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WORK TITLE: The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr
WORK NOTES: pub’s in UK as The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://francesmaynard.co.uk/
CITY: Dorset, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/frances-maynard
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: a daughter.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and educator. Teaches English part time to adults with learning difficulties.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Frances Maynard teaches English part time to adults with learning disabilities, including Asperger syndrome. In her debut novel, The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr, published in England as The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr, Maynard tells the story of a young woman who strongly believes in rules and who finds herself facing a wider world where the rules do not always seem so ironclad. It turns out that twenty-seven-year-old Elvira Carr has not had to deal much with the outside world because her domineering mother has kept her safely at home after Elivra had several “incidents.” However, when her seventy-two-year-old mother has a stroke and is sent to a nursing home, Elvira suddenly finds herself on her own, and the only help she receives from her mother is the repetition of the phrase “Not that Way!”
To cope, Elvira develops seven basic rules, such as the idea that it is best not to look or sound different if you want to fit in and that people who are nice are not always your friend. Elvira is not at ease in the normal social world but receives help from her neighbor in navigating this world and the behavior of people referred to as “NormalTypicals.” Elvira has volunteered at the nursing home where her mother resides and also at the local zoo. Her problems arise with her trying to deal with the more formal, unwritten rules of society and the people around her. Meanwhile, Evira finds herself struggling in society even with the rules she has placed on herself. A major issue is to convince those around her that she is actually capable of taking care of herself. As time passes, Elvira begins questioning what she really knows about her own family, most specifically, her father. Her mother told her little about her deceased father and why he was absent for long stretches of time from home.
Maynard’s “portrait of Elvira’s inner life is nuanced,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor, who also noted that Maynard “draws on her professional experience for her … debut.” Online at the Sydney Morning Herald Kerryn Goldsworthy also noted Maynard’s use of her background in teaching educationally challenged adults to lend credibility to Elvira’s narration of the story. Nevertheless, she remarked that “some … may feel discomfort at what can seem like appropriation of a neuro-atypical voice.” Tracy Babiasz, writing for Booklist, observed that Elvira’s “authentic voice offers a fresh perspective on being different.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2017, Tracy Babiasz, review of The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr, p. 59.
Publishers Weekly, May 15, 2017, review of The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr, p. 32.
Xpress Reviews, June 23, 2017, Catherine Coyne, review of The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr.
ONLINE
Frances Maynard Website, http://francesmaynard.co.uk (February 20, 2018).
Sydney Morning Herald Online, http://www.smh.com.au (August 24, 2017), Kerryn Goldsworthy, “Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr Review: Frances Maynard’s Question of Voice.”
Frances teaches English part-time to adults with learning difficulties, including Asperger’s. She is married with one grown-up daughter and lives in Dorset.
The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr is Frances Maynards first novel. It was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping 2014 First Novel Award and shortlisted for both the 2016 Mslexia First Novel Competition and the Lucy Cavendish Prize. Frances teaches English, part-time, to adults with learning difficulties, including Aspergers. She is married with one grown-up daughter and lives in Dorset.
The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr
264.20 (May 15, 2017): p32+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr
Frances Maynard. Sourcebooks Landmark,
$15.99 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-1-4926-4927-4
Maynard, who teaches adults with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, draws on her professional experience for her fiction debut. At age 27, neuro-atypical Elvira Carr has largely been sheltered from the outside world. When her well-meaning but overbearing mother is confined to a nursing home following a stroke, Elvira must unexpectedly learn to navigate an unfamiliar social landscape and her family history. Her next-door neighbor helps Elvira understand the often perplexing language and behavior of the "NormalTypicals" Elvira encounters during volunteer work at her mother's nursing home and at the local zoo, but Elvira is left to figure out many of the titular rules for social behavior on her own. Meanwhile, she begins to suspect that there may be more to the story of her now-deceased father's long absences during her childhood than she had previously been led to believe. The author's portrait of Elvira's inner life is nuanced, even if the "rules" structure at times hinders the narrative. Unfortunately, the reader is unlikely to be surprised by any of the story's revelations, which are unearthed through deliberate, near-plodding pacing. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr." Publishers Weekly, 15 May 2017, p. 32+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A492435596/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e72f8600. Accessed 12 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A492435596
The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr
Tracy Babiasz
113.17 (May 1, 2017): p59.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr. By Frances Maynard. July 2017.400p. Sourcebooks, paper, $15.99 (9781492649274).
Debut author Maynard never uses labels to describe Elvira Carr, a "different" young woman with a social awkwardness that causes her mother to isolate her from the rest of the community. When her mother suffers a stroke and is moved to a nursing home, Ellie constructs a plan for surviving on her own, creating seven rules to help her fit into a world she doesn't always understand. Initially frustrated that the rules don't always seem to work, Ellie struggles to find her place and convince those around her that she can care for herself, but she soon discovers that the people who count don't need her to change. Maynard paints a charming character in Ellie that will make readers smile and occasionally want to take her under a protective arm. Ellie's narration grabs readers' hearts by placing them in the middle of her anxiety about doing the right thing. The inevitable comparisons to Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project (2013) and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Be Frank with Me (2016) are natural, but Ellies authentic voice offers a fresh perspective on being different.--Tracy Babiasz
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Babiasz, Tracy. "The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr." Booklist, 1 May 2017, p. 59. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495035077/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=af5044a6. Accessed 12 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495035077
[STAR]Maynard, Frances. The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr
Catherine Coyne
(June 23, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
[STAR]Maynard, Frances. The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr. Sourcebooks. Jul. 2017. 400p. ISBN 9781492649274. pap. $15.99; ebk. ISBN 9781492649281. F
[DEBUT] At 27, Elvira Carr has led an extremely sheltered life owing to the "incidents" caused by her "condition." Readers will quickly realize that Elvira is someone on the autism spectrum and will be reminded of Don Tillman in Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project. When her mother suffers a stroke and ends up in a nursing home, Elvira is suddenly thrust into a world she finds quite alien. Arming herself with a list of seven rules and the help of next-door neighbor Sylvia, Elvira is determined to survive. Some rules are easier to follow than others. A shopping trip with Sylvia goes a long way toward Rule #2: "If you look or sound different you won't fit in." Others take some time to understand, such as Rule #5: "Not everyone who is nice to me is my friend." In the end, Elvira follows her rules to a new life.
Verdict Debut novelist Maynard puts her background as a teacher of adults with learning difficulties to good effect in crafting this heartwarming coming-of-age story. Perfect for book clubs and for readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Be Frank with Me.--Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Coyne, Catherine. "[STAR]Maynard, Frances. The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr." Xpress Reviews, 23 June 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500135129/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=3adc58b2. Accessed 12 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A500135129
AUGUST 24 2017
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Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr review: Frances Maynard's question of voice
Kerryn Goldsworthy
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http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/seven-imperfect-rules-of-elvira-carr-review-frances-maynards-question-of-voice-20170818-gxz1kk.html
The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr. By Frances Maynard.
The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr. By Frances Maynard. Photo: Supplied
The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr
Frances Maynard
Mantle, $29.99
Elvira Carr is 27 and lives at home with her overbearing mother. Elvira is neuro-atypical, and seems to suffer from some form of high-functioning autism. When her clever, bitter, controlling 72-year-old mother is felled by a stroke and ends up in a nursing home unable to say anything except her favourite phrase – "Not that way!" – Elvira must learn to live independently or be put into care herself. Since Elvira is the narrator, we see everything from her angle and get some insight into her troubles and anxieties as well as into her sweet nature. Frances Maynard has worked in the field of learning difficulties, so the reader has some confidence in her representation of a character such as Elvira, but as with other novels like this, some readers may feel discomfort at what can seem like appropriation of a neuro-atypical voice.