Madame Bovary, C'est Moi: The Great Characters of Literature and Where They Came From

by Andre Bernard | Reference |
ISBN: 0393051811 Global Overview for this book
Registered by sistert of Catonsville, Maryland USA on 7/13/2006
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5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by sistert from Catonsville, Maryland USA on Thursday, July 13, 2006
From Amazon.com:
The nonfiction equivalent of light verse, this delightful set of characterological inquiries into the real life origins of the likes of Jay Gatsby, Holly Golightly and Godot finds a serious reader sleuthing after gossipy backstories. The trade publisher of Harcourt and a regular columnist for the American Scholar, Bernard is no stranger to the literary life, or, as his Rotten Rejections: Literary Short Takes has already shown, to making light of it. In a series of brief essays arranged alphabetically by the character under discussion, he here finds that Scarlett O'Hara was called Pansy by Margaret Mitchell until her publisher protested against "unhappy associations"; that Shandy (as in Tristram) is Yorkshire dialect for unsteady or addled; that the real Miss Lonelyhearts was actually female (unlike Nathanael West's character) and wrote a column for a Brooklyn newspaper. Readers will find many of their most beloved literary companions here, along with 30 line drawings of items relating to some of the characters, from a martini glass (for Holly Golightly of Breakfast at Tiffany's) to a bat (Dracula, of course). And Bernard takes great care not to spoil one's illusions about Huck Finn, Jack Torrance or Winnie-the-Pooh, leaving their fictional extensions from life fully intact. Sidebars and italicized quotations ("There is no such thing as a 'minor' character in Dostoevski," said F. Scott Fitzgerald) add to the fun.

Journal Entry 2 by sistert from Catonsville, Maryland USA on Sunday, July 16, 2006
Fairly quick read. A delightful collection, especially if you're a voracious reader who happens to be a curious one too. From classics (Peter Rabbit of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" stories) to modern (Kinsey Milhone from the alphabet series starting with "A is for Alibi"), how these characters came to be are sometimes dramatic and sometimes pure accident. Many are borrowed from real people.

Journal Entry 3 by Megi53 from Danville, Virginia USA on Friday, December 15, 2006
Got it today -- thank you!

My 17-year-old son is already reading it.

Journal Entry 4 by Megi53 from Danville, Virginia USA on Sunday, December 17, 2006
I had a good time reading this! Now my list of books and authors to read someday is considerably longer. At the head of the list is Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. It sounds hilarious! I always want to read anything at all by Hemingway, but now I want to reread To Have and Have Not to find John Dos Passos in Richard Gordon; "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" to find F. Scott Fitzgerald in "poor Julian" -- ha! -- and The Sun Also Rises to find Ford Madox Ford in Henry Braddocks.

Other intriguing parallels: Robert Louis Stevenson/Ralph Touchett in Henry James' Portrait of a Lady and Harper Lee as Idebel Thompkins in Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms.

I expected a breath of scandal, and found it in an unexpected place: Nathaniel Hawthorne's incestuous ancestors.

And I simply must settle down and read more Agatha Christie -- since Miss Marple was here evoked: "She was cheerful, but always suspected the worst of people and events. And she was almost always right."

The italic asides quoting authors about "how they got their ideas" for characters got in the way most of the time, but Kurt Vonnegut's was worth it: "Q: Where do you get your characters? A: Cincinnati."

Nice index -- I've read a few of those sources.

ETA: 1/6/07: Now traveling in a bookbox.

Journal Entry 5 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, January 12, 2007
I selected this book from Megi53's Wild Releaser's Bookbox. I enjoy finding out tidbits about my favorite authors and their creations, and this looks like an entertaining collection! Should also be a fairly quick read, with some intriguing wild-release possibilities...

Journal Entry 6 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, January 31, 2007
This was a lot of fun to read; lots of tidbits that I hadn't heard before, some that I had, and more than a few items that made me want to go read the books. Among the more surprising items for me was the one about the real-life case of vengeance that inspired Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo...

And I loved the anecdote about Anthony Trollope, who overheard some people complaining about his "Barchester Towers" novels at length, and especially about one of the characters; he listened until he couldn't stand it anymore, then went over to them, admitted he was the author, and said that as to the character they were dissing [I'll omit the name as it's a bit of a spoiler], "'...I will go home and kill her before the week is over.' And so I did." I dearly hope that's true, as it's just too perfect {grin}.

Journal Entry 7 by wingGoryDetailswing at J Beaner's cafe, 25 Rt. 101A in Amherst, New Hampshire USA on Monday, February 5, 2007

Released 17 yrs ago (2/5/2007 UTC) at J Beaner's cafe, 25 Rt. 101A in Amherst, New Hampshire USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in one of the baskets-for-newspapers near the fireplace inside J. Beaners at about 3 pm, while stopping by for a latte to help defrost my fingers on this freezing day. Hope the finder enjoys the book!

Journal Entry 8 by Germanophile from Litchfield, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Found this @ J. Beaner's Cafe, an OBCZ, on Route 101A in Amherst, NH. This looks very cute. I know someone (not a BC member) who would enjoy this. I plan to read, then send it to him.

Journal Entry 9 by Germanophile from Litchfield, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, March 18, 2007
Very cute book, with lots of information. Am mailing this on Monday, 19 March 2007, to a friend in St. Louis, who is not a BC member. He has promised to make a journal entry, read it, then set it free either in St. Louis, or Springfield, MO. Time will tell.

Journal Entry 10 by wingAnonymousFinderwing on Friday, March 23, 2007
The last of three books sent to me by mail from a BC member, an old friend of mine. I solemnly swear to release this book after reading it, and will try medium-hard to make a release note when I get around to it.

CAUGHT IN SAINT LOUIS MISSOURI USA

Journal Entry 11 by Germanophile from Litchfield, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, March 23, 2008
Well, it's only taken a year, but my friend finally took this book down to his office in Springfield, MO. I'm not kidding myself - he'll never make another journal entry, so I'm doing it for him. He told me that the book was on his desk, and he would try to share it with colleagues in his Springfield office, after which time SOMEONE will release it. I told him to simply leave the silly book in his hotel room when he checks out, but that'd be much too simple! Men!

Needless to say, I'm not giving him any more books!

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