The Biography of Anne Frank - Roses From The Earth is Carol Ann Lee’s wonderfully detailed and carefully researched biography of Anne frank, the famous young diarist of the Second World War.
Lee’s love of Anne Frank began in her childhood when she was 6 or 7 and grew to a lifelong passion that led to her writing this book. It is meticulous in its detail. Lee has traced many of those who knew Anne from her childhood, her school life, and her time in the concentration camps. She then tells the story of how her diary came to be published through the survival of Anne’s father, Otto Frank.
Those of us, who have come to know Anne through her diary, know her from her own point of view – through her intimate confessions. It is fascinating to see her from another perspective – through the eyes of those who knew her. We find that she is every bit as lovable, as intriguing and spirited as she is in her diary.
It is interesting to note that Anne believed people saw her as light hearted and frivolous but didn’t know of her deeper more serious side. This appears to be the case according to those who knew her. They found her appealing, delightfully fun loving but did not get to know the depth of her thoughts.
The book is touchingly sad at times. Lee has researched Anne’s life to it’s very sad, early end in the concentration camps. To know the details of her suffering is painful but is important for those who wish to understand the holocaust and its significance. There is also the suffering of Anne’s father who has to endure the loss of his family. We learn of his difficulty in bringing himself to read his daughter’s diary and of his shock at finding that he hardly knew his daughter at all, so private and exclusive were her inner worlds and thoughts. We are privy to information about the conflicts of her family, the struggles for safety from the Nazi’s which preceded even Anne’s birth – all of which shed much light on her brief but beautiful life. This is a book not to be missed for all who love Anne Frank.