If only Jill C. Wheeler had had such high aspirations as a Lloyd Alexander character. They, at least, wanted to do great things.

This is a children's biography, and of course we shouldn't expect either the depth or the documentation of a biography intended for adults. But consider: If anyone is reading a bio of Alexander, there is at least an 80% chance it's because the young person read and loved the Chronicles of Prydain, which stand head and shoulders above Alexander's other books. And each volume of the Chronicles is, I would guess, at least five times the length of this book, and collectively the series is more than two dozen times as long. The Chronicles are also written at a higher reading level. And even Alexander's lesser works are generally longer and more demanding than this biography.

In other words, anyone interested in Alexander could have appreciated and used a fuller, more serious biography. If nothing else, tell about all the scrapes he got himself into. And his war experiences. And don't just say that his wife was French; tell us how he became involved with this older, foreign woman! As well as about Alexander's interesting opinions about how the world could be a better place.

Alexander was not the major literary figure that, say, J. R. R. Tolkien was, despite many deep similarities between their most important works. Books about him and his work aren't common -- there is a "bio-bibliography," and Michael O. Tunnell produced The Prydain Companion. There are a few histories and books of criticism which place his works in the context of the history of fantasy, and he has been the subject of a few articles in Mythlore. A thin corpus of criticism -- far less than has been written about, say, Tolkien or C. S. Lewis or Ursula K. LeGuin. There are, as best I can tell, just two biographies -- this and Jill P. May's volume in the Twayne's United States Authors Series (cleverly entitled Lloyd Alexander). The latter didn't impress me either -- but at least it's a real biography, with index and a bibliography of sources cited and a (very small) set of endnotes. I didn't notice anything in Wheeler's book that isn't in May's, except for a few books that Alexander published after May published her book. (This was probably the last chance for a real Alexander bio; it was written when Alexander was alive but in his seventies. But there is absolutely no quality research or insight to this book!) So it's simple. Don't get this. If you want an Alexander bio, get May's. End of story. ( )