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A review by theresidentbookworm
Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers by Lauren Burke, Kaley Bales, Hannah K. Chapman
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Why She Wrote combines so many of the things I love: graphic nonfiction, women's history, feminism, female writers... As soon as I got approved for this ARC, I knew I would love it, and I was right!
Why She Wrote gives small glimpses into the lives of writers like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, and Frances Hodgson Burnett. In total, 19 women from different era are featured, and while many were familiar to me (your Brontes, Austen, Alcott, etc.) some were a pleasant surprise. I had never heard of Edith Maude Eaton, Frances Burney, and Ann Radcliffe. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Anne Lister included here.
I enjoyed Chapman and Burke's approach to this collection. I liked that they kept each woman's story short and specific to one moment in their life. I like that at the end of each chapter, they included connections to the other women in the collection and included a list of selected works. Chapman and Burke also get major kudos from me because this book is indeed beautifully sourced. I love to see it!
Kaley Bales' illustrations are terrific. I particularly loved her portraits of each woman at the beginning of their sections. However, her illustration style's success varied for me from profile to profile. I did absolutely hate the lettering/typography. It felt sloppy and out of place; I hope this gets fixed before its publication day because it did take me out of the story visually.
Why She Wrote gives small glimpses into the lives of writers like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, and Frances Hodgson Burnett. In total, 19 women from different era are featured, and while many were familiar to me (your Brontes, Austen, Alcott, etc.) some were a pleasant surprise. I had never heard of Edith Maude Eaton, Frances Burney, and Ann Radcliffe. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Anne Lister included here.
I enjoyed Chapman and Burke's approach to this collection. I liked that they kept each woman's story short and specific to one moment in their life. I like that at the end of each chapter, they included connections to the other women in the collection and included a list of selected works. Chapman and Burke also get major kudos from me because this book is indeed beautifully sourced. I love to see it!
Kaley Bales' illustrations are terrific. I particularly loved her portraits of each woman at the beginning of their sections. However, her illustration style's success varied for me from profile to profile. I did absolutely hate the lettering/typography. It felt sloppy and out of place; I hope this gets fixed before its publication day because it did take me out of the story visually.