Literature’s leading ladies lay down their heads
Sarah Burke, Special to The Gazette
Originally published 09:06 a.m., February 2, 2008
Updated 09:06 a.m., February 2, 2008
Penny Entwhistle has rubbed elbows with some of the most famous women in the world, but they are only famous in readers’ imaginations.
She has had to put up with the likes of Scarlett O’Hara, Hester Prynne and a most troubling heroine named Deirdre. Penny lives in a bed and breakfast where heroines out of literature come to take a break when their storylines are at their most stressful.
The heroines started appearing to her mother, Anne-Marie, when she was a little girl. The first heroine to show herself was Rapunzel. With the help of the family cook, Gretta, the Entwhistle women try to keep the heroines comfortable without interfering with their stories or letting them discover what fate has in store for them.
In this debut novel, “The Heroines,” by Eileen Favorite, having a great character of literature stop by for breakfast is nothing unusual.
Penny was interested in the heroines until she turned 13 and they started to take all her mother’s attention, especially Deirdre. When Deirdre first arrived, all three thought she was a college student getting over a bad break-up. It did not occur to them that she was a heroine until Penny had a run-in with the man who had come to fetch Deirdre back. Penny is not sure whether Colin is a villain or a hero, and she is not sure whether she wants to run away or be next to the handsome Colin forever.
After a few days, Penny emerges from the woods to bring Deirdre back to Colin and be rid of her once and for all. When Penny arrives, she is confronted by the police, who think that she has encountered a man in the woods and that he raped and kidnapped her. While at the hospital, Penny tells her mother everything, but not knowing Deirdre’s story, Anne-Marie has no idea whether Colin is friend or foe. To protect her daughter, Anne-Marie commits her to a juvenile psychiatric ward, where she meets all manner of characters and discovers the ups and downs of meds. Will Colin come rescue Penny, like she keeps wishing, or will Anne-Marie turn over a heroine for the first time? What is the fate of Deirdre, and why is there so much mystery surrounding the identity of Penny’s father? All these questions and more are answered in this debut novel by Eileen Favorite.
The storyline is entertaining, unpredictable and highly imaginative. If you are a fan of books that are out-of-the-ordinary, then “The Heroines” is a book you should add to your reading list. More information about the author and the writing of this novel can be found at the author’s website: http://www.eileenfavorite.com/
On the Shelf is written by staff and volunteers at the Emporia Public Library.