How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: furnished souls, corn sheller, ber pot, Mary Agnes, New Hampshire, Professor Thayer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Suffering a bout of mid-30s inertia, Abby Randolph, a Harvard dropout– cum–struggling antiques dealer, has all but given up on herself. Her mother perished a year earlier in an earthquake in India. Her childhood love and ex-fiancé has penned a tell-all novel exposing Abby's awkward childhood, troubled adolescence and thwarted foray into academia. With a litany of insulting confessions, her most recent boyfriend leaves her for another woman. But when a colleague suggests she take the porcelain chamber pot left to her by her mother onto the TV program Antiques Roadshow—where experts tell her it belonged to the poet of the novel's title—fantastic pipe dreams of uncovering treasure materialize. The pot's pedigree sets in motion a series of misadventures, forcing Abby to get in gear and off the couch. The jokes in Medwed's fourth novel (following The End of an Era) don't always pan out, but this buoyant "dramady" is a wry, easy read for flea market scavengers and collectors alike, those who can appreciate how "objects of desire... the hairline crack in an old vase, the foxing in an old print, the clouded glass of an old decanter mark the passage of time, commemorate the history of people's lives." (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

If Elizabeth Barrett Browning had lived in an era that enjoyed the luxury of indoor plumbing, life would have turned out a whole lot differently for Boston antiques dealer Abigail Randolph. When Abby's mother and her lover, Henrietta, perish during an earthquake, Abby and Henrietta's daughter, Lavinia (Abby's childhood best friend), must sort out their mothers' possessions. Lavinia gets the good stuff, and Abby gets a chamber pot. But not just any chamber pot--one, it turns out, that formerly belonged to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, according to the experts on Antiques Roadshow. When it's announced on national television that the relic is worth $75,000, Lavinia suddenly decides to sue Abby for possession, a suit that will bring Abby face to face with her ex-lover, Lavinia's brother Ned. The legal machinations force Abby to view her friendships, lovers, family, and herself in a new way. Medwed's best yet is light and learned, and she handles self--esteem-challenged Abby's crisis of confidence with humor and sensitivity. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Avon A (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060831200
• ISBN-13: 978-0060831202
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #526,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun and smart, April 17, 2006

By	Kris (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

What does great literature and Antiques Roadshow have in common? More than you'd think, and definitely more than protagonist Abby Randolph bargains for. Mameve Medwed's latest Harvard-set novel is a fun and witty read that combines antique hunting, family feuds, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The author includes bits of literary trivia and the nuances of the antiques world in order to create a lively plot that will keep you reading well into the night. All the while, you will be rooting for Abby and her not-so-charmed life. If you are a fan of Elinor Lipman, Marian Keyes, or Jennifer Weiner, you will appreciate Medwed's humor and style.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer delight!, March 31, 2006

By	Charlotte Dearborn "California Reader" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel sparkles with charm and wit. It's a funny/poignant tale with an endearing main character you won't want to let go. I absolutely loved it, beginning to end.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Loved it!, July 16, 2006

By	N. Gargano "nokegchris" (Waynesville NC and Bradenton, Fl) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book so much for so many reasons. First of all, I really enjoyed the way the author had the character telling the story, as if we were in a room together and she was confiding in me. A little different than a normal first person voice. I enjoyed it because years ago my husband's mother introduced me to the joys of visiting antique and collectible shops. And in so many ways, I understood the character's feelings in the situation of a father finding a new family and becoming a person you are not sure you know, a child having to let go of all the material items that meant so much when they are taken by someone else after a death.
But without all that, this is just a good story, one that I could not put down until I reached the end. A great read!