Author Description

AUTHOR WINNER OF THE BAMAHANE PRIZEIn a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from hundreds of letters, diary entries and original sources, Jonathan Kis-Lev tells the fascinating, untold story of the mentorship and friendship between Annie Sullivan and her pupil Helen Keller. While blindness and deafness, financial strains, a failed love affair and inner struggles threaten to shape their world, the two women choose to redefine love and friendship, and subsequently to shape the history of education. "A triumphant, controversial, and fascinating plunge into a mentor-mentee relationship... Irresistible."-THE REVIEWER "Gorgeous... Moves with the pace of a thriller."-THIS WEEK BOOK EXCERPT (printed with permission):"Annie sat down by her desk, pulled out the ink bottle and the pen, and began writing. She was excited. "To: Mrs. Hopkins,March 5th, 1888My dear Mrs. Hopkins,Yesterday it was a year since I arrived in Alabama. A year! Can you believe it? Oh, Mrs. Hopkins! How forlorn and weary I was, nobody, not even you can imagine! I remember how the conductor on the train tried to comfort me. He noticed that I cried a great deal, and he did his best to cheer me. I remember getting off the train and meeting Mrs. Keller in the carriage. When she spoke, a great weight rolled off my heart, there was such sweetness and refinement in her voice! It is a wonder how much of one's character and disposition is revealed in one's voice. There is no doubt in my mind that the voice is a truer index to character than the face. We learn to control the expression of our features; but very few ever succeed in controlling their voices.I remember arriving at the house and seeing Helen for the first time. How disappointed I was when the untamed little creature stubbornly refused to kiss me and struggled frantically to free herself from my embrace! She touched my bag and tried to open it, searching for food. When her mother took her away from my b