Thanks to a family vacation in May, I got an early start on the beach reading season with a week of sun, sand, waves and books. Though I read some fiction, the book I enjoyed the most was Michael Sims‘ The Story of Charlotte’s Web: E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and The Birth of An American Classic, on sale tomorrow. In a beautifully crafted narrative, Sims traces the life of E.B. White from his shy boyhood to his successful career as a New Yorker writer and editor who would create one of the most beloved children’s books of the 20th century. Readers learn about White’s early love of the natural world, his devotion to his Maine farm and the long and thoughtful process that led to Charlotte’s Web.
White researched spiders for a full year to bring realism to his portrayal of Charlotte A. Calvatica, and after he had finished a draft of the book, he put it away for almost a year to mull over his creation:
“While he incubated eggs and sheared sheep and mended fencing, while he corresponded with humorist James Thurber and naturalist Edwin Way Teale . . . the manuscript sat in its box, growing as quickly as a kitten. Its images, its scenes and poetry, ripened in Andy’s mind and matured into a better form. Gradually he realized that he wanted a more human perspective on the barnyard community.”
In March 1952, when E.B. (Andy) White showed up unannounced with the final manuscript at the office of his editor, Ursula Nordstorm, she realized almost immediately that she had something very special in hand. Harper rushed Charlotte’s Web into print within months and the cascade of acclaim began.
Michael Sims, a talented writer and editor who formerly lived in Nashville and and has contributed many reviews to BookPage, has shared some of the steps of his research and writing with us over the past two years, so it’s been especially exciting to see this book in its final form. I highly recommend it to any reader with an interest in E.B. White and Charlotte’s Web, and more broadly, in children’s literature, natural history and the beauty and mystery of the creative process. If you love books and the quirky, fascinating people who write them, you’ll get caught up in The Story of Charlotte’s Web.
And now you’ll have a chance to read it, too. The book’s publisher, Bloomsbury, has furnished us with five copies of The Story of Charlotte’s Web for readers of The Book Case.
TO ENTER: We’ve seen several excellent books about books in recent months. In the comments, tell us about one book (besides Charlotte’s Web) that you love so much you would be excited to read a book about how it came to be.
CONTEST DETAILS: The prize is one copy of The Story of Charlotte’s Web. Contest is open to North American residents only. Five winners will be chosen using random.org from among the comments received by 6 p.m. CDT on June 10.
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ETA: Congrats to our five winners! Ronald, Jessica, Lori, Martha and Susan all had some great behind-the-book ideas – Hawaii by James Michener, A Wrinkle in Time, Atlas Shrugged, Black Beauty and Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Contest is now closed.
I would love to read a book about The Wizard of Oz.
Thanks
A great opportunity to win a classic in literature
One of the most memorable and enjoyable books I have ever read is THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexander Dumas – I would enjoy reading to learn how that book came to be!
I would love to read about how The Help came to be!
There are so many great books that I would love to know first and foremost how the author came up with the idea and then what research was required to write the book. I guess one of my favorites….The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. Unfortunately, I would like to know about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but the author has died.
Laura Ingall’s Wilder books…I just read a book called The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
It was a tour of all of the significant locations in the Wilder books, and gave a lot of background information. I enjoyed it .
I loved The Thornbirds and wonder how the author came up with the idea for that book.
I loved reading The Paris Wife by Paula McClain and would love to know what made Ms McClain choose to write about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife.
I’d like to know about the writing of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
The Hunger Games series.
One of my favorites – Time and Again, by Jack Finney, an illustrated CLASSIC! of a novel written in 1970. Finney was the master of time travel and this tale of turn of the century New York is a masterpiece. I would love to see how it began ………..
Would love to read this story…
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, it was such a moving book, not an easy read by any means!
I would enjoy reading about the background of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I adore it! Tell me more about Ronald Dahl.
A book on Anna Seghers time in exile, her two novels Transit and The Sevens Cross are great and her life in exile from Nazi Germany begs for an indepth look.
As a child I loved “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton. I read it the summer of my 7th year and that book singlehandedly started my love of reading. I would love to read a book about it!
Laura Childs. She writes easy mystery but information – about tea shops and scrapbooking and …….
I’d love to read how Water for Elephants came to be.
There are so many great books out there. Maybe an anthology of some of the more quirky or bizarre writers who wrote books that became favorites. One of my all time faves is Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll is definitely an interesting read.
You’ve got to read Alice, I Have Been. (Historical fiction) Tells about the life of the character, Alice. I read this and then reread Alice in Wonderland. I’d love to read a really good bio on Lewis Carroll. Do you know of one? Happy reading.
My favorite book of all time is ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and would love to hear all the details about how it came to be (particularly if Harper Lee consented to some interviews telling her side…).
BTW, I’m excited about Michael Sims’ book. I’ve been teaching ‘Charlotte’s Web’ to second language kids (9 and 10-year-olds) in southern Thailand for several years and something like this would have been great background (and a nice reward for a few of my best readers!). Sawasdee.
I’d love more background on some of the classic 19th century ghost stories I read as a child. Turn of the Screw still gets to me.
This book about Charlotte’s Web sounds wonderful, but I’d love to hear more about Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, a favorite I read every summer.
I would like to know how Patricia Highsmith came up with her idea for the Ripley series.
This post was wonderful and fascinating. A book that was memorable and I wanted to learn more about was A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.
I would like to know more about how Saving CeeCee Honeycutt came to be.
What kind of experience does Beth Hoffman have with mental illness? Has she spent time in the south? What does she know about the black boomarang of karma?
More importantly, when is she going to have another book out??
I would like to read about how Chelsea Cain created her Gretchen Lowell character. She’s so horrific it can raise hairs on the back of your neck!
I loved the book plus the movie Charlotte’s Web so I’d like to read how it all began.
sue
“Hannah’s List”
I love the Hunger Games series and would be interested to find out how she came up with such a fantastic and sometimes horrifying idea.
I would like to read more about how The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet came to be written.
I’d love to read more about how Alice in Wonderland came to be. I really enjoyed Alice I Have Been which gave some insight although it was historical fiction. I’d like to read the true story.
The story behind The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis would be my pick.
Many of the early writers – like Hemingway – had interesting backgrounds. A compilation of some early writers and how they came to write the books that made them so popular would be interesting. For instance “Wizard of Oz”, “Alice in Wonderland” and others. Even some of the more recent authors who made an impression and got kids and adults reading more.
I would like to know more about the Miss Read books.
Two books that our book club absolutely loved were A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini & Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. We imagined the inspiration for those books must have been quite inspiring.
I’ve always wondered where Norton Juster got the idea for The Phantom Tollbooth!
I would love to read more about Louisa May Alcott and the whole group of New England writers from her time, how their lives were interwoven, if they helped each other with their works, and how much influence they had on one another’s ideas. “Little Women” is one of the few books I have ever re-read!
Who remembers Mary Norton’s “The Borrowers” series? As a child, thoroughly intrigued, I can recall never getting enough of Pod, Homily and Arrietty Clock’s adventures.
Charlotte’s Web was one of my favorites as a child, so this book sounds awesome! I’d also love to find out about how Black Beauty was written.
The Joy of Cooking! Who doesn’t have a copy of that? Love to know more about Irma S Rombauer.
I’d like to know how the tales of Hans Christian Anderson came to be. Thank you.
I’m always fascinated how successful authors come up with their ideas for books. With such a classic as this one, and as it mentions his ‘eccentric life in nature’, early love of the natural world, and a shy person, I would be very interested in reading about the story of Charlotte’s Web! Thanks BookPage, you’re great!
I would love a background story to “Broad Street”— Pat Conroy.
I would like to read a book from Gregory Maguire, detailing how he wrote “Wicked”, “Son of a Witch”, and “A Lion Among Men”. He is a fascinating author.
“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is an adventure everyone should take! I would love to know Garth Stein’s “behind the scenes” story. As an avid reader I have recommended many books over the years, but this one, hands down, is one that everyone raves about.
Travis Wellborn Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. And I’m not thinking of the bible… I’d like to read a journal type book of Christopher Moore’s travels and research!
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The Wizard of Oz and any book by John Steinbeck!
I would love to know how “Someone Knows My Name” by Lawrence Hill came to be…it’s so interesting.
All of Jane Austen!
I’d love to read a book about how The Grapes of Wrath came to be written, especially the research that had to have gone into it.
I would also like to read about how the Hunger Games came to fruition as a new YA crossover phenomenon, but classically, I would like to read about Alice in Wonderland.
I always enjoy the background of books/stories. As a child I was fascinated with the Boxcar Children series, always imagining how my sisters and I could live in that way.
i love tana french’s irish cops. i’d like to read about how she came up with the twisty plots & unique characters of her second, the likeness.
Misty of Chincoteague–a childhood favorite!
It would be nice if J.D. Salinger left behind some journals regarding his work…The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey…the whole Glass family ouevre.
“The Book of Marie” by Terry Kay
One of A Kind Family – Read this series with my girls when they were young.
One book that has touch my heart is when libby lost her smile by naomi parker it helps me better undering stand of the situation
I can’t wait to read this new book on the life and inspirations of E. B. White. This was a childhood favorite of mine and I’ve enjoyed reading it to my children.
A teen favorite of mine was “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I recently re-read it with my daughter and it has now become her favorite. Would love to read more on Harper Lee’s inspirations for the book.
Thank you Bookpage for a great article!
Alice in Wonderland
Gone with the Wind
“Alice in Wonderland” – I just read it for the first time and was in awe of Lewis Carroll’s “nonsense” style. I would like to find out more about how this story came to be. Looking forward to reading the sequel, “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.”
I would love to know how Edward Rutherfurd conducted all his research for NEW YORK. What a fabulous read!!!!!
One of my absolute favorites as a kid was A Wrinkle in Time. I’d love to read about the story behind the book.
And thanks for the chance to win a copy of The Story of Charlotte’s Web! I’ve been looking forward to this book’s release because I also loved Charlotte’s Web as a kid.
Summertime, a shady tree and a classic book. Priceless
Wow! I think reading through the comments is a good idea new or forgotten favorites! I had forgotten about, The Borrowers and Dandelion Wine. I’m going to go borrow a copy of The Borrowers from the library to introduce that wonderful story to my kids! Also, someone mentioned The Hunger Games – can’t wait to dig in!
Moving on to a favorite book of mine that I’d love to read about how it came to be: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. I am currently reading The Renegades of Pern, book 14 of a suggested reading order of Ms. McCaffrey’s Pern books. Dragonflight was the first one. These books are amazing. She completely pulls me into this world, this universe she has created, to the point that I feel like I’m living it, not reading it. How did she do this?! Where did the idea come from?! What kind of research was involved to start as well as to continue?! The book about how these books came to be would ideally have to have not only her blessing, but her involvement.
The backstory to Shadows Of The Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon – would interest me, no end.
I would love to know more about the research that was done for Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin. After I finished the book I wanted to know more about the true characters life and the photography of Lewis Carroll.
Wow! What an excellent thought! There are so many to choose from…I noticed someone else mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird–that would be a great one, also Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind. The more I think, the more that come to mind. I’ll stop with those two!
I would love to know how Chelsea Cain came up with the idea for her Gretchen Lowell series of books.
I loved reading “The Good Thief” by Hannah Tinti, and wondered at the time how she came up with her quirky story.
I’d love to hear the behind-the-scenes story of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series!
The book by Jessamyn West,Except for Me and Thee,always wondered where this wonderful idea came from and the story behind it,loved it always.
I’d like to know more about the info gathered for the book,Hawaii by James Michener,the movie was good,but the book was best,what ideas this author had,for so many great books..
The Book Thief – the rationale and a follow-up would be very interesting.
I would like to know how A Tree Grows in Brooklyn came to be.
More about the life of Kent Haruf and his great books “Eventide” and “Plainsong” and where the inspiration came from.
I would like to know how The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett came to be.
My favorite book as a child was “The Secret Garden.” I’d love to know more about how she came to write the story.
I would love to read about the author of KiteRunner and how it came to be.
I am lucky that the background of my most favorite stories, the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is easy to find.
As a children’s Librarian, I love to share “the story behind the story” and I would love to read where George Selden got the idea for Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse, and Harry Cat in “The Cricket in Times Square” books.
This book sounds so interesting. I wish more authors would write about their creativity, including: Dan Brown and his Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol; David Almond’s books – Skellig, Kit’s Wilderness;
too many to mention. I would love to win this book for our alternative high school library!!!!
Sounds like a definite possibiloity for book discussion.
There are so many books that I’ve love to read about how the book “came to be”, but I would have to choose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roahl Dohl. What an imagination!
Hmmm books about books… A book about To Kill a Mockingbird might be an interesting read… Yet, as seclusive as she chooses to be, I have serious doubt that Harper Lee would ever write such a book, or even allow one to be written… In some ways, that’s only right, as To Kill a Mockingbird does stand well on its own merits too.
I got so many good ideas from reading the comments – especially “The Borrowers” – and my summer reading list has grown longer as a result of reading them all. ” Charlotte’s Web” was a favorite of both me and my students when I was teaching elementary school, so I look forward to reading about E.B. White. “The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusak is my choice, however, for this contest – one of the most moving books I’ve read in many years.
I would like a book about how any author thinks up the stuff they do.
When it first came out, I read: Ahab’s Wife: Or, The Star-Gazer: A Novel by Sena Jeter Naslund.
Os many of the scenes are still vivid in my memory. How did Naslund come to write it, and make it so real?
I would LOVE to know the background of the characters in Annie Proulx’s “Accordian Crimes”. LOVE IT.
I absolutely lived in the imaginary English village of CRANFORD by Elizabeth Gaskell. Her use of authentic details in this wonderful novel made me curious to comprehend how she made these characters come alive. I would be delighted to find out how she began her literary journey.
I would love to hear the *real* backstory to William Goldman’s The Princess Bride.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, by Walter Mosley. A stunning book about love, aging, and dementia. There must be a tremendous story behind the creation of this very moving book.
The Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie interests me, since I just finished reading the Complete collection. I read her books as a teenager, but didn’t appreciate the humor in them at the time.
I would like to read a book about the writing of the Millennium triology. I found it a tragedy Stieg Larsson died before the first book was published – he never knew what a success he was.
Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty
Because I happen to be reading it now: “Moby Dick.” It would be fascinating to know how Melville went to such fathoms to write about whaling and to create the worst of all bosses, Ahab.
I would love to read about how Bloodroot by Amy Greene was researched and written. An Amazing book!
I got my wish the the new book “Charlie Chan” by Yunte Huang. I have always loved the movies & Earl Derr Biggers is a great mystery writer. This books tells about the real guy the Biggers met & based the books on & talks about the movies as well. It’s part of my summer reading.
I would love to read about Jean Webster and how she came to write Daddy Long-Legs and its sequel, Dear Enemy.
I have always loved Gone With The Wind. I have read the book 7 times and each time is a new experience for me. I have gone into the story as if I was there with Scarlett and Rhett. I have a extensive collection of Gone With The Wind items and have even had most of it signed. I am now letting my Grandaughter read the book and watch the movie. This is truly a classic.
I’m looking forward to reading the novel on the making of Charlotte’s Web. What an amazing book that is with so many lessons to be learned from it for both children and adults. It’s definitely on my To Be Read List.
Connie Fischer
conniecape@aol.com
I am curious about the origination of the Thorn Birds. I could read that again… it has been so long since I read it.
I would love to read about Lord of the Flies. One of my favorite books growing up. Also I enjoyed reading Knots in My Yoy String by Jerry Spinelli./ A great coming of age book about boys that I read with my 12 year old son as his summer reading book. We couldn’t stop laughning as I read the anecdotes.
I have to agree with The Wizard of Oz suggestions.
I really love the books that Jan Karon writes with the people of Mitford, and how she’s created this wonderful world with such memorable people.
I’d love to know how A Canticle for Leibowitz came about.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney.
A book I’ve read multiple times over the years is “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. I’d love to read how Steinbeck came to write this book, with its religious overtones, family and individual struggles, and natural backdrop. What parts are Steinbeck’s story, and who/what are the other influences? Was he speaking to anyone in particular?
I would like to know the inspiration behind Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series.
I have been reading post-apocalyptic type young adult books this spring and got deeply involved in the “Gone” series by Michael Grant. I have found it fascinating to see how the author portrays the different approaches the teenagers take when dealing with the disappearance of everone over 14.
So many great choices everyone is suggesting. I would like to learn more about Shakespeare, Dickens, Stephen King, C.S. Lewis “Narnia” series, E. Nesbitt “Five Children and It” series, Beverly Cleary “Ramona” series, and Maud Hart Lovelace “Betsy, Tacy, and Tib” series.
I’d love to read a book about how Julie Orringer’s book, The Invisible Bridge, came to life.
Two of my all time favorite books are quite different but I would still love to know how they came to be: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery which I have read so many times since childhood I know it by heart and Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I also loved The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and am curious about how he created it.
As I scanned my bookshelves, I thought of one more book — Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an unforgettable character who I wish I could meet. I’ve read the book twice and now that I mention it, I think I’ll read it again!
I love the Father Tim series by Jan Karon, so i would love to read more about her and her passion for writing!
Nikos Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation would be amazing!
I would love to read a book about how Patrick O’Brian came up with the ideas of Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin and their adventures. Also how he went about his research would be interesting to read about.
I would love to know how these Classic Books came to life:
Jane Eyre
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Les Miserable
Gone with the Wind
Wish me luck as I wish all you fellow readers good luck in the contest!
‘She’s Come Undone’ by Wally Lamb
How about The Once and Future King by TH White? The story behind that story would be great.
Anything E.B. White writes is a jewel and I would love my own personal copy.
I’d love to read the story of “Whinnie the Pooh” or “Molokai”.
I have read all of Bertrice Small’s books; basically all historical romances. But the romance! All of them are so steamy! I would like to read about how she did her research, both historical and “steamy.”
One of my favorite books of all time was “Hannah’s Dream” by Diane Hammond. I loved every minute I spent reading this book and was sad when it ended. It’s definitely a book I want to read again someday and I can only say that about a handful of books. I’d love to know how Ms. Hammond came up with this wonderful story.
Go Ask Alice, I’d love to hear the story behind its move from nonfiction to fiction.
Having just finished Blackout and All Clear (Connie Willis), I’d love to interview or read an interview with her to find out how she is able to keep not only so many separate storylines going, but storylines in multiple time periods! Also, I loved Fran Billingsley’s Chime and would like to know more about how she created that story, characters, setting and “world.”
I would love to read how Margaret Lovett came up with “The Great and Terrible Quest”. It has been one of my favorites ever since I read it years ago.
Cain and Abel
“Pippi Longstocking” was my favorite besides “Charlotte’s Web”
That background story would be of interest to me.
I would like to read the life story of Joanne Harris and her ideas for her books. Her books have a touch of reality yet some mystical sense also.
With the last book in the Clan of the Cave Bear series being just published, I’m rereading them all from the beginning and still find them exciting. I would like to know the details behind these books and how much research was done before they were written.
My favorite book was always The Outsiders
I just finished Harlen Coben’s first book PLAY DEAD. The plot had so many twists and turns, I wonder how this came into his head.
I recently read Friendship Bread, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to remember what it means to make a tiny difference in someone’s life. It’s a beautiful story, and I actually have been learning more about the woman that wrote the book, Darien Gee. You won’t be sorry you read it, and you might even want to make the bread.
Lisa,
Darien Gee wrote a behind-the-book essay for BookPage on how she came to write the novel. Check it out here! Glad you enjoyed the book.
My favorite book of all time is “Gone With the Wind”…….I would love to know more about Margaret Mitchell. It would be great to know how she came up with her two most popular characters, Scarlett and Rhett, and if she based them on people she knew. This was also her only novel, that I am aware of, and I am curious to learn if there is more work of hers in the making!! Her life and circumstances leading up to the making of “Gone with the Wind” would make another excellent read!!!!!
Lynn,
There is lots of easy to find information on the web about Margaret Mitchell. Go to your favorite search engine and type – Margaret Mitchell Biography. You will find plenty of sites. Sad to say, there will never be more works from her. She died in 1949, and, as far as is known, there were no more manuscripts even partially completed at that time. If there had been something, it surely would have been published by now.
I would like to know how To Kill A Mockingbird came to be written. The reclusive life of its author, Harper Lee, adds a high level of fascination to this book. Why did she retire from public view after one successful novel?
Such a great classic book. I’m always happy to see when a child checks it out from the library. I know they are going to enjoy it.
the books by dan brown…
One of the first horse books I read was The King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. The story of an amazing Arabian horse and the thoroughbred line that he establishes mesmerized me as child. It began my love affair with horses and I then devoured many, many horse books.
It would be very interesting to know the author’s background and more about the book. I still have a copy, love it!
I would like to read the background of Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce. I read it this past school year and recommended it to many students as an adventure story they would enjoy.
Watership Down.
The incredible “The Twenty-one Balloons” by William Pene du Bois!
“The Borrowers” by Mary Norton. I loved it! It would be interesting finding out the story behind the writing. I’m sure there has to be one!
Sounds like a good way to learn more about this classic book.
I typically read biographies/memoirs, so I haven’t read a fictional book in quite some time. But I would like to read something from John Grisham about “The Firm”.
The Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels.
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