[PW] To Sir, with Love by E.R. Braithwaite

[Bye, Dan J]

"To Sir, With Love" was reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement of April 3, 1959 (p.194).  Some relevant points from that review:

"Mr Braithwaite describes his popularity with the children and the way he took part in their lives.  He occasionally has the irritating habit of singing his own praises through the mouths of other speakers, and he is not slow to criticize other members of the staff. But it is obvious that he did a great deal educationally and emotionally for chidren from sordid homes. His book is told dramatically - with reconstructed conversations.  Sometimes it reads like a novel. Mr Braithwaite does not mince words - either in his own narrative or in the conversations he quotes. His teachers seem to bicker in a most uninhibited way, and there is a good deal of emphasis on sexual matters both in adults and children. Characters are described in full and intimate detail... Mr Braithwaite also goes into the fullest detail about his own love affair, reconstructing dramatic moments and passionate conversations. There is no suggestion that any of the more lurid scenes are touched up... Some critics may feel that the inclusion of so many intimate scenes is not in the best of taste, but they do add up to make a vivid drama."

The book was also reviewed by The Times of April 30, 1959 (p.13).   Not much to that notice, but the reviewer notes Braithwaite's "compassion and perspective".    

Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org 
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On 
> Behalf Of swguardian-wombat at yahoo.com
> Sent: 29 March 2008 20:05
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: Re: [PW] To Sir, with Love by E.R. Braithwaite
> 
> The book is based on Braithwaite's version of events while 
> teaching in the East End of London after WW II. A former 
> pupil, Alfred Gardner, disagreed and published his 
> autobiography contesting this, "An East End Story" (London 2002).
> 
> Kyle Thomas <kbt3210 at yahoo.com> wrote: A lady came in today 
> (and yesterday, but our computers were down) who just 
> finished reading To Sir, with Love by E.R. Braithwaite for a 
> bookclub.  Her bookclub got into a heated debate about 
> whether it was fiction or nonfiction.  
>    
>   Our library has it catalogued as nonfiction (dewey decimal 
> 373) but several members disagreed saying they believed it to 
> be fiction.  Our library's copy is from 1959, so there is not 
> other indication on the book except the dustjacket that 
> contains reviews that refers to the book as an "inspiring 
> record of Mr. Braithwaite's struggle".  
>    
>   WorldCat says "autobiographical fiction".  A current 
> paperback she brought in said "fiction" as a Library of 
> Congress heading.  However I have noted several websites that 
> talk about the book as nonfiction and as a memoir.  
>    
>   Perhaps it is like A Million Little Pieces by James Frey?  
> An embellished biography.
>    
>   I am trying to find a pointed discussion on this topic.
>    
>   Sincerely,
>   Kyle Thomas
>   Library Assistant III
>   North Carolina
> 
>        
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