From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Lukes examines the poet's life and gives background information about his work and its influence on the people and the times in which he lived. Born and raised in Maine, Longfellow graduated from Bowdoin College, studied in Europe, and later became a Harvard professor. With roots in America's early history, his middle-class upbringing and upper-class adult life mirrored some of the growth and development of the country, as did much of his poetry. This book addresses the intellectual battles he fought during his life. The text is readable and straightforward and fictionalizing is kept to a minimum. Black-and-white photographs and reproductions enhance the text. An adequate choice where demand and interest dictate.Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 6^-12. This insightful addition to the World Writers series helps fill the lack of recent studies on Longfellow. From the very start, young Henry had pluck and diplomacy. Eager to avoid the family tradition of studying law, he secured a position as a language professor, having barely started college himself. Traveling through Europe to learn his subject, Longfellow met his hero Washington Irving, lodged with Charles Dickens, and returned to maintain a lifelong friendship with former classmate Nathaniel Hawthorne. Despite these high-profile relationships, Longfellow's personal life was overshadowed by frustrating spells of writer's block and the tragic deaths of both of his wives and an infant daughter. These personal stories are so fascinating, readers will hardly miss the limited focus on Longfellow's poetry. Although a bit top-heavy with quotations, the text often sparkles, thanks to Lukes' creative turn of a phrase. Likely to appeal to biography readers more than to literary researchers, the book will nonetheless be useful to the latter because of the extensive notes, a time line, and a bibliography. Roger Leslie


From Kirkus Reviews
Lukes conveys to a new generation that the poet of ``Hiawatha'' and ``Paul Revere's Ride'' was a cultural icon in his own time, and that while his longer verse may no longer be to popular taste, many of his images still resonate. Longfellow wanted a life of letters from a very early age, having his first poem published in the local newspaper in Portland, Maine, when he was 13. He studied at Bowdoin during its earliest years, and when he graduated, they offered him a teaching position for modern languages, which he had to go to Europe (for two years) to learn. Longfellow found solace and intellectual exercise in writing and translating all of his life. He loved his wives; both died tragically, one while young and the other in a household fire. Lukes has written a rich biography, using original sources for the sound of Longfellow's voice and the voices of his family, and their joys and travails make them seem very contemporary. Her writing is strong enough that this entry in the World Writers series can be read for pleasure, as well as for research. (b&w photos, notes, chronology, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Card catalog description
A biography of one of the major American poets of the nineteenth century, whose works include "The Song of Hiawatha" and "The Village Blacksmith."

ANNOTATION

A biography of one of the major American poets of the nineteenth century, whose works include "The Song of Hiawatha" and "The Village Blacksmith."

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Lukes examines the poet's life and gives background information about his work and its influence on the people and the times in which he lived. Born and raised in Maine, Longfellow graduated from Bowdoin College, studied in Europe, and later became a Harvard professor. With roots in America's early history, his middle-class upbringing and upper-class adult life mirrored some of the growth and development of the country, as did much of his poetry. This book addresses the intellectual battles he fought during his life. The text is readable and straightforward and fictionalizing is kept to a minimum. Black-and-white photographs and reproductions enhance the text. An adequate choice where demand and interest dictate.-Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CA

Kirkus Reviews

Lukes conveys to a new generation that the poet of "Hiawatha" and "Paul Revere's Ride" was a cultural icon in his own time, and that while his longer verse may no longer be to popular taste, many of his images still resonate. Longfellow wanted a life of letters from a very early age, having his first poem published in the local newspaper in Portland, Maine, when he was 13. He studied at Bowdoin during its earliest years, and when he graduated, they offered him a teaching position for modern languages, which he had to go to Europe (for two years) to learn. Longfellow found solace and intellectual exercise in writing and translating all of his life. He loved his wives; both died tragically, one while young and the other in a household fire. Lukes has written a rich biography, using original sources for the sound of Longfellow's voice and the voices of his family, and their joys and travails make them seem very contemporary. Her writing is strong enough that this entry in the World Writers series can be read for pleasure, as well as for research. (b&w photos, notes, chronology, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)