Miss Spitfire

Miller's debut novel imagines the day in March 1887 when Annie Sullivan arrived in Alabama to teach the 6-year-old blind deaf-mute Helen Keller. Miller gives the story historical legitimacy by opening each chapter with excerpts from letters Annie wrote to Sophia Hopkins, her friend at the Perkins Institute, where Annie trained. Terry Donnelly uses an Irish lilt to become the voice of the young (only 21 years old!) Irish-American orphan and to give voice to the frustration, doubts, and grit of this young teacher who blazed a trail for reaching, releasing, and educating a mind locked in darkness and silence. As the story alternates between Annie's early poverty-stricken life and her commitment to connect with Helen, the listener gains a new respect for Helen's "Teacher." N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine