How To Be A Heroine has been on my radar for a while, but now seemed like the perfect time to read it since it deals with something I’m currently working on a blog post about; the idea that the time, place and state of mind you are in plays a significant part in how you react to novels, plays, films, and music.

Samantha Ellis finds herself arguing with her best friend about whether Cathy Earnshaw is a better heroine than Jane Eyre. Ellis is firmly in the Cathy camp, while her friend thinks that Jane is the one who really makes her own way in the world.

Has she spent her life trying to be Cathy Earnshaw when she should have been trying to be Jane Eyre? A return to the literary heroines that shaped her life was in order. How did she feel about them now?

Some characters stood up to the scrutiny better than others, some opinions changed for the better and some changed for the worst.

Part memoir and part literary analysis, with a side of women’s studies, Ellis’ words are refreshing, yet somehow comforting. It will leave you wanting to read the books you haven’t and re-read the ones you love. A book lover’s dream.

How To Be A Heroine is a book I wish I had written. You need it in your life. I will be thrusting it into people’s hands, demanding they read it and then talk about it for hours with me.