Reviews for E.Nesbit: A Biography

The average rating for E.Nesbit: A Biography based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-09-07 00:00:00 Christopher Dalton As one who typically enjoys biographies, I was excited to run across this one of E. Nesbit, whom I've long loved as an author. However, I think that Moore's introduction to this edition - in which she talked about the information that she'd added since the first edition of the book - was the most interesting, somewhat unbiased part of the book. Maybe that's because she was a more seasoned writer at that point. As for the biography itself, I became more bored the farther I dragged myself through it. While I was interested in reading excerpts of letters from Nesbit's famous friends and contemporaries and in hearing the memories of those who knew her well, I felt that Moore tried to include so much material that was extraneous to a biography. She wandered into character sketches that meandered around Nesbit's timeline, leaving me muddled about when certain events actually occurred; and she rarely punctuated her stories with actual dates. She painted broad pictures of Nesbit's habits, family life, experiences, and relationships, yet she rarely delved into particulars. In spite of the wealth of first-hand information Moore seemed to have accumulated, I was left with the impression that she didn't feel like she knew her subject intimately at the end of her research - though she was more than willing to spend a number of pages critiquing Nesbit's writing, harping on Nesbit's "misguided" opinion that her poetry should have been her real triumph as writer. Ultimately, I was so disappointed. I think it could have been a good biography, if only the author hadn't been so distracted by her own opinions and had focused on presenting Nesbit herself - as a real, living woman - to the reader.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-03-02 00:00:00 Robert Nadeau i read this for my thesis and it was completely invaluable, a great theoretical background and a really interesting topic. highly recommended, for both academic reading and just general interest.