Catherine Reef

Explores the turbulent lives of the three literary siblings and the oppressive times in which they lived, and offers insight into their classic nineteenth-century novels.

The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne

The Brontë Sisters

"A biography for teens on Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Her long reign was filled with drama, death, intrigue, and passion, and took place during a time of great transformation, an era that bears the imprint of her personality and values as well as that of her name--the Victorian period."--Provided by publisher.

Portrait of a Queen

Victoria

"On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history"--

A biography of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history. Reef discusses the creation of Shelley's story about a mad scientist who brought a corpse back to life, detailing her life both before and after the publication of this iconic masterpiece. -- adapted from amazon.com

the strange true tale of Frankenstein's creator

Mary Shelley

This YA biography offers “a thorough, sensitive portrayal of one of literature’s most remarkable authors, illustrated with period portraits and engravings” (Kirkus). Most famous for her iconic tale of gothic horror, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley led a life that could itself have been a gothic novel. This “fascinating, scandal-rich” biography recounts a story full of drama, death, and one of the strangest romances in literary history (Booklist). Raised by her father, the political philosopher William Godwin, Shelley ran away to Lake Geneva with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley when she was only sixteen years old. It was there, during a cold and wet summer, that she first imagined her story about a mad scientist who brought a corpse back to life. Success soon followed for Mary, but also great tragedy and misfortune. In Mary Shelley, Catherine Reef brings this passionate woman, brilliant writer, and forgotten feminist into crisp focus, detailing a life that was remarkable both before and after the publication of her immortal masterpiece.

The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein's Creator

Most people know Florence Nightingale was a compassionate and legendary nurse, but they don’t know her full story. This riveting biography explores the exceptional life of a woman who defied the stifling conventions of Victorian society to pursue what was considered an undesirable vocation. She is best known for her work during the Crimean War, when she vastly improved gruesome and deadly conditions and made nightly rounds to visit patients, becoming known around the world as the Lady with the Lamp. Her tireless and inspiring work continued after the war, and her modern methods in nursing became the defining standards still used today. Includes notes, bibliography, and index.

The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse

Florence Nightingale

Examines the life and works of the famous author, known for such works as "Emma," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Persuasion," and looks at how her novels have endured for over two centuries.

A Life Revealed

Jane Austen

Uncovers the true history of American orphanages, revealing what it was like to eat, sleep, study, and play in such institutions, why children were sent to live there in the first place, what happened to them after they left, and more.

Orphans and Orphanages in America

Alone in the World

A lushly designed young adult biography exploring the tumultuous lives, marriage and work of the artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera is illustrated with archival photos and full-color reproductions. 20,000 first printing.

Art, Love, Life

Frida & Diego

An introduction to the life and most significant works of American author John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck

Details the life and career of the poet who faced racism and devoted himself to depicting the black experience in America.

Portrait of a Poet

The Life of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Explores the history of the colony, later the independent nation of Liberia, which was established on the west coast of Africa in 1822 as a haven for free African-Americans.

The American Settlers of Liberia

This Our Dark Country

Examines the progress and development of education throughout U.S. history, from the changing theories of education and the differences between urban and rural education to the movements of progressivism and traditionalism to standardized testing.

Education and Learning in America

Presents a history of childhood in the United States from the point of view of children, and includes such firsthand accounts as diary entries, letters, speeches, and newspaper articles.

Childhood in America

When the first colonists arrived in what would become the United States, they confronted the reality that in order to survive, they would have to tame the land and make it work for them. In addition to these early settlers were those brought to North America against their will-enslaved Africans who were forced to toil in intolerable conditions. From these beginnings developed the fabled Puritan work ethic that has become the standard for Americans in the workplace-a standard that has both proponents and opponents. The agrarian economy of the early United States was eventually transformed by the Industrial Revolution. Amid the new reality of mass-production, workers organized-demanding better wages, safer working environments, and an end to child labor. The unique challenges that African-American and female employees faced spawned separate movements that are still relevant in a less-than-equal workplace. The future direction of working in America is complicated, as technological innovation and globalization drastically transform both working conditions and the composition of the American workforce. Each chapter in Working in America, a volume in Facts On File's new American Experience series, begins with an essay that chronicles the experience of workers in the United States. A chronology of events follows this essay. Each chapter closes with a section of excerpts-from such sources as speeches, journals, correspondence, and book passages. Included in this book are the words of Thomas Jefferson, Malcolm X, Samuel Gompers, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jesse Jackson, Cesar Chavez, Jane Addams, and countless others. An appendix of documents includes such primary source materials as the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Also included are capsule biographies of 141 key figures, maps, graphs and tables, a glossary, notes, a bibliography, and an index. More than 100 black-and-white images illustrate the story of the workers whose contributions have helped shape the United States.

Working in America

Recounts the life of the Baptist minister and civil rights leader who helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott and found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Ralph David Abernathy

A biography of physicist Albert Einstein, the man who put forth the general theory of relativity.

Albert Einstein, Scientist of the 20th Century

Throughout much of the United States's history

African Americans in the Military

“An excellent ‘starter biography,’ clearly written, peppered with period images, movie stills and great tidbits of historical facts . . . engaging.”—Austenprose Jane Austen’s popularity never seems to fade. She has hordes of devoted fans, and there have been numerous adaptations of her life and work. But who was Jane Austen? The writer herself has long remained a mystery. And despite the resonance her work continues to have for teens, there has never been a young adult trade biography on Austen. Catherine Reef changes that with this highly readable account. She takes an intimate peek at Austen’s life and innermost feelings, interweaving her narrative with well-crafted digests of each of Austen’s published novels. The end result is a book that is almost as much fun to read as Jane’s own work—and truly a life revealed. Includes bibliography and index. “Along with extensive details of Austen’s family . . . Reef deftly sets the biographical facts onto a larger cultural and historical canvas that will give readers a much deeper understanding of Austen’s novels, and well-chosen images, from period paintings and photos to contemporary film stills, add even more context.”—Booklist (starred review) “Perhaps this work will lead readers to Jane Austen and imaginatively apply the facts of the author’s life to the novels—or vice-versa.”—Kirkus Reviews

A biography of Sigmund Freud explains the methods he used to treat the mentally ill which led to the birth of psychoanalysis, and explores his controversial theories connecting dreams, desires, and behavior.

Pioneer of the Mind

Sigmund Freud

"A look into the life and poetry of E.E. Cummings."--From source other than the Library of Congress

Catherine Reef

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