Rumer Godden: A Storyteller's Life [Hardcover]

Anne Chisholm (Author), Macmillan Publishers (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1999 | Age Level: 18 and up

Through conversations with Rumer Godden herself and from her exclusive access to private letters, Anne Chisholm has written the definitive biography (for adults and young adults) of this cherished author who died in 1998. From her idyllic childhood in Bengal, to founding a dance school in Calcutta, to being conspired against by a poison-bearing servant, to her ultimate retreat to England, Chisholm delineates the woman whose life was as dramatic and eventful as the plot of any of her novels. Also included are black-and-white photo inserts, notes on sources, a complete list of Rumer Godden's books, and an index. Anne Chisholm lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

"Once upon a time," this story of a storyteller's life begins, "by a river in India there lived a little English girl." That little girl grew up to be internationally celebrated author Rumer Godden, who seems to have had a lifelong gift for translating the circumstances of her real life into her fictions--to the occasional consternation of her family. Though written with Godden's cooperation and clearly sympathetic to her, Chisholm's account does not gloss over the author's sometimes difficult personality, the failure of her first marriage, and the difficulties of her relationship with her younger daughter. By giving lavish attention to the settings--India and England--in which the story of Godden's life unfolded, Chisholm also mirrors one of Godden's own great strengths as a writer. Although the pace is sometimes sluggish and the attention to Godden's actual work is occasionally scant, this biography succeeds as an acutely observed examination of the evolution of one little English girl into a grande dame of letters. Michael Cart

From Kirkus Reviews

Although Godden spent much of her life in exotic climes and has proven to be one of the few truly successful ``crossover'' writers, this sprawling biography will neither draw nor hold the attention of readers. Chisholm pads a narrative already filled with eye-glazing details of decades of comings and goings, minor meetings, and social events by taking side excursions to describe the making of films and other tangential episodes; she pays scant attention to Godden's children's books, and never considers how or why the author wrote for that audience. Published in England in 1998, this doesn't cover Godden's last months (she died near the end of the year). It's a mountain of undigested information, richer in itinerary than insight. (b&w photos, index) (Biography. 14+) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1 Amer ed edition (September 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688169449
• ISBN-13: 978-0688169442
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The life of the storyteller, January 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumer Godden: A Storyteller's Life (Hardcover)

Having enjoyed the works of Rumer Godden all my life I also enjoyed this telling of the story of her life, which in many ways is even more interesting than the novels she wrote. The only reason that I could not give this book four stars was because I felt that the biography did not cover the last half of her life as well and as completely as it did the first half. I recommend this book not only to those individuals who are as taken with Rumer's fiction as I am, but also for those individuals who seek to become writers, and those who enjoy biography.

5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so, ho-hum biography..., May 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumer Godden: A Storyteller's Life (Hardcover)

I had never read anything (that I can remember) by Rumer Godden, and this book does not make that an imperative, unlike other biographies, which sent me racing to the book store to pick up the subject's works. However, I do want to see the Renoir adaptation of "The River."

I found this a bit boring. Something about the slight, anecdotal writing. It just didn't pack a wallop for me. I read to the end - it wasn't pure Hell anything - but I didn't look forward to returning to it.

The rather wan writing style may simply reflect the rather wan woman who was, according to Chisholm's interpretation, stuffy and bound by a sort of suburban conventionality. And yet, one wonders what someone else might have made of a life lived in such exotic places...

One example of the disappointing writing of the book is the depiction of the relationship between Rumer and the older sister she worshiped. The biographer seems to have just gotten her toes wet before she pulls back. This sister was obviously jealous of Rumer and hated to relinquish her queenly role in the family to the daughter who waas obviously the better - at least more acclaimed - writer. But the biographer seems to skirt this - she alludes to it, but never goes deeply into it, as if, like her subject, she is wrinkling up her nose at anything "distasteful."