The captivating stories behind fifty of the greatest authors and their most famous literary creations
Before Who the Hell is Pans... read full description
Before Who the Hell is Pans... read full description
reviews
Oct 11, 2008
Reedmore
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This was a fun and enjoyable book to read. I not only love books, but I also love books about books. Who The Hell is Pansy O'Hara is a gem with strange and unusual facts about authors and the stories behind their novels. For example, which was taller, Margaret Mitchell or her typed manuscript of Gone with the Wind? Answer: the manuscript. Oh, and Mitchell's orginal name for Scarlet was Pansy - what in the world was she thinking on that? This is the type of book I tend to pick up when I'm
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Oct 30, 2009
Here are the stories behind the stories. Bond and Sheedy, journalists and free-lance writers in Australia, conceived this project during a dinner table discussion when they wondered what it was that made a particular work an amazing piece of literature and an enduring favorite. For any of the 50 works included in this book you can easily find reams and reams written about the work itself—character studies, plot development, historical context, critical reviews, you name it. What these two wanted
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Nov 26, 2009
Sandra
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This nonfiction book should have been a good resource for English teachers like me, since it traces the stories of "50 of the world's best loved books." Though it includes the stories of how such classics as Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre came to be, it also includes the stories of such trashics as Valley of the Dolls. The part that eliminates the book from its place on school shelves, however, isn't the books it treats, but one of the small quotes from the relevant books at the b
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Mar 01, 2010
Yngvild
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The worst written book I have read in the past year is subtitled The Fascinating Stories behind 50 of the World’s Best-Loved Books. The subtitle is misleading. Who the Hell is Pansy O’Hara? by Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy is a dull compilation of biographies, mostly of the writers of school set books but also Dr Seuss, A A Milne, J K Rowling and Dan Brown.
The biographies contain much the same information you would find in Wikipedia: basic names, dates and events. The thumbnail sketch More...
The biographies contain much the same information you would find in Wikipedia: basic names, dates and events. The thumbnail sketch More...
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Dec 27, 2008
Samantha
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I love the idea of the story behind the story. I couldn't wait to get this book and even bumped it up my reading stack. However, I found it hard to get into. It takes the top 50 books written in the author's opinion and breaks them down. In the introduction, the author states what they are trying to accomplish. I found the book fell short of these goals. First, the book tells you about the author of the particular book. For instance, what is going on throughout their life and then tells you abou
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Jan 04, 2011
jennifer
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This is a book of backstories to the most famous and groundbreaking books written in the western cultures over the past 200 years.
Beginning with Pride and Prejudice, this book researches how others such as Oliver Twist, War and Peace, The War of the Worlds, Peter Pan, The Catcher in the Rye, The Cat in the Hat, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Origin of Species and many more came to be written and how they became so famous.
If, like me, you adore books about books, or you like More...
Beginning with Pride and Prejudice, this book researches how others such as Oliver Twist, War and Peace, The War of the Worlds, Peter Pan, The Catcher in the Rye, The Cat in the Hat, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Origin of Species and many more came to be written and how they became so famous.
If, like me, you adore books about books, or you like More...
May 20, 2009
Rachel
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Well, it seems that New Criticism may finally be on its way out. Here is a book proclaiming that it's silly to look at the text only -- that really, the only way to truly understand the value of a text is to figure out what was going on in the author's life at the time the text was written.
We have, then, a book of mini-biographies of the authors of 50 compelling fiction and non-fiction works. While the book purports to contain biographies of the texts themselves, providing background More...
We have, then, a book of mini-biographies of the authors of 50 compelling fiction and non-fiction works. While the book purports to contain biographies of the texts themselves, providing background More...
Apr 17, 2011
Mary
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Pansy O’Hara was to be the heroine of Gone With The Wind. Margaret Mitchell’s decision to rename her main character was part of the story of the writing of GWTW, one of the interesting chapters in this book exploring how some of the great masterpieces (or just famous books) were created.
Lolita, the Cat in the Hat, Origin of the Species, War and Peace – the backgrounds to all 50 books were so interesting that I wanted to read them all, if I hadn’t already. Perfect for reading in sho More...
Lolita, the Cat in the Hat, Origin of the Species, War and Peace – the backgrounds to all 50 books were so interesting that I wanted to read them all, if I hadn’t already. Perfect for reading in sho More...
Nov 22, 2008
Amanda
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An enjoyable read for any bibliophiles' bathroom, this book gives concise and enjoyable biographies and backgrounds of literature's greatest or most popular writers. (Notice the "or"...the book covers Dickens and Dostoevsky, as well as Dan Brown and Jackie Collins. While I knew many facts about Dickens and Austen, I learned many more about other authors and their writings. It even made me consider reading Crime and Punishment, something John has been pushing for a while. :) Altogeth
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Jun 12, 2011
Tracey
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Over dinner one night, apparently, the writers of Who the Hell is Pansy O’Hara? (Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy) began discussing popular books and the paths taken to their publication – and this evolved into a book about books: as the subtitle says, “The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the Best-Loved Books”. It’s a great idea, which is why I ordered the book from paperbackswap – there have to be hundreds of stories out there about the trials and tribulations and mutations and evolutions of hundr
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Feb 22, 2010
Judy
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An interesting book about books. Found it very interesting how some of the world's most famous books got written. Particularly enjoyed John LeCarre's story. But the book seemed to deteriorate toward the end. But really it was my perception. There's some pretty trashy literature discussed. But the author's were not attempting to pick 50 books with the most literary merit, but rather as the title says "50 of the world's best-loved books". Best-sellers aren't always great literature
Nov 22, 2008
Jenna
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Really fun look into these authors and the books that made them famous. Though some of the most interesting parts to me were all the books they wrote that didn't make them famous. For example, A.A. Milne had written quite a bit before penning Winnie-the-Pooh and the authors point out that he rather resented the fact that people didn't know him for his more intellectual works, only for some nice stories about a "bear of little brain". In fact, I had trouble seeking out the few non-Po
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Apr 19, 2011
Anna
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Interesting look into the lives of the authors of 50 of the greatest books. Sometimes gives reasons for why they wrote like they did, sometimes not. Made me want to read some of them after not having wanted to for a long time, some it made me want to read them less. Each chapter included a brief background of the author and short snyopsis of the story. Some spoke about things going on historically, some culturally.
Dec 14, 2009
Rach
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I enjoyed this much more than I anticipated. Full of concise biographies of the authors of some of the best and best-selling books in history, as well as histories of what lead to these books being written and published, each entry was short enough that I could read a few here and there, as I had time. They were quite interesting - I enjoyed learning the backstories to the books I'd already read, and the chapters on those I haven't read yet make me eager to read them.
Jun 21, 2011
Michelle
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I really enjoyed this book. At first, I thought that I would only enjoy the tales behind the books that interested me. However, I discovered that all of the stories were fascinating and I am even spurred on to read some of the books that I havn't read yet. I believe that anyone who enjoys a good book will love to read the "story behind the stories".
Oct 24, 2010
Jeff
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This would be a cool book if I cared about a lot of the “most beloved novels” that the book details. Instead, it’s sort of a book set up like individual Wikipedia entries – 4 or 5 page backstories on the lives of the authors of books and, in many cases, the stories that inspired the books themselves. A neat concept, but ultimately unnecessary.
Aug 05, 2011
Kirsti
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"All I want to be is the Jane Austen of south Alabama." --Harper Lee
Great title, good book. I never knew that John le Carré's dad was a con man or that Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather to pay off hospital bills from a gallbladder operation.
This book kept me entertained on a train trip from Glenview, Illinois, to Red Wing, Minnesota.
Great title, good book. I never knew that John le Carré's dad was a con man or that Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather to pay off hospital bills from a gallbladder operation.
This book kept me entertained on a train trip from Glenview, Illinois, to Red Wing, Minnesota.
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Mar 06, 2009
Amy
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Not what I expected, but a good quick read about books. It ended up being more biographical about the authors than delving into the actual books themselves. I still probably won't be picking up a Jackie Collins work or one of the James Bond books mentioned, but there are several other classics that I think I will take another look at.
Jan 31, 2010
Shaun
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Of course I had to pick up this book! It was a really good sale. But this was a great book, really got me interested in reading the other books. Each chapter represents a book and gives some background on author and story. I really enjoyed it, it was a nice fast read. If you love facts about books, then you would love this!
Apr 22, 2010
John
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Just about all of the included authors have been extensively profiled elsewhere. However, I found the approach focusing specifically on how each writer's background informed their "breakthrough" (not necessarily first published) work quite interesting.
Definitely recommended.
Definitely recommended.
Jan 12, 2010
Stacey
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The stories behind a lot of classic novels. I'm kind of amused that it took two Australian writers this long to come up with this book of semi-useless knowledge. You know I loved this, because I love miscellanies and stuff. Helps with the job.
May 24, 2009
Danna
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A fine enough basic overview of a variety of books. Nice to pick up and read a selection or two when you want to read something but don't have time to get sucked in to a compelling story. The Bluestocking Babes all agreed that we would have preferred fewer books/authors described in more depth, but recognize that really wasn't the point. Beware of a few generalities that are misleading or without necessary context. Overall, it's a great thing to read if you want ideas for new things to read.
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Aug 02, 2010
Kim
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This book read mainly like a series of Wikipedia entries, and judging by the title, I thought it would also be more interesting. Out of many of the books listed, I didn't really agree that they should have been considered some of the world's best-loved books, and the authors I did care the most about (Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss...) I wish Bond had spent more time on. Kind-of a tedious book to get through, but good as a sort of reference book. I did find some of the stories somewhat in
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Oct 13, 2009
Melinda
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Being the trivia fiend and book lover I am, I thought this book was the bee's knees. I was entertained, amazed and emotionally moved by these stories behind some of the English-speaking world's most famous books.
Mar 17, 2009
Anne
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'A fan of nonfiction, this book was enjoyed by me.' aaaauugggghhh! The grammar! The humanity!
That said, it's fun to read the stories behind the stories, and I've added a few to my "to read" queue.
Jun 27, 2009
Tamara
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This is a fabulous book about books. Each chapter delves into the history of a famous book, fiction and nonfiction. The chapters are arranged chronologically. Fiction begins with "Pride & Prejudice" and ends with "The DaVinci Code". Nonfiction begins with "The English Dictionary" and ends with "A Brief History of Time".
Many of these histories truly were fascinating. However, if you are a true fan of any of these authors, you probably already k More...
Many of these histories truly were fascinating. However, if you are a true fan of any of these authors, you probably already k More...
Nov 01, 2009
Cami
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Kind of a book biography, this is a well-done collection of the stories behind...well, you can read the title.
I especially appreciated that it included a selection of non-fiction books which included the encyclopedia britannica eleventh editionOrigin of Species and A Brief History of Time
Great fodder for NEBQ questions. :) More...
I especially appreciated that it included a selection of non-fiction books which included the encyclopedia britannica eleventh editionOrigin of Species and A Brief History of Time
Great fodder for NEBQ questions. :) More...
May 08, 2010
Suzanne
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I could not put down this book. I love to read books about books, but this tells you the back story to what was happening in the author's life when they were writing their most popular novel.
Jul 26, 2009
Sheila
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Interesting, but I thought the connections the authors drew were pretty straightforward and didn't add a ton of extra insight to the works covered. It read a little like a collection of (very good) English papers.
May 30, 2011
Kimber
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Very interesting backstories on how many of the classics came to be. I found the whole thing quick to read and made me more interested in dipping into more of the classics.
