HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

The Little Prisoner (2005)

by Jane Elliott, Andrew Crofts (Ghostwriter)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3362076,630 (3.57)2
An inspirational true story of a 4 year old girl who fell into the power of a man whose evil knew no bounds. She encountered terrifying mental and physical torture from her psychopathic stepfather for a period of 17 years until she managed to break free, her spirit still unbroken Jane Elliott fell into the hands of her sadistic and brutal stepfather when she was 4 years old. Her story is both inspiring and horrifying. Kept a virtual prisoner in a fortress-like house and treated to daily and ritual abuse, Jane nonetheless managed to lose herself in a fantasy world which would keep her spirit alive. Equally as horrifying as the physical abuse Jane suffered, were the mental games her tormentor played - getting his kicks from seeing Jane humiliated, confused, crushed and defeated at every turn. Her family and neighbourhood were all terrified of Jane's stepfather so no-one held out a rescuing hand. So Jane had to help herself. When she was 21 she ran away with her baby daughter and boyfriend to start a new life in hiding. Several years on she found the courage to go to the police. A court case followed where Jane bravely stood up against the unrepentant aggressor she so feared. He was jailed for 17 years. Jane's family took his side.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 2 mentions

English (19)  Dutch (1)  All languages (20)
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
This was a very hard book for me to read. At first I did not really understand why she let him do that to her even when she was an adult but then I started thinking of her family. Real white trash. They terrorized the neighborhood and everyone was scared of them.
We have families like that in The Netherlands too and people do not dare to complain cause they know they will be punished for it later.
What annoyed me mostly was that the mom got off free. No punishment at all while in truth it was mainly her fault. A mom is the one that should protect a child when there is no father or if a dad is abusive. if you cannot count on your mom, who can you trust? ( )
  Marlene-NL | Apr 12, 2013 |
Harrowing memoir. ( )
  bookalover89 | Jun 27, 2012 |
A horrible story. When it was chosen as our book club book the chooser did not realise it was on this subject. I have read similar books and am always apalled and horrified, I admire the courage of the author to relive the experience and hope it helps them but I do not widh to ever read this type of book again. ( )
  karensaville | Jun 19, 2010 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This book was a hard read. The frank look at abuse in many forms took me awhile to read because of the subject matter. I, like others, linked this book to A Child Called It, but the sustained nature of the abuse and the difference in types makes it a separately worthy book. ( )
  Pyrex | Nov 6, 2009 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I lent this book out before reading it myself. The person begged of me to not read it after finishing it themselves - they knew like the author of this book I had been through much abuse. My copy being an Early Reviewer book, I did read it...and found myself struggling so greatly to write a single thing about it. I deeply connected to it, a book which felt most severely real and full of fear. It brought back my own painful memories. Like others my mind flies to The Child Called It when it rests on this book, one of a sadly true tale of a girl who grows into a young woman all the while undergoing severe abuse. I'm not sure that it will help others take a stand against those who hurt them. I do however feel that it may do something about the public's awareness of these things. I give my thanks to Elliott for this and wish her much strength. ( )
  Kerian | Jul 7, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Jane Elliottprimary authorall editionscalculated
Crofts, AndrewGhostwritermain authorall editionsconfirmed
Verbeek, AnnemarieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Evil is unspectacular and always human,

and shares our bed and eats at our table.

--W. H. Auden
Dedication
First words
When people talk about evil they are usually thinking of mass murderers like the fictional Hannibal Lecter or dictators like Adolf Hitler, but for most of us our actual encounters with evil are more mundane.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

An inspirational true story of a 4 year old girl who fell into the power of a man whose evil knew no bounds. She encountered terrifying mental and physical torture from her psychopathic stepfather for a period of 17 years until she managed to break free, her spirit still unbroken Jane Elliott fell into the hands of her sadistic and brutal stepfather when she was 4 years old. Her story is both inspiring and horrifying. Kept a virtual prisoner in a fortress-like house and treated to daily and ritual abuse, Jane nonetheless managed to lose herself in a fantasy world which would keep her spirit alive. Equally as horrifying as the physical abuse Jane suffered, were the mental games her tormentor played - getting his kicks from seeing Jane humiliated, confused, crushed and defeated at every turn. Her family and neighbourhood were all terrified of Jane's stepfather so no-one held out a rescuing hand. So Jane had to help herself. When she was 21 she ran away with her baby daughter and boyfriend to start a new life in hiding. Several years on she found the courage to go to the police. A court case followed where Jane bravely stood up against the unrepentant aggressor she so feared. He was jailed for 17 years. Jane's family took his side.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Alum

Jane Elliott's book Little Prisoner: A Memoir was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.57)
0.5
1 3
1.5 1
2 11
2.5
3 17
3.5 5
4 29
4.5 2
5 16

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,186,946 books! | Top bar: Always visible