the ordinary seem unordinary.
Francis Hodgson Burnett made the characters in The Secret Garden seem real to me because of the description. For example, this is what she has to say about Mary, first thing on the first page, right after you open the book. "When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwait Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another." Can't you just picture Mary in your head? Ms. Burnett describes all her characters so well you can see them, and are positive that you have met that person before, no matter if they are mentioned just once, or on every page.
The plot of The Secret Garden is exciting because there are lots of different things going on at once. To illustrate, Mary is trying to get into the locked garden. She's also trying to make friends with Colin, her disabled cousin, and to adjust to life in England with her uncle and no parents. If I had that many things going on in my life, it certainly wouldn't be boring!
In The Secret Garden, Ms. Burnett makes the ordinary seem unordinary in many ways. One way is that everything is seen through the eyes of a disagreeable, spoiled, ten-year-old girl. I'm not very much older than ten myself, but I don't think that wandering around in a huge old house on a rainy day is exciting, but through Mary's eyes it is. In addition to that, Ms. Burnett makes the ordinary seem unordinary by combining unusual character traits. Take Mary's uncle for example. He's a mean old man with a crooked back, and he's married. Alone, those two things are perfectly normal seen every day, but you don't expect to see those two things together when someone's being described.
An exciting plot, the unordinary turned ordinary, and very realistic characters are my favorite things about The Secret Garden. In reality, the whole book is a treasure to cherish. If you've never read this book, you really should. If you've only read it once, read The Secret Garden again and again. I know I will.

Like most classics of children's literature, "The Secret Garden: deals with very human emotions: love, apathy, fear, trust. The author has woven a very real tale about people that change due to their interactions with each other.

The central character, Mary, undergoes a transformation that she, in turn, causes her cousin to do, likewise. Both children begin to see that the world is not centered on them and they hold their own "keys" to unlocking the wonders of life. This growth is an essential element in the story.

Even the supporting characters play an important part in the telling of the story. Mrs. Medlock is comparable to all the servants that Mary has had in the past - those that just did as they were told. Martha's friendliness was instrumental in the charges in Mary's personality. Dickon sparked in Mary her first "crush." Uncle Archibald represented Mary's distant parents.

The story effectively transports the reader to the dark English moors with its constantly rainy days. The immensity of Misselthwaite Manor is described in great detail.

Language of the characters ranged from the learned diction of Mary and her uncle to the "common" tongue of Martha, Ben, and Dickon. It is quite amusing to read the different accents and phrasings.

The highlight of the story is when Colin's ability to walk is revealed to his father. This very emotional event is handled with compassion and delicacy. The reader can visualize the expression on the father's face as he sees his son stand for the first time.

The true "secret" of the garden is not in the foliage that grows within; it is that one's life can blossom if there is caring and faith to help it grow.

I'm well known for swiping my two daughters school books especially if they're classics as was this book. Of course, I read it when I was younger and the thrill of seeing my girls reading the same book made me want to read this wonderful book again. It's a wonderful story about a young girl, Mary, who becomes an orphan while living in India with her parents so she is sent to her Uncle's manor on the Yorkshire hills in England. She starts to ramble around the big old house and soon discovers her sickly cousin, Colin, who is being fussed over and treated like an invalid by the servant. Without spoiling the story for you, they find a secret garden, which is an absolute mess. Overgrown and unkempt for many years. The garden was once tended by Mister Craven's wife (Colin's mother) who has since passed on. The story revolves around the children's adventures in the garden and amazing things start to happen. Colin finally walks without the aid of his wheelchair and Mister Craven makes a sudden trip home to the manor only to find the children in the garden. He has been extremely down and his heart broken since his wife died which is why he had locked the garden as his wife was the only one who tended it. The story is very deep and is actually a story of healing, joy, tears and finally facing ones obstacles. All stemming from an overgrown garden! Well, that has always been the way I've envisioned this story. But please read it for yourself and make your own judgment.

Until I read this book, the history of England and her monarchs was clouded in confusion. No longer! A beautiful book, full of color and informative graphics, "Lives" packs much information in one volume. Antonia Frazier has done a wonderful job editing the work of many authors. "Lives" draws the reader into the life and times of kings, queens, bas***ds, pretenders, earls, dukes and mistresses. The role and evolution of Parliment is explored, as well as brief outlines of the world at large in order to maintain historical perspective. Often the authors attempt to correct what they feel were previous historical inaccuracies and judge the reigns of each monarch. From the Norman conquest in 1066 to the present, the history of this great country (and Empire) is one we need to better understand because of England's great influence on not only the US, but the world. I can't wait to read the updated 1998 edition, which I just thumbed through at a local retailer.

Antonia Fraser's book "The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England" provides an excellent history of the British monarchy. Highlights of the book include its balance of brevity with a comprehensive scope, it photographs, and especially its genealogical charts. The book's only flaw is that it does not begin in 827 with King Egbert, but in 1066 with William the Conqueror beginning the rule of the Norman kings.

Antonia Fraser's 'The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England' has long been one of my favourite books (since my childhood, really), because it has both breadth and brevity simultaneously, a rare feat. Lady Fraser's style is evident here, a non-imposing and non-technical style, that is nonetheless satisfying to all but the most rigourous of academic historians.

Fraser's account begins with the Norman invasion; like many books on royal history, scant attention is paid to pre-Norman figures. Fraser groups the monarchs into categories:

Normans
Angevins
Plantagenets
House of Lancaster
House of York
Tudors
Stuarts
House of Hanover
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
House of Windsor

Putting together the genealogical tables is a fun exercise--beware here, however, that lesser historical figures are left off the charts (thus, Queen Anne's bevy of children are not represented on the genealogy as none lived to assume the crown or perpetuate the line). Each monarch is given an article about 10-15 pages in length (a good bedtime reading length, I've found). Pictures and paintings help place visually the stories, together with the interspersed essays on coats-of-arms and other topics.

Fraser likes to find the humourous aspects whenever possible. Writing on William IV's distaste for the young Victoria's mother:' 'In 1836 the Duchess of Kent took over a large suite of rooms in Kensington Palace without the King's permission. William was furious. If he died now, Victoria would not be old enough to rule without her mother as Regent. At a public dinner, attended by more than a hundred guests, William said that he hoped his life would be spared long enough to prevent such a calamity.'

His wish was granted.

An ideal gift for anyone, child to adult, who has an interest in the history of the British royals, and a good ready-reference for students, this book is first-rate.

I remember seeing this show when I was very young and was very disappointed to find it unavailable. If one every became available, I would purchase it immediately.

I have been looking everywhere for the Little Lord Fauntleroy vhs starring the late Sir Alec Guiness and Ricky Schoeder (late 1970's). This is by far the best version of the timeless classic. I would hope that in view of Alec Guiness' recent passing that whoever has rights to the movie will re-release it. Otherwise, if there is anyone out there who is willing to sell his or her copy, I would be most obliged if you emailed me: ussrainone@riconnect.com

I have also seen this version of the movie and it is the best version I have seen. We enjoyed it with our children years ago and were hoping to purchase it for them as a Christmas Present. If it becomes available or someone knows where it can be purchased let us know.

In modern terms, E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View" is a romantic comedy, and as such, it follows the typical formula of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl. This basic plot is, of course, embellished with a lot of comical characters, exotic settings, and convenient misunderstandings, but none of this mollifies my opinion that the novel, although well-written, is not very interesting.

Two fussy English women, the nubile Lucy Honeychurch and her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett, are staying in a small hotel (a pension) in Florence, Italy. There they meet the Emersons, a father and son, who do not seem to have much money and are hinted to be "Socialists," which reflects a prejudice on the part of the allegers and doesn't even really mean anything within the novel's scope. Lucy has a brief romance with the son, George, even though she knows he is not quite suitable for her social status. A few other characters also are introduced in Florence, including two clergymen, Mr. Beebe and Mr. Eager, and a romance novelist named Miss Lavish.

The action shifts back to England, where we meet Lucy's doting mother and frivolous, immature brother Freddy, who could be a progenitor for P.G. Wodehouse's aristocratic loafers. Lucy is courted by a snobbish young man named Cecil Vyse whom she has known for a few years and accepts his proposal for marriage. Trouble arises when George Emerson and his father show up as tenants in a nearby cottage, and Lucy must decide whether she is going to submit to social convention and marry Cecil or follow her heart and go with George. Care to take a wild guess about the outcome?

Forster obviously intended this novel to be a comedy, but his humor is stilted and contrived. There are subtle jokes about English class distinction, blatantly symbolic surnames that sound like they came from the board game "Clue," juxtaposed sentences that purposely contradict each other for the sake of painfully overt irony, and satirical snippets that affect Oscar Wilde-style wittiness. The novel's humoristic tour de force is a scene in which Cecil remains oblivious to the fact that Lucy and George had a fling in Italy, even though he reads a direct account of it in a novel penned by Miss Lavish, who fortunately has disguised the names of her hero and heroine. Simply put, the book is as funny as burnt toast.

Colorful but predictable and simplistic, "A Room with a View" may have been an important Edwardian novel, but it seems innocuous compared to the hard realism and bold sexuality of D.H. Lawrence's imminent works. Even the author himself acknowledges the novel's fabrications when he allows Mr. Beebe to state, "It is odd how we of that Pension, who seemed such a fortuitous collection, have been working into one another's lives." Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

The romance of this book was beautiful...you can't really describe it. Young Emerson being unexperienced falling in love with Lucy was hinted a bit with every chapter, it was never really bluntly spoke of that he loved her...Forster didn't take the easy road, but beated around the bush which made Lucy and George's relationship much more interesting and fascinating to look at.

From the scene where Lucy wakes up and finds herself in the arms of George is probably the biggest hint of his love for her...even though all he really did was hold her. In the end their struggles to get ignore their parents and society itself gives them the reins to control their own lives.

I'm not sure but there was just something about this book that makes me just aghasted...I can't describe it...I feel so overcomed with emotions, just like when I read Tess of the Durbervilles. But in this case, there's a happy ending

A Room with a View is a prominent novel about a man and a woman, class, and societal expectations and pressures. Lucy and her cousin Charlotte are offered rooms with a view of Florence, Italy by Mr. Emerson and his son, who are willing to exchange for them. The strict and drained Miss Bartlett does not wish to have an obligation to the Emersons, who are deemed less than polite society will condone. Their rector, Mr. Beebe, tells them he believes the exchange is proper and the ladies get their view of Florence. It becomes clear that Lucy herself wants a view of life and later confesses to her fiancé, a priggish intellectual, that she imagines him always in a room with no windows, with no view. The novel's love story is compelling, but the secondary themes of class and society structures are equally strong, with the truly noble characters emerging in the end with great strength.

A Room with a View has everything a reader could ask for. Not only does it contain a beautiful and romantic love story that will capture your heart, but it contains the most simplistic comic relief, that it forms the perfect balance. Just as the story starts to get involved in deep romance, Foster will roll in a statement that will lighten the whole picture, and leave the mind simply happy.

Foster writes in a way so calm and gentle that you want to fall in love with the book itself. He makes every word seem like it has such a great importance, that without it, the story will fall apart. One can tell this novel was written with a passion for life and love and with the force of a sensitive and empathetic mind.

However, this gentleness leads to an extremely slow moving plot that sometimes winds up dragging along the reader. At some points, I found myself getting swallowed by the words and not really fully digesting them the first time. The key to aptly appreciate this novel is to have patience, knowing that the conclusion is well worth pacing the plot.

Foster also created such a basic and easy plot that some chapters seemed to drag on until the idea was pulled through. Nevertheless, since there was not a complicated plot scheme to follow, the reader was able to concentrate on the language and characters illustrated in the novel. This way, it was also so easy to make yourself a character in the book and put your feet right in the room or scene to get the full effect of the atmosphere.

Another aspect that was interesting to follow along with is how the novel conveyed very differently each level of society was looked at and thought of. Even though these thoughts on society may not have been the primary theme, they were definitely prominent throughout the novel. The lesson that can be learned from this aspect of the novel is that the entrenched morals of society should be thrown away in favor of passion and the natural instinct.

The greatest fallback would have to be the British language used by Foster. I am not a big reader of British literature and I found the wording at little times to be a slight bit clumsy and awkward to follow. Although this stood in the way of the greater aspects of Foster's novel, it was definitely not a reason I would give for not recommending this astounding novel.

This would have to be one of the greatest novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Anyone who believes they have the patience to appreciate this accomplished writer's work, will be utterly satisfied. The book is at every facet entertaining, no matter what genre of novels you're partial to.

Jane Eyre is a plain woman in looks, but her intelligence, strength, and feistiness make her a heroine who I think gives much-needed justice to women of her time. She is a spitfire who makes you want to know her and hear her story, and she tells it in a clear, first-person fashion that makes it an easy story to read.

Orphaned at a young age, Jane is sent to live with her aunt and cousins, who abuse Jane physically and mentally for ten years. Eventually ejected from her aunt's household on false charges of thievery, Jane is then packed off to Lowood, a charity boarding school whose conditions were deplorable; students were scarcely provided with food and clothing (think Oliver Twist), and were regularly terrorized by the school's cruel headmaster. If that weren't enough, Jane's only real friend at Lowood dies during an outbreak of Typhus.

Fast-forward eight years - Jane, still nearly penniless after a two-year stint as a teacher at Lowood, ventures out to make a life for herself as a governess. Her charge is a precocious French child named Adele, with whom she develops a fast friendship. But the real story of Eyre lies in her relationship with the child's foster parent, Mr. Rochester, the dolefule, aloof, yet passionate and somewhat mysterious master of Thornfield. Despite their differing castes and the 20 years separating their ages, their feelings for each other grow deep, and they decide to marry. But it doesn't go exactly as Jane had planned - their wedding ceremony is stopped when it is revealed that Mr. Rochester is already married - to a madwoman whom he has kept locked up in one of Thornfield's bedrooms for years!

Horrified, Jane flees Thornfield, ending up a beggar on the streets because she spent her entire savings to leave. Eventually taken in by a clergyman, St. John Rivers, and his two sisters, Jane makes a new life for herself as a teacher. During this time, Jane finds herself the sole heir of her father's estate. Soon after, St. John proposes marriage to her repeatedly, but Jane finds his cold demeanor lacking in comparison to the man she truly loves, Mr. Rochester. (She also finds out that St. John is actually her first cousin - a staple of this genre, it seems.) Prompted by hearing Rochester's voice calling her name during a prayer for guidance, Jane returns to Thornfield, only to find it burned down, and Mr. Rochester blinded by the fire his wife set before killing herself. Naturally, Jane and Mr. Rochester live happily ever after, but if you think this is merely another sappy love story (which I am no fan of!), you would be wrong. In Eyre, Charlotte Bronte shows us a depth and realness of characters which you would be hard-pressed to find in any other novel.

Do yourself a favor by reading it - you'll understand why it's considered one of the finest examples of English literature.

I first read this book when I was ten and reread it every decade as a special treat to myself. It is one of the great classics of English literature. It is, essentially, a Cinderella story, and I STRONGLY recommend it as an andidote to the Woman-Hear-Me-Roar (or is it "Girl Power"?) stuff being pushed on young ladies nowadays as a means to making the sex strong. The story begins when the heroine, Jane Eyre, is a young orphan of about nine, and follows her through school and her career as a governess in a wealthy but mysterious man's home. She falls in love, learns of an impediment to her immediate gratification, does the right thing and suffers for her pains, but in the end is rewarded for her suffering. Very irrelevant to the late twentieth century, obviously. Charlotte Bronte (the author) is frquently encountered around the same time in life one encounters Dickens--youth--but, like Dickens, she most definitely wrote for adults. Therefore, the book is probably a difficult read for all but the most tenacious middle schooler, but as it begins from the very real, very painful point of view of a powerless child, it has a good hook to draw in the young reader. Its literary style is Romantic, with the liberal use of semi-colons, inverted sentences, and detailed descriptions. This book is a MUST for all well-educated young ladies--the next step after Little Women and before the Jane Austen novels. And sorry for the gender stereotyping; I'm sure there are boys and men out there who read this book and loved it, but I never met one.

When I first read Jane Eyre, I (and I think many others) was taken in by the odd combination of romance and ominous overtones that makes Jane Eyre such a unique book. Of course, the Victorian-era writing and social commentary also made an impression.

But upon reflection, underneath all of this is a story of people with difficult lives learning to find and accept each other and hopefully coming to peace and happiness despite long odds. Maybe my second reading just comes from a twenty-first century mind reading things into a nineteenth century book that just aren't there. But to me, the book does have the feel of a modern story of hardship as well as a Victorian story of people trying to overcome their backgrounds to find love.

Jane Eyre tells the life story of an orphaned girl sent away to a harsh boarding school by a cruel aunt. Despite the harsh nature of the school, Jane thrived at the school since she is finally out from her aunt's crushing dislike for her. She graduated and took a job as a governess for a girl in the care of a mysterious man who spent much of his time traveling abroad, Mr. Rochester.

At first, the two do not like each other. This is compounded by the fact that Jane thinks she is plain looking and not worthy of his company. But the two develop a peculiar friendship, and there are many signs that their feelings are deeper. But Mr. Rochester is busy courting other ladies at the time. Mr. Rochester also seems to have a secret that he will not divulge to Jane but may have serious consequences for her.

Jane's job as a governess and the friendship that develops make it seem that the book will quickly become a Jane Austen book (which of course, would not have been a bad thing) in which the man and woman from different classes find love with one another, but from the point of the friendship blooming, Jane Eyre takes a few remarkable twists and turns that I had not expected and that make for real page-turning.

But it is as much the quiet desperation of both Jane and Mr. Rochester and their struggle to find each other despite this that makes Jane Eyre a book truly worth reading and treasuring.

"The Age of Innocence" is a wonderful read on many levels for all kinds of readers. It shouldn't just appeal to "literature" buffs but also to romance readers, those interested in history or psychology, and anyone looking for an interesting and involving story.

Wharton weaves an intriguing tale of New York society in the late 19th century, where old ways have not yet made way for "modern" views, but it's evident that it is only a matter of time. For example, what would have been considered socially unacceptable in Newland and May Archer's time, such as marrying your mistress after your wife dies, is perfectly alright by the time May and Newland's son, Dallas, is ready to marry. Dallas is to marry the daughter of the previously mentioned union, demonstrating that by the early 20th century, the old social conventions of Old New York have gone by the wayside. Unfortunately this didn't happen in time for Newland and the Countess, and in fact, it appears that he wishes that everything could remain the same as it was in his youth, which is seen by his reaction to Countess Olenska at the end of the novel.

What makes the book truly great, though, is Wharton's detail of EVERYthing, from how a dinner was served, to an evening at the opera, and more. It's almost impossible not to enter the mind of the characters; they are so completely and complexly developed that this book should be required reading for every writer!

I really give this book 4 1/2 stars; the only reason it isn't 5 stars is because the ending was a little disappointing to me, although it was quite in keeping with the characters and the story. We tend to satisfy our curiosity as soon as possible, but a hundred years ago one had to look at other issues as more important than personal satisfaction.

The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton. The classic story of a 19th century love affair between Newland Archer, a married New Yorker and Ellen Olenska, who is separated from her husband in europe. When Olenska leaves her husband and returns to her family in new york, a scandal ensues. Olenska is beautiful and attracts a wealth of suitors, the most prominent being Archer who understands her best and shares her ideas about freedom from social constraint. Archer is a lawyer and intervenes in Olenska's marital dispute and suggests she not file for divorce to save the public embarrassment. Meanwhile he pursues a relationship with her that can't work out because of his own marriage to May Welland, a dainty beauty, and Olenska's own troubled past. This social drama is set in old New York, a highly refined world that seems British, with all the well to do Protestants living lives of privilege and social custom. The story is how these customs are challenged but preserved by the failed relationship between Archer and Olenska and how love is hindered by convention in this rarefied world.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Highly recommended.

A classic novel made famous by a recent movie, The Age of Innocence is the story of a society man, Newland Archer, caught between two very different women. On the one hand is May Welland, the virginal Diana of New York society, whose seeming frankness and innocence discourage and oppress him: "Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile." All this is "supposed to be what he wanted, what he had a right to, in order that he might exercise his lordly pleasure in smashing it like an image made of snow." Her counterpart is her cousin Countess Ellen Olenska, vaguely exotic, vaguely dangerous, forbidden-primarily because she is not the "artificial product" of society, but a genuine, sensual woman whose independent way of thinking is enough to tacitly and then overtly banish her from the very company that Newland's life is built around. She is !"different," as Archer will later discuss with one of his children. No one else would say, "Why not make one's own fashions?" thus giving a voice to what Archer himself deep down believes but can't put into practice.

Ironically, it is May who first forces he and Ellen together, against his will, in her efforts to be kind to her cousin, who has just returned from Europe. As he sees more of "poor Ellen," estranged from her emotionally abusive husband and seemingly vulnerable to the wiles of the wealthy outsider scoundrel Julius Beaufort, he finds himself returning again and again to her until he realises he is in love with her-long after the reader has reached that conclusion. He resolves the dilemma by rushing his marriage to May, or makes it that much worse. Thus ensues a delicate balance between the life he has chosen with May, with whom he now realises he has no emotional bond, and the life he would choose if he were more sure of himself, more sure that being true to !oneself is more important than being true to one's system.

Nearly every character is memorable-from the massive Mrs. Manson Mingott, May and Ellen's grandmother who is old enough and skilled enough to intuit all and manipulate all; to the womanizing Lawrence Lefferts, whose behavior is acceptable because he knows how to play the game, how things are "done"; to the frigid bastions of society, the van der Luydens; to May's mother, who cannot be exposed in any way to "unpleasantness"; to Archer's virginal sister Janey, who lives life vicariously through gossip and guesswork.

Many scenes and locations are equally vivid: Beaufort's lavish house and party; the contrast of the van der Luydens' dinner party; Archer and May's conventional and stifling honeymoon, more sporty than romantic or passionate; Archer's pursuit of May in Florida and his following Ellen to the Blenkers' and then to Boston; a revealing ride with Ellen in May's brougham; Mrs. Mingott's house in the m!iddle of "nowhere," where she rules like a queen and where the politics are only slightly less complicated than those of Elizabeth I's court-all unforgettable places and scenes.

In less intelligent or skilled hands, the plot could have become mere melodrama, but Wharton knows how her society worked, who inhabited it, what it forgave, and what it could not pardon. Affairs are pardonable; treachery, real or perceived, to the framework of what holds these people together is not. In the end, May saves Archer from himself-and dooms him to her kind of life by doing so. When he gives up all his dreams, he looks into May's "blue eyes, wet with tears." She knows what he does not and remains cold as the moon that the goddess Diana rules.

It could be said that May and Ellen represent two sides of Newland Archer-both are people he is afraid to become. If he is like May, he experiences death of the mind, death of the soul, death of the emotions, becoming what he is expected t!o be to keep the foundations that society is built upon steady, strong, and standing. (It is no coincidence that a theme in Wharton's The House of Mirth is the vulnerability of that house to the influx of modern ways.) If he becomes like Ellen, he will lose everything that he has built his own foundations on. In the end, he is neither, nor is he himself. His tragedy is not that much less than that of The House of Mirth's Lily Bart, both victims of a society they need but cannot survive.

Diane L. Schirf, 28 April 2001.