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The Heroine's Bookshelf

by Erin Blakemore (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 592 ratings · 187 reviews

The literary canon is filled with intelligent, feisty, never-say-die heroines, and legendary female authors. Like today's women, they too placed a premium on personality, spirituality, career, sisterhood, and family. When their backs were against the wall, characters like Scarlett O'Hara, Jo March, Jane Eyre, and Elizabeth Bennet fought back—sometimes with words, sometimes

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Published October 19th 2010 by Blackstone Audio, Inc. (first published October 1st 2010)

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Jan 24, 2013 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all of my girlfriends

Recommended to Jay by: Kath

Shelves: non-fiction-catch-all, summer-11

I loved this book. It delivers a great message and an interesting peek into the lives of some of my favorite authors. The 4-stars is due to the uneveness of the writing. The 'guidebook' structure felt forced in certain passages, veering into the cutesy realm once or twice. The connections and sometime disconnections the author made between famous literary herorines and their real-life creators more than made up for its flaws. I found myself folding down corners to mark passages that resonated in...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Jane Greensmith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-criticism

Yeah, ok. I liked this.

Each chapter takes on a characteristic of a modern day heroine, and then shows how a famous author and the beloved classic heroine she wrote embody those characteristics. So the chapter about compassion talks about Harper Lee and Scout; the chapter about dignity talks about a fighting spirit concerns Margaret Mitchell and Scarlet O'Hara, etc. I found the biographical information about the authors to be the most interesting parts- I was astounded to discover that Lucy Maud...more Yeah, ok. I liked this.

Each chapter takes on a characteristic of a modern day heroine, and then shows how a famous author and the beloved classic heroine she wrote embody those characteristics. So the chapter about compassion talks about Harper Lee and Scout; the chapter about dignity talks about a fighting spirit concerns Margaret Mitchell and Scarlet O'Hara, etc. I found the biographical information about the authors to be the most interesting parts- I was astounded to discover that Lucy Maud Montgomery committed suicide, that Charlotte Bronte wrote love letters to a married man (actually, I already knew this but I don't like to read about it because it makes me sad for her), that Louisa May Alcott was a cranky sell-out, and that Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter plagiarized her work to write her own books. I tend to idolize authors I love (and I love all those authors), so I sometimes forget that they were just people, with their own normal-people struggles, and that they didn't always react in the perfect way I want them to. BE MY AUTHORIAL PUPPETS, BRONTES. Sigh.

The bits about the characters and how they exhibit those traits...meh. I mean, it's not badly written or anything. But I am a literary ISLAND. I come to my own conclusions about characters and then I STICK MY FINGERS IN MY EARS in regards to other people's opinions of those characters. She didn't say anything I really disagree with but I don't want to be led there (well, she did say one thing I disagree with- she says that Melanie, while a saint, isn't really a "heroine" when compared to Scarlet. I must point out that anyone badass enough to be willing to stab a Yankee soldier with a rusty sword IN her pajamas whilst BLEEDING AFTER CHILDBIRTH is sufficiently heroic. And she wasn't a bitch, so.)

Anywoot, this is a nice, snuggly book that will make you want to reread All The Things, but not in a REREAD THEM OR YOU SUCK way. In a friendly, DIDN'T YOU HEART THIS way.

*I dunno if this matters, but FridayReads did a promo giveaway of this book a few weeks ago. I am a FridayReads intern. I saw how excited people were about the giveaway, so I got a copy of the book myself, from a bookstore, out of curiosity. (less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

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 ment...more 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.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, non-fiction

Original review posted here

I am ashamed to admit that half the stories in this book have yet to be read by me. That IS something I intend to fix (and one reason why this book should be sitting on your shelf – it has a fantastic list of titles inside that should make up an important part of your TBR list).

So, I did not read every essay – mostly because I don’t want to spoil the stories. I did, however, read every essay of the books I’ve read and I found them enchanting.

One of the things I’m learn...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 di...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Sandra Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Heroine's Bookshelf celebrates womanhood through timeless characters and the creative genius of the authors who brought them to life. Each chapter focuses on one heroine and one of her particular attributes. Red-headed orphan Anne Shirley reminds us to be happy and optimistic despite what life throws our way. Scarlett O'Hara exhibits a fighting spirit to survive while headstrong Jo March chases her dreams with spirit and ambition.

Part biography, part history lesson, Blakemore reveals each a...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 a...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 i...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Cindy Hudson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Michele rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book more than a 3 but not a 4. It is about the authors of 10 books a girl may have read, many of them most likely in her youth. I had read probably 7 of the books, several which I considered the favorites of my youth. I did like reading about the authors' lives, but have to admit that I was saddened by many of their struggles - everything from financial difficulties to marital/relationship problems. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by their difficult lives, but I do see those you...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Kristie (fabk) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, audio-books, library, non-fiction, read-want-to-own

Wow!!What a great book!! Erin Blakemore has put a lot of thought and time into putting together this, I don't know what to call it, but exactly what she did, Heroine's Bookshelf. She looks at some of the greatest stories a young girl can read. She tells you why that book still has a place in your life now that you have grown up and lived a bit. She tells you the times in your life that this book would be great to revisit. She also introduces new books that are similar. She does all of this and s...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4 1/2 STARS! This book packs wisdom, life lessons and the joy of reading all into a delightful package. Erin Blakemore takes famous literary writers, their fictional main characters, and translates the combination into coping mechanisms for today’s modern world. “The Heroine’s Bookshelf” explains twelve authors’ biographies and mixes their imaginary leading ladies to create 12 life lessons.

In real life, we discover that Louisa May Alcott was over worked, used morphine, and, had to write “Little...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gender, ab, favorites

I hadn't expected to enjoy this book so much. A very easy read, its premise is that we are all heroines of our own lives, our own stories. It is a "how to be the heroine of your own life" of sorts. Each chapter focuses on a different trait for modern-day heroines and pulls a character from literature as a personification of that trait.

She includes background of the author as well. This was perhaps my favorite part, learning things about authors I've long held in high esteem and reminding me tha...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Brittany Nelson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think the idea is actually intriguing--the thought how these fictional women or real authors shape different things about you and that you can be a "heroine." The idea got lost in how it was written. The author tried to do too much. I thought it would be a book solely about the heroines, but she chose to tack on the authors too. There is nothing wrong with that, but it did get confusing. The book itself is trying to do too much with not enough room to do so. Each chapter is told from about 1,0...more

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Nov 06, 2010 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 diffi...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Margarita rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a Book About Books-one of my favorite genres, after historical and YA fiction. The author picks twelve books with strong female main characters, giving a concise chapter title to each:

Self: Lizzy Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Faith: Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were 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 Brookl...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Denise Dykstra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love reading a back story, it always adds more the book you are reading, I think. And Erin does a great job with this book, highlighting the heroine's of childhood books.

Really, Erin had me at the first page.....

"In times of struggle, there are as many reason not to read as there are to breath. Don't you have better things to do? reading, let alone rereading, is the terrain of milquetoasts and mopey spinsters. At life's uglies junctures, they ver act of opening a book can smack of cowardly es...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Kimberli rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-group

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...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Jaclyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always loved books with strong female protagonists. Reading about girls and women overcoming obstacles, spreading positivity and optimism, and standing up for themselves is empowering and inspiring. So I'm surprised that no one thought to collect some of the most-loved literary heroines before Erin Blakemore! Ah, well, we have this book now, and I can't believe it took me so long to get around to reading it!

The Heroine's Bookshelf was a great read. Blakemore weaves the unknown stories of s...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Phair rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-books-and-reading, audio-books

While I generally liked this look at books featuring women who can inspire other women and the authors who created them I came away feeling rather shame-faced that I had actually read very few of the works cited. Never read: Little Women, Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne of Green Gables, Secret Garden, Little House books, Beloved,To Kill a Mockingbird Jane Eyre (tried but didn't finish), Gone With the Wind. Of course I am familiar with most of those stories from media versions and still have the lo...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Michelle added it · review of another edition

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,...more 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.(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a wonderful idea for a book! I wish I had thought of it. Erin Blakemore matches 12 heroines to qualities that made them great. Lizzie Bennet as "self," Anne Shirley as "happiness," Scout Finch as "compassion," etc. Blakemore provides background about the author and the book for each chapter. I learned a lot of interesting facts about authors that I've wondered about all my life but never put forth the effort to learn the background that prompted their writing.

I enjoyed some chapters more t...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Maddi Sojourner rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, did-not-finish

From the discussion at Book Club, it seems this was not the right book for me. It's a series of essays on classic heroines of literature, and I had only read two of the books covered here, although I was familiar with two more plot lines due to either a movie or play.

Yes, that means I have never read Anne of Green Gables or Pride and Prejudice or most of the other works covered. But I've read many a book review that left me eager and willing to read the book discussed. The author didn't write he...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Shiralea Woodhouse rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-i-own

I absolutely recommend this to anyone who reads and re-reads her favorite "heroine" books, but isn't sure why. I've tried telling people why Scarlett O'Hara is so wonderful even though she's such a big "B", and why Jane Eyre, the dowdy governess, is so appealing. This author explains it better than I. I actually teared up a little reading the introduction because the author points out what I've known but never put into words: that even when there are "better" things to do, reading is good for yo...more

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Nov 10, 2010 Carla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ms. Blakemore reminds us of the unforgettable inspirational women in fiction and the strong women that created them. I was invited back to my favorite heroines, the novels I re read over the years, with new eyes knowing now the stories of the strengths and weaknesses of the women behind them. Ms. Blakemore takes us on a journey of life lessons that these amazing characters and writers give us. The life lessons inventively are taught as Lizzy Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) teaching Self, Scarlett O...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Cathe Olson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Shawn Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book discusses the life lessons readers can learn from some of literature's most famous heroines. I was super pleased to read about some of my personal favorite characters, from Anne Shirley, to Jo March, to Scout Finch. I loved reading about the attributes these women possess that not only help to define who they are and what they become throughout their respective novels, but help to shape the reader as well. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because there is one ch...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Ana Mardoll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Heroine's Bookshelf / 978-0-06-195876-2

In this book, the author has skillfully collected little vignette biographies (no more than 15-20 pages each) of 12 classic authors - all women, who wrote about women. In addition to the author biographies, author Blakemore also engages one of their famous heroines, and then passionately sets forth a case as to what life lesson we can still continue to derive from said heroine, and draws analogies to other similar heroines, ripe for the re-reading. The...more

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About Erin Blakemore

Erin M. Blakemore learned to drool over Darcy and cry over Little Women in suburban San Diego, California. These days, her inner heroine loves roller derby, running her own business, and hiking in her adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado.

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“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.” — 13 people liked it

“I am here to posit that it's exactly in these moments of struggle and stress that we need books the most. There's something in the pause to read that's soothing in and of itself. A moment with a book is basic self-care, the kind of skill you pass along to your children as you would a security blanket or a churchgoing habit.” — 5 people liked it

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