This unique blend of fact-based characters and inspired storytelling will appeal especially to readers who enjoy an...
Short, action-packed chapters convincingly portray the sights, smells, and sounds of lower-class Elizabethan England in 1593.
Rescued from servitude and on the run from the cutthroat Gamaliel Ratsey, young Tom finds himself adrift in the bustling and dangerous city of London. Befriended by expert pickpocket Moll Cutpurse, he lands a job as an apprentice actor with a troop of mysterious men who have been hired to perform a comedy for the queen. Increasingly suspicious of his fellow actors, Tom risks his own life to save that of the aging queen, resulting in an astonishing discovery for them both. Sinister criminals, good-hearted ne'er-do-wells, and Shakespeare himself are all described with sly touches of whimsy that adds to the story's appeal.
This unique blend of fact-based characters and inspired storytelling will appeal especially to readers who enjoy an imaginative, no-holds-barred approach to historical fiction. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23432-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999
In a carefully researched novel set in the medieval period, the author of The Midwife’s Apprentice (1996 Newbery winner) depicts another vivid heroine, left alone to make her place in the world. Having been raised motherless in a fine manor under the tutelage of Father Leufredus, Matilda has learned to read and write Greek and Latin and to pray seven times a day. When the priest leaves her with Red Peg, the bonesetter in Blood and Bone Alley, Matilda disapproves of her new home, her new “mentor” and the requirements of her new job . . . which include tending the fire, cooking, restraining patients, and helping set bones rather than reading, writing, and praying. Gradually Matilda sees the truth: that Father Leufredus will never return, that he never spoke of God’s love, and that she was lonely in her former home. She acknowledges the goodness of those who make up her new community, especially the strong women like Peg, with their clever fingers and common sense, whose lives are hard but who laugh more than they frown . . . women who contrast with the men whom Matilda has been conditioned to hold in deference. At the conclusion Matilda comes to terms with the fact that she cannot predict her own future but “. . . whatever it was she believed she could do.” This has much to commend it: a robust setting, the author’s deft way with imagery (Peg’s decent face is “beslobbered with freckles”) and an impressive command of medieval medical detail. It is laced with humor, in part due to the structural connective tissue formed by the saint’s scornful answers to Matilda’s unceasing prayerful pleas. But in the end, Matilda herself comes off, as the saints themselves conclude, as a rather tiresome prig whose journey towards self-discovery, while rich in incident, may not hold quite enough overall plot tension to compel every reader. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-88156-0
Page Count: 166
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This remarkable book tells the true story of a courageous young princess who grew to be a military leader and hero. Set in 16th-century Congo and enriched with vivid descriptions of the jungle, the story unfolds through the journal writings of Nzingha, who is 13 and about to be chosen for marriage. Nzingha yearns for the attention of her father, the leader of the Mbundu people, and fervently wishes to join him on a hunt. Nzingha is chastised for her impetuous and spirited ways, but ultimately earns her father’s praise. The defining factor of their lives, however, is the constant encroachment of their enemy, the Portuguese. As her father’s faith in her grows, Nzingha is entrusted to negotiate with the Portuguese Governor, who offers peace if her people will supply slaves to the Portuguese. She discovers that these slaves are shipped to Brazil, where they are worked often to death. When Nzingha decides to advise her father against this bargain, she is kidnapped. Folks are not what they seem through the twists and exciting turns the story suddenly takes. The journal ends with Nzingha’s safe return and marriage, but the epilogue goes on to give a synopsis of her lifelong fight to save her people from slavery and domination. With photos, woodcuts, and maps the reader is able to get a very accurate picture of this leader, who is still honored in present day Angola and Brazil. McKissack (Color Me Dark, p. 637, etc.) has written a stunning and thoroughly researched addition to the Royal Diaries series. (epilogue, historical note, family tree, photos, maps, pronunciation guide, glossary) (Historical fiction. 8-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-11210-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
