Books to curl up with: a librarian's musings

Friday, April 08, 2005

May and Amy


A portait of her Great-Aunt Amy leads author Josceline Dimbleby on a quest. Why does the family say Amy died of a broken heart? What exactly was her Great-Grandmother May's relationship with the famous pre-Raphelite artist, Burne-Jones?

Dimbleby does a fabulous job with this book. It is a biography, but she also draws you into her sleuthing. She finds clues here and there as she travels from private homes to museums to research libraries with collections of letters. This is the story of two incredibly fascinating women. When I was done I wanted her to find another family member to write about. I wanted more.

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Hans Christian Andersen

Today is the 200th birthday of Andersen. Celebration are being held across his native Denmark. To learn more about Andersen -

Hans Christian Andersen Center - English language version
http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/index_e.html

Hans Christian Andersen - contains a short biography and the full text of most of the stories.
http://hca.gilead.org.il/

Jean Hersholt: Complete Han Christian Andersen
http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/index_e.html

Hans Christian Andersen 2005: Life and Work
http://www.hca2005.com/Life+_+Work