Unwillingly to Earth

by Pauline Ashwell

Book Overview

Raised on a rough miner's planet thousands of light years away from civilization, Lizzie Lee is tricked into accepting a scholarship to the most prestigious university in the galaxy. Original. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812519299
• ISBN13: 9780812519297
• Release Date: August 1992
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.3" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A near-classic except for the middle section...

Back in 1992, I eagerly bought this after stumbling upon it in the bookstore because I'd recently read Piers Anthony's "Uncollected Stars" (1986) anthology, which included "Unwillingly to School"(1958) by "Paul Ashwell". "Unwillingly to Earth" is basically a collection of the four "Lizzie Lee" stories written by Pauline Ashwell, the pseudonym of British writer Pauline Whitby (1928-), over a 30-year span. "Unwilling" and the last story in the collection "The Lost Kafoolazum" (1960) were both Hugo-nominated and deservedly so. Both are delightful to read (and re-read). Decades later, Ashwell returned to Lizzie Lee with "Rats in the Moon" (1982) and "Fatal Statistics" (1988), which take place between "Unwilling" and "Lost". Unfortunately, these stories are merely good, not great..part of the problem is that Ashwell had partially lost the character's unique voice during the decades-long gap between stories...if the middle-part was as good as the beginning and end, then this would be a classic of the first-order. It's too bad that Whitby didn't write more SF. Her other "novel", Project Farcry, is really a collection as well...

And now for something completely different!

The other reviewer compares Lizzie Lee to Anne of Green Gables. I can see that, if you also throw in the Perils of Pauline. Lizzie is 19 years old when the book begins and 24 when it ends.She is one of those girls that things just seem to happen around. Raised on a remote planet, our intrepid Lizzie finds herself in several interesting, if unintentional, situations.First, she goes to the city to be with her father (who is in the hospital) and finds herself working in a seedy bar and charming the customers out of getting drunk and fighting. Then she finds herself reluctantly whisked away to college on Earth. Lizzie is reluctant because she has a reading disability. She manages to get by until the disability is discovered and help is provided. Her remaining undergraduate years are full of hard work, interrupted by field trips off planet where she gets into all sorts of trouble and winds up saving the day. Told in the first person in a unique, disjointed style, I would also recommend this as a "young adult" novel. There is no sex or extreme violence and only a mild romance thrown in at the end. Read it and enjoy.

Willingly Read

One of the best sf books I have ever read. Perfect for someone who is just getting their feet wet in this genre. Okay, have to admit, much more of a girly book and not as tech-oriented as traditional sf but great story and told well. Waiting for Pauline Ashwell to come out with a sequel but not sure how well it did with readers/buyers. In some crazy way, reminds me of Anne of Green Gables/Fire & Hemlock sort of read. Perhaps I am insane. Yes. That must be it. But please support this author and read this book making it popular and thus creating demand for a second book.