First, I will mention that I have the 1985 re-print of the book, purchased in 2003 from Amazon. "Teacher" was originally published in 1955. This reprint has a plain blue cover, and it did not have a dust jacket. The photos appear to be photo-copies of originals. One of the reasons that this book is significant is because of personal clues that it reveals. For example, Annie had a ferocious temper - even with Helen. She was a perfectionist who pushed Helen to do or try to do many very difficult things. She wanted Helen to speak like a hearing person and pushed her to practice extensively. Helen tried, but because of her severe hearing loss, was never able to cultivate a voice that was as clear and "sweet" as Annie wanted it to be. Annie also was determined that Helen should be the best at everything she attempted including the best scholar at Radcliffe College. She forbade Helen to read books that were of questionable literary value. Helen, however, did not seem to suffer from these pressures in a lasting way - maybe due to her naturally accepting and gentle nature.
Another reason that this book is important is that it shows how and what Helen thought about her life and Annie. Both Annie and Helen were very gifted in the use of language. This shared modality fostered and colored their communications and their vision of life. It became their means of earning a living in the forms of lectures and writing.
Helen's writings about her "Teacher" show that she adored, respected, worried about and loved Annie. She mourned the fact that Annie did not receive more of the credit for Helen's success. This book makes clear, on the other hand, that the teacher had an extremely apt student. It was a partnership between two women who loved one another, who were both very bright, who had very different temperments, and who became a family.
There are two other must reads for the Annie Sullivan/Helen Keller scholar. Both have more and better photos of Helen and Annie. One is "Anne Sullivan Macy" by Nella Braddy Henney. Braddy was a contemporary and friend of Helen and Annie. This book provides a very sympathetic version of their lives. "Helen and Teacher" by Peter Lash is probably more objective. It shows them in a somewhat less heroic way. Together these two biographies provide a rather complete picture of Annie and Helen as they were.
