I thought it was dippy and pointless. The only reason I read it was because I had to for school. I would recommend everyone to steer clear of "Jane Eyre!!"

This book is sometimes only appreciated as a Victorian love story with engaging characters, but there is an additional depth to Jane Eyre: again and again she is faced with the dilemma of how to respond to social evil: does one endure and forgive (as befits a "lady"), or does one rage against injustice and fight to defend oneself? This is the unusual story of a Victorian woman who fights for herself and lives independently long before society provided any protection and support for this.

This book is for anyone who enjoys a love story of substance. When you read this book you feel as though you are there, living and breathing every word of every page. The heroine edures so much, even a suprising twist of fate, and still manages to come out on top. The characters, though simply defined, are rich in depth and emotion. Jane is an inspirational character while Mr. Rochester is absolutely enchanting, and, at times, enigmatical. That is what makes the story interesting and makes you want to keep turning each page to find out what happens next. It's the only book I've ever read where you get a sense of feeling with each word (that you know what each character is feeling without being told by the author). "Jane Eyre" makes Jane Austin's "Pride and Prejudice" seem stiff and unemotional.

This review is 100% opinion. While the mythology and legends inside are interesting, full of great characters and contain wisdom and understanding of the Celtic mindset, I felt that the storytelling itself was very poorly done. This may be a result of the translation, I haven't read another version yet to compare, or it may be a result of the writing itself. In either case, I couldn't immerse myself fully into the stories. They didn't "carry me away" as it were.

A competant enough translation, not the best or the worst that is out there. I can't say yea or nay about how Lady Charlotte Guest did with the source materials of the book, but I have to say that it's pretty entertaining.

It chronicles various tales from Wales, going back to ancient legends about heroes and gods, and then forward in time to recognizable elements such as King Arthur. Since this is a Dover thrift book (one of the pricier ones, since it's longer) the quality is so-so; the cover artwork is better than most of the thrift books, and the paper is only a little better than newpaper-quality.

In terms of readability, however, Guest's Mabinogion does not win any prizes. The translated sentences really could use a little tweaking, and often dialogue between several people is crammed together into one long paragraph. This is not only distracting, but hard to read.

Overall, it is fairly nice but needs an editor to tweak it in places. Fans of fantasy as well as mythology may want to check this out, especially if they are fans of the Prydain or Lost Years of Merlin series. For more readable Celtic myths, try Ella Young's "Celtic Wonder Tales."

Lady Charlotte Guest was one of the first to transcribe The Mabingion in 1838. I would suggest reading a more up to date version if you are a beginner to Welsh myth. If you love the stories in the Mabingion this is a great addition to your collection. The illustrations by Alan Lee are just breathtaking and fit the stories perfectly. Get the hardback edition because it does come with Lady Guest's detailed notes. I would say it was well worth the money and will be a well loved book in my collection.

I loved CATER STREET HANGMAN and liked CALLANDER SQUARE. But I only thought this one was OK. I mean, the endings have all had the same "twist". This starts to get a bit predictable. I also didn't buy how Charlotte kept showing up at all these parties. I found it a bit insulting to all the hard work her husband was doing. There was little Pitt and Charlotte interaction that was real or satisfying.

Although I loved the addition of the Great Aunt, I'd like to see less of Charlotte's fascination with other men, and more Charlotte and Pitt working together.

Murder strikes close to home again, this time on Emily's own street, with the brutal rape and murder of an inoffensive young girl. Then her somewhat smart-mouthed brother disappears, to be found later stuffed up a chimney. Pitt has to solve the crimes before Society freaks out completely, while also trying to clear Emily's husband of her suspicions. While Perry once again is devastating in her depiction of the Victorian upper middle classes and their preoccupation with manners, clothing, and withdrawing room gossip, the mystery plot is not as satisfactory in its conclusion.

This is the third in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. It's been two years since their marriage, and I like the way their relationship has grown. Charlotte's simple but happy life is seen here against her sister's more affluent lifestyle. The story is complex, like the first one, with a nice vision of the social system and a not-obvious ending. Interesting and well done. Makes me want to read the next one.

I'd rate this less than zero, if the rating system allowed me to. This is completely lousy book and a huge waste of money! Many facts are wrong, which is a disgrace for someone of Ms. Zeepvat's experience. Her writing is flat and uninspiring and almost anything of interest is obtained from other books about the subject. Personally I'm sick of all these royal books that are basically re-packaged versions of previous books.

This is the first book, of the many I have read on Queen Victoria and/or her children, that focuses on Prince Leopold. Even reading the edited letters between Victoria and her daughter Vicky had very little mention of this child. The book was informative and I learned a great deal regarding her true obsessive and sometimes vicious behavior to Leopold, as a child and as a grown man. I highly recommend it.

In the many books about Queen Victoria's family that I have read, Leopold seems to be known only for his haemophilia. He seems to have been the most popular member within the royal family, although not with his mother, who seemed to see him as a convenient drone. She was notorious for trying to keep her children on a leash long into adulthood. Leopold appears to have overcome these obstacles. In his short life, he accomplished a great deal, he was the first of the royal family to attend Oxford, he was on the boards of a great many charities, he managed to travel, and he worked as an unofficial secretary to his mother.

This is a well written and researched book. The author provides information on other more obscure members of Queen Victoria's family, such as her half sister Feodora and her family. The family tree of the female side of Victoria's family is the most extensive and interesting I have seen, although it does not solve the question of where the haemophilia in the family came from.

_Ashworth Hall_ is another of Anne Perry's long-running series of mysteries featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. In this one, Perry deals with the "Irish Problem". The novel deals with a conference between two leading Catholics and two leading Protestants, in England at the title Hall, Charlotte's sister Emily's country home. A death threat aimed at the English diplomat heading the conference leads the government to send Pitt to the weekend meeting, incognito, with the excuse that Emily has simply invited her sister. Pitt fails utterly, as the diplomat is murdered, and in the course of the investigation, another man is also murdered. Pitt, Charlotte, and their longtime servant Gracie unravel the strings of the various murders, uncovering long-festering strands of the Irish Problem (especially as Gracie has a brief romance with an Irish Catholic), as well as typically sordid family details. This all plays out with the famous Parnell/O'Shea divorce case in the background, which case in fact lead to Parnell's discrediting as a serious factor, and thus possibly put off any "solution" to the "problem" for at least decades, if not, dare I say, sadly, for much longer still

I found this pretty unsatisfying. Much was very predictable. Perry's habit of telling, at endless length, what is motivating her characters, and what her characters are feeling, rather than showing, is really getting on my nerves. Also her constant repetition of the same themes of rich men committing callous adultery, their wives taking it more or less stoically, until something precipitates violence, realistic as it may be, is getting very stale. I guessed two of the villains pretty much right off: granted that Perry did pull one additional twist which surprised me. But all in all, this is one of the weakest of Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books. (Note that many of the earlier books are very enjoyable.)

Confession..I love a good read, even if it isn't the greatest novel ever written..and Anne Perry gives me a book to enjoy. This is one of the "Pitt" series, set in Victorian England..and it concerns the Irish problem..but that isn't the point. All her books address a social problem, and they are all beautifully authentic. But,most important, they are fun to read. Her plots are sometimes too familiar,but who cares as long as she writes well, and gives us characters to care about. Keep writing your two books a year Miss Perry, they are well done and a good read

After reading this book, I am hungry to go back and read all about the Irish Problem in the scholarly literature. In addition to her usual satisfying mysteries wrapped around the sights, sounds, and--yes--the smells of Victorian England, Anne Perry gets us to care about people on both sides of the political dispute at the heart of the conference at Charlotte's sister Emily's lordly estate. The characters who are here from earlier volumes in the Pitt series continue to grow, surprise, and delight--none more so than Gracie, the Pitts' "maid of all work." Her worse-than-impoverished childhood has left her unafraid in the face of danger, but here we see her first journey into affairs of the heart. Whoever wins her heart in future adventures will be a lucky man indeed. I'll have some more tea, and yes, please pass the crumpets. .

Gary B. Nash, Charlotte Crabtree, and Ross E. Dunn have written a fascinating book that looks at the problems which occur when politics and the teaching history clash, as they inevitably will. The specific event described is the fight over the National History Standards which were established to give states and local school boards voluntary guidelines. The idea blew up when Lynne Cheney wrote an op-ed piece damning the standards. All three authors were involved in the project and bring their personal views and insights to the book in a helpful way.

The most interesting aspect of the book is both the historical and international aspects applied to the history wars. It allows the reader to put this recent battle into a more helpful historical perspective as many examples from the past are presented. The examples from the other countries are also useful in giving a global approach to the issues. This is how it should be for a book that covers the battles over what should be taught to children concerning U.S. and world history. A good book that shows the problems that begin when politicians get involved in the teaching of history.

The dedication reads simply, "This book is dedicated to the nation's history teachers". Being a member of such an oft-maligned group, this reviewer could not fail to read every word of History on Trial with critical interest. Nash and company give a fascinating overview of the debates that have raged regarding the teaching of America's history and continue to torment our national conscience today. As a history of history alone the book would be worthwhile. The primary controversy explored involves the uproar that arose over publication of the national history standards. These had been developed by the National Center for History in the Schools, established and funded by the NEH, headed by Lynne Cheney from 1986-1992. While some of the writing does seem a defense of the embattled authors being assaulted by right-wing conservatives, both critics and defenders of the NCHS are quoted liberally. In fact, it is noted that there were few defenders in the early days of the attacks. The reader is allowed to make up his/her own mind. The initiative to develop standards came at a time when many were charging that our nation's schools were failing. George Bush had developed the Goals 2000 plan and education committees, governors, state legislatures, and local education boards began to seek solutions. The problems were not with the idea of setting standards, but with a perceived emphasis on social history and historical interpretation skills at the expense of rote memorization of traditional names, dates, and events. The US history standards were the most viciously attacked. Critics did not want teachers to discuss failures or faults with the system. They preferred glorification of national heroes (adult, white males) and national institutions. In World History, critics objected to what they considered excessive inclusion of contributions from Asian, African and Latin American nations to the detriment of the traditional Western Civilization emphasis. Surprisingly, the standards received little criticism at the elementary and middle school level. Critics included Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, Lynne Cheney (once an ardent supporter) and Lamar Alexander. The attacks were leveled largely not at the standards themselves, but at sample lesson plans that accompanied them. Many critics did not seem to have read the standards. Having been a participant in the implementation of these controversial standards in a secondary public school US History classroom, using materials that had been developed by the NCHS, this reviewer can assert that the war is ongoing. However, the very conflict-laden nature of the teaching of history is one of the characteristics that keeps it so vital and interesting. For hope, all readers should look forward to the final chapter, "Lessons from the History Wars". This should be required reading for all potential history teachers now in college classrooms.

This is the kind of book I'd like to have written - the kind of book that would really clarify a lot of public debate, not to mention academic work done in the discipline of history, if it were widely read. It does three things at once: meticulously defend the proposed U.S. National History Standards against their often savage right-wing opponents; make the case that history teaching is an important forum for the working out of cultural anxieties; and provide a chronicle of debates over historical meanings and teachings since the founding of the Republic, and earlier. A really well-written and important work, both for history students and teachers and for the interested public (of which, readers will realize, we are all a part).

tHIS WAS QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST MYSTERY I'VE EVER READ. I KEPT READING SIMPLY BECAUSE I WAS WAITING TO SEE WHAT THE AUTHOR WOULD HAVE HER CHARACTERS DO NEXT. IT WAS THOROUGHLY WRONG COMPARED TO WHAT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. WHEN I CAME CLOSE TO THE END SHE DID SOMETHING SO STUPID, HOWEVER, THAT I QUIT READING ABOUT 20 PAGES FROM THE END.

Charlotte LaRue is the owner of a successful maid service in the Garden District of New Orleans. One Monday, she shows up at her long term clients the Dubuisson's to discover that Jackson was murdered in the study. With her position as maid in the family, she's privy to a little inside information. While she struggles with what of that to share with her niece and her obnoxious partner, the detectives on the case, she stumbles upon some additional clues. What does it all mean?

I was really looking forward to this book because I'd heard great things about it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The plotting was uneven at best. There were some interesting twists to the story, but I was bored during the last 50 pages and just kept going because I was so close to the end. We are given way too much information about the main characters; information that would be interesting if they were suspects. Ultimately, it does little more then slow the story down.

There is potential for a great series here, and I will give it another try. Hopefully, with some better editing, the series will rise to the heights I was expecting.

It's always a treat to find a new mystery author. Colley keeps the pages turning in this gentle cozy, with a charming heroine surrounded by a cast of friends and family who could turn into villains anytime. The heroine is especially well-done: a pushing sixty, energetic, too quick to say "yes" except to cover up a murder.
The book has all the ingredients: smooth writing, absence of trite phrases, deft plot. Maid for Murder doesn't have the sharp wit of Sharyn McCrumb's McPherson series or the self-conscious humor of M.C. Beaton. But it's a faster, smoother read than most others of the genre. Definitely recommended and let's hope we don't have to wait long for the second.

I found the book to be exactly as advertised. It is a compendium of newspaper articles from The Charlotte Observer following the career of Dale Earnhardt. The book was not meant to be a history of Dale's career. I was somewhat disappointed in the photographs and the physical layout--the colors on some of the pages made it difficult to read-- but overall got exactly what I paid for.

I just finished my copy of this book and wanted all Dale Earnhardt fans to know how terrific it is. This is a collection of articles from the Charlotte Observer that covers the span of his career. It is a really neat way to remember all he has done.

This is a must for any Earnhardt fan. I enjoyed reading the stories about Dale's races and the pictures are great. The Charlotte Observer did a good job putting together their articles and pictures for a book on Dale's racing career.

Unfortunately, the publisher seems to have abandoned most of their previous authors and recruited rookies with dubious qualifications and almost no experience in South America. The chapters done by the authors of their individual country guides are reasonably accurate, but the ones by new authors are appallingly bad.

It is hard to concentrate so much information in a single book, covering all of South America from Colombia to Chile. Lonely Planet have tried and have done a good job, but the target was too ambitious... If you are literally running through South America with little time, and perhaps you don't want to carry the weight of too many guides, then do get this book. It is of some use, and offers interesting reading. Yet, if you plan to get to know each country more thoroughfully, you are much better off with Lonely Planet's (or other publishers') single guides on each individual country, and there are lots to choose from.

This book is an absolute must for the budget,adventurous,willing-to-stay-in-a-funky-hotel-with-lumpy-beds traveler. In a writing style as colorful as the cover, Lonely Planet helps you plan your trip with concise information on: restaurants (with many references to vegetarian places), lodging, festival dates, nightclubs, local language and customs, safety information and more. Lonely Planet South America can also lead you to out of the way villages and towns where you are thrilled at the sight of a real toilet after a five-hour bus ride which left you covered in dust. Nothing comes more in handy after starving on the long bumpy ride than grabbing your guidebook out of your backpack to find out the best fried plantain stand and cheap posada (inn) in this block-long town. And I was very grateful for those tips the book gave on where to ask for that guy "Juan" who is the only person who sells stamps within miles! From the Amazon to the Andes to the Caribbean, Lonely Planet was there for me. Seeing other tourists leafing through the same guidebook, brimming with over 1000 pages of invaluable information in a small book you can cram in a purse, was always a comforting sight in such different-from-home lands.

For a young writer's first attempt this novel is quite well-written and the plot is fairly well-conceived. However, the narrator is badly done (the Bronte girls should never try to write from a man's perspective!) and the narrative is both dull and sentimental. The characters have none of the strength and personality which makes Jane Eyre such a timeless favorite. I prefer Charlotte's later work, which has acquired depth and realism. In The Professor, her emotional maturity had clearly not caught up to her precocious intellect.

The Professor is the story of William Crimsworth, a young man of small means and weak family connections who travels to Brussels to earn a living. He settles there as an English professor in an all-boys school and teaches part-time in the neighbouring girls' school. There he falls in love with one of his pupils, a poor lace-mender, and is pursued by the school's directress, an artful self-interested woman.

If this sounds rather dull to you, then you have the correct impression. The book is not as exciting as Jane Eyre or as moving as Villette. The narrative moves slowly, and Crimsworth is a very analytical type of character who does not scruple to record his thoughts on every detail. Nothing really dramatic happens and emotions are not heightened. But what I really dislike about this novel is the prejudiced portrayal of the Flemish, described often as coarse and unthinking, as inferior to the English.

The novel has a strong negative sound, very different to that in Villette. Although Crimsworth is the marble image of perseverance and self-control, almost to an inhuman level, he is haunted by hypochondria. There is a general sense of mistrust and hostility between all the characters. The editor explains in her introduction that this is the result of suppressed impulses and denied indulgences of the main characters, and reveals Bronte as a social critic. And there is one very interesting character, Mr. Hunsden, a cynical, but very like-able artistocrat who dislikes wealth (he's a bit like Rochester). Though the story is lacking in feeling, it still has bits here and there of beautiful prose and warmth that make it worth reading for a Bronte fan, but most others would judge it too slow-paced and dull.

The Professor proves to detail humanity in a way only Charlotte Bronte can. She depicts human nature, thought, and emotion brilliantly utilizing the English language to highten the reader's experience of the situation at hand. The Professor was, however, Bronte's first novel and, although controversial at the time, now seems to illustrate how much Bronte had grown as a writer throughout the years. In my opinion, Jane Eyre and Villete were her finest works, but The Professor is still a must read for any Bronte fan.