Sarah Clare Hartley, (Age 14)
Boclair Academy, Bearsden
Eagle of the Ninth, a powerful adventure-mystery novel by Rosemary Sutcliff, will always be prominent in my memory because of its original plot, colourful characters and most importantly, the interesting way that the author uses them to discuss the eternally relevant theme of imperialism and government versus freedom and individualism.
The novel is set around the year 130 AD in Britain and stars a young Roman soldier named Marcus who has been dismissed from the legions after a battle that has left him lame. However, this injury is not the only thing Marcus has to contend with as he is still haunted by the disappearance of his father’s legion after they marched North from York twelve years before, never to be seen or heard of again. With them they carried an eagle, the standard of the legions, and as every Roman knows “Eagle lost – honour lost; honour lost – all lost” so naturally Marcus feels it is his duty as a son to reclaim his father’s dignity and bring the eagle back home. On top of his personal concern the young Roman also feels obliged to accept the task for the protection of his nation because, if the Caledonian tribes had the standard they could use it as a rallying point for an uprising, turning it into a weapon against its own makers. So, one day in the beginning of summer Marcus sets forth from his uncle’s house in Calleva Atrebatus (Silchester), where he has been staying, with only his recently-freed Brigantian slave Esca for company, on a daring and dangerous mission to set himself free.
The events of the novel all ring true because the story was written around two real mysteries; one of which is obviously that of the Ninth Legion’s disappearance and the other is that of the story behind a wingless Roman eagle found near Silchester by twentieth century archaeologists. The author’s clever combination of the two really brings the story to life for me, particularly as I have family in York and already know the legend behind it, that city being, as the author says “more than a little ghost ridden by the Ninth Legion”.
The plot may also have something of realism about it because it was written by someone living around the time of the fall of the British Empire, who can therefore write with feeling and understanding about the dangers of great powers. In other words, the novel not only gives us an insight into the Roman period but also echoes what people may have been feeling in post-war Britain. Sutcliff is warning us that history repeats itself and that something that seems at the moment very strong may grow weak and fall just like both the Roman and the British Empires.
The book not only links with the more recent past but also with the present as the situation that the characters are in is quite similar to that of people in Northern Ireland today. For both the people in the book and the population of Ireland there is mainly peace politically speaking but the ordinary people are all still living with scars from the past and strong prejudices still survive in some areas. Rosemary Sutcliff shows that friction exists in her book through the different situations, backgrounds and restrictions of her three main characters, Marcus, Esca and Cottia, a fiery red-headed Romano-British girl that lives in the villa next door to Marcus’s.
Each character has a different psychology towards the subject of imperialism and freedom. Cottia was brought up in a British household but after her father’s death she was sent to live with a Roman aunt and uncle. She is very committed towards her father and other people who show her kindness but can make life difficult for those who get in the way of her doing what she wants. Cottia finds that, because she is both female and a child, society is not very interested in her strong points of view. Cottia fiercely objects to anything being kept in “cages” and feels that she herself is “shut up behind brick walls”. Marcus is a solder; he has been brought up to have a strong sense of duty not only towards his family, or even his particular legion, but also to the Roman Empire as a whole. He is used to a position of authority but is conscious of responsibility towards others as well. However, because of his past and his lameness Marcus feels that his freedom of career choices for the future is limited.
In comparison, Esca has been brought up as a hunter with his sense of duty stretching to the boundaries of his family and their tribe. Esca has been made a slave and has no choice as far as major decisions are concerned. A conversation between Marcus and Esca that illustrates their differences in opinion particularly well begins when Marcus asks:
“These things that Rome had to give, are they not good things?” Marcus demanded. “Justice, and order, and good roads; worth having, surely?” “These be all good things Esca agreed, “but the price is too high”.
Marcus asks for an explanation of this so his friend compares the formal decoration of a Roman dagger sheath to an informally patterned yet beautiful shield boss made by a Celtic man. He then goes on to say that his people “do not understand” the Romans because:
“All these things are of ordered pattern, and only the free curves of the shield-boss are real to us. We do not understand. And when the time comes that we begin to understand your world too often we lose the understanding of our own”.
This is one example of the way that Sutcliff allows the reader to see both Roman and Celtic outlooks despite the fact that most of the story is seen through Marcus’s Roman eyes. I particularly like this because it is one of the few books I have read where the hero’s enemies are not portrayed as evil but instead as just looking at the world through a slightly different lens. The author also points out that because Esca and Marcus have separate cultures it does not stop them from becoming friends.
However, cultural difference is not the only thing that stands in the way of friendship because people’s individual characters affect the way they act too. Once again the author demonstrates that freedom is complicated by showing how people react to their situations. For example Cottia has a very quick temper and could be described as never feeling or saying anything half-heartedly; this limits her decisions when it comes to accepting people. An illustration of this is that, although she has been brought up in a Roman household, because when was born an Iceni she declares that she “hates-hates-hates” everything Roman.
Esca also has difficulty accepting his situation as a slave because he is a very proud man. This pride means that when a tribune reprimands Esca for risking his life on a hunt because a slave’s life was not “his own to hazard as he wills”, Esca is cut very deeply. He returns home and says to Marcus:
“I forgot it was my masters property that I risked,”
To which Marcus replies horrified,
“Do I have to tell you in so many words that I really do not imagine a clipped ear to be the dividing-line between men and beasts? Have I not shown you clearly enough all this while? I have not thought of equal or unequal, slave or free in my dealings with you, though you were too proud to do the same for me!”
Ultimately, the barriers that face all the characters, although significant, do not restrict any of them from making the decision as regards whether they show respect towards one another. This comes through because an important element of Marcus is that, unlike some of the other Romans, he wants not only to be kinds to Esca and Cottia but also to understand them and to be understood in return. For instance, he uses shared feelings of family loyalty to explain to Cottia why he has to go after the eagle,
“It was my father’s eagle,” Marcus told her, feeling instinctively that it would make sense to her”
During the course of the book all the characters overcome some of their restrictions. Marcus is set free from the past by reclaiming his father’s eagle, Esca is set free from slavery and Cottia begins to grown up and grasp that she can use her thoughts and feelings to her advantage. However, the author points out that, as in real life, some boundaries still remain. She tells the reader that in cases such as these we just have “to learn to carry our scars lightly.”
At the end of the book each of the characters is free to make a choice as regards whether they will stay with each other or not, for, as every hunter knows,
“You could tame a wild thing, but never count it as truly won until, being free to return to its own kind, it chose to come back to you”
Sutcliff keeps her characters true to themselves because Marcus, Cottia and Esca all make the decision to remain together independently and in a way that is in perfect accordance with their natures. Esca adopts Marcus as an elder brother figure and decides to serve him in the way that he would traditionally have done in the tribes.
“I am your armour-bearer though I am no longer your slave, I will serve you, and you shall feed me.”
Cottia decides to marry Marcus and because she is given to extremely strong feelings she declares she does not care whether he takes her somewhere that before she openly despised,
“Oh Marcus take me too!”
“Even if it were to Rome?” Marcus said remembering her old wild hatred of all things Roman. Cottia slipped from the bench, and turned to him as he got up also, “Yes”, she said, “Anywhere at all if only it was with you.”
When Marcus is given the chance to go back to Rome he declines it because:
“All his life he would remember his own hills, sometimes he would remember them with longing; but Britain was his home. That came to him, not as a new thing, but as something so familiar that he wondered why he had not known it before.”
I think all of these passages are both important and moving because they show us that the characters have not only accepted each other’s ideals but are also prepared to alter their own a little friendship and love. It is my belief that these passages demonstrate that Marcus has benefited more, both physically and mentally, through getting to know and understand Esca and Cottia, than all the other Romans have done by force. For me this point is the most significant of all the things that Rosemary Sutcliff is trying to say – she wants us to understand that we understand that we stand to gain most by extending the hand of friendship to our fellow man and getting to know them for our similarities before we even begin to discuss our differences. In the author’s own words,
“Between the formal pattern on his dagger-sheath and the formless yet potent beauty of the shield-boss lay all the difference that could lie between the two worlds. And yet between individual people, people like Esca, and Marcus and Cottia, the distance narrowed so that you could reach across it, one to another, so that all else ceased to matter.”
There are only two things that remain for me to say; one is that I hope people continue to read and fall in love with Eagle of the Ninth as I have done. There other is that I think that it would make a fantastic film because in addition to the psychological side of the novel, there are also some amazing battles and terrifying chase scenes that would be even better that they are in the book if they were brought to life on the screen.
Sri Budhi Utami (Age 14)
Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen
Flash! Boom! Bang! Special effects and the latest technological gadgets governed the entertainment sector of our daily lives in television and other gadgets and even in fiction books, prose are found to be laden with television, stereos, infra-red goggles and other modern merchandising of the twenty-first century. However, these paraphernalia we seem to have obtained over the last few years, seem to provide no sense of significance that goes beyond the fighting sequences. Historical novel can make as great impact as any roundhouse kicks in any action novels, in abstract ways as well as actions but in a deeper understanding. Historical novels are capable of testing the readers’ morale and question their beliefs of what is ‘right’ in our time and in their time. A good example of such historical novel is Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. In my opinion, it is vital that this story it is set during the gold rush of the 1800s in San Francisco, as it is a significant era of the American modern history where materialistic love for gold can bring the worst and best of the human nature. It is also because the writer addresses issues, such as racism, corruption and loss of innocence that we can relate to today in explicit and sincere yet sophisticated manner. In this novel the Isabel Allende has created tragedies and conflicts which creates an explosion of emotions in the minds of readers for the characters involved, in striking description which evokes emotions such as sympathy. Isabel Allende has created a novel that had caught the attention of thousands of readers, including mine, to weep and wonder at what the characters have to endure during the course of the novel, and how in the end, the author resolved all ‘loose ends’ and sums up the story in a striking ending.
From the first page, the beginning can be deceitfully mistaken to what I assume is the conventional “fairy tale” in the beginning, where the heroine falls in love with the handsome stranger and sets out on a death-defying journey to meet him. However when reading further on and understanding the story, it is far from what I figure the plot would be, which is one of the many points I thought makes the novel successful. The story is set across three countries; in the country of Chile in South America, during the time of the ‘gold rush’ of the American city San Francisco in the 1800s and the country of China, but also revolving around the ‘gold rush’ of San Francisco around 1849, when the events build up to a significant era of the development of San Francisco and the east coast of China. There were some references to the historical events that unfolded during the time in which the story was set, in turn influencing the environment and a character’s experiences. Chileans and Mexicans who immigrated to San Francisco have played an important role in San Franciscan history in nineteenth century America; Chileans, Mexicans and other non-European ethnic groups faced hardship of being exploited as slaves once they had arrived in America, the earliest known fact of the aptly named 'Bright Lights' syndrome, a case where the immigrants see the city or area as a 'step up' to better future, but instead they found the exact opposite. Life around mining town is considered rough, when in an article "The California Gold Rush, 1849" of the EyeWitness to History, the author described the environment as having ‘a great deal of sin and wickedness’.
This is true in the way Isabel Allende described the events Eliza experienced during her disguise as Elias Andieta or ‘Chile Boy’. There she interacted with a ‘pimp and bodyguard’ Babalu the Bad, whilst working at a brothel that also served as a hospital at one time. It is interesting to note that Allende described the environment, described above, as normal as a walk in the park, when this matter, today, would be considered blasphemy or unorthodox. In China, the Opium war took place during Tao Chi’en’s youth in the 1840s, where China had to admit defeat to the British naval fleet and paid a sum equivalent to twenty-one million dollars and ‘yield Hongkong to them’, the British navy. This created several background and atmosphere for the story to set, influencing the set of events that unfolded in Tao Chi’en’s life. This was when he noticed the deterioration of his physician master after witnessing the gradual fall of the Chinese empire, quoted as such,
“The degrading defeat of his venerated emperor and saw the economy and moral of his nation sag.”
This was a consequence of China’s defeat in the eyes of the Chinese. Another fact was when ‘masses of humanity poured from the countryside and appeared with their tatters and pustules in the cities’, an apt description of the devastation created upon the Chinese civilisation from the loss of the Chinese government to the British power. The Chinese people were also among the immigrants that arrived in San Francisco. The international connections create different dimensions to the story, as culture and language influence the origin of characters and historical events set the scene. This is true in one instance, as language helped Eliza to earn a living and survive in the harsh environment of mining towns to her best usage as Allende described, Eliza has a knack at turning ‘a situation in her favour’. There is so much history involved that readers can feel as if we are in another time, where we can see what it is like to live there, to experience the atmosphere and the events that unfolded first hand.
The heroine, Eliza Sommers, is not the conventional aristocrat we are accustomed to portray in our minds; an elegant hostess, dressed in gowns and constricted by corsets to enhance beauty, who was often seen at balls. Eliza, in fact, had been the illegitimate product of an affair of Captain John Sommers on his many voyages, and had been adopted by Miss Rose Sommers, a relative, as her own daughter. This is a shocking piece of information, as illegitimate relationship were forbidden both today and in the 1800s. For this reason, both Captain John Sommers and Miss Rose had kept this hidden from Eliza, preferring to let her indulge in the ‘fairy tale’ quoted at the beginning,
‘Eliza’s nightgown was worked with French knots and the sheets Brussels lace.’
This, however, was a complete contrast to the ‘naked girl in the crate’, the version of her Indian maid Mama Fresia. Furthermore, Eliza has many traits which I think makes her a remarkable character, from her appearance to her psychological state. Firstly, she had been described as a woman similar to ‘one of the porcelain dolls Captain Sommers brought from China’ during her transition from puberty to womanhood, a great contrast from a humorous description of Eliza in her childhood quoted as ‘an angular little bug’. This suggests a significant change from what she used to look like and adds an elegant gloss on Eliza’s appearance. There is so much difference between the descriptions, firstly from the clashing detailed description of Eliza in her cradle to her appearance as an adolescent and finally, to her final transformation as a woman. The contrasting pieces of information gradually builds up a complete picture in our minds of what Eliza’s appearance and background. Psychologically, Eliza has an uncommon curiosity for learning. For example, we learn that Eliza had a talent for smell, and so this helped her in the field of cooking and herbal medicine. This is shown when Allende described her knowledge for curing emotional as well as physical pain, when Eliza was quoted to have an uncommon knowledge for using ingredients such as ‘mustard for an indifference to everyday life’ and ‘hydrangea leaves for ripening tumours and restoring laughter’. She has learnt this from her friend and confidant, Mama Fresia, a wise local hired as the Sommers’ maid. This is profound in many ways, because in a way we as readers see it as a cherished gift and it aided Eliza to help in many ways, including her friend Tao Chi'en. It is also parallel to the profession of another character Eliza is close to, Tao Chi’en, a Chinese physician practising Chinese medicine. Eliza is unusual for a woman of her time also because she has a firm grounding in education surpassing most of the women her age in the story. This added to her credibility and psychological state, which Allende described as having ‘strength of character’ and an ‘ability to turn situations in her favour’. This created a sense attraction in a more in-depth manner, using intelligence rather than appearance; an unusual approach to creating characters in this era as there is a major contrast in many classic novels, where appearance outweighs intelligence. During Eliza’s childhood, readers had the possibility to discover parts of Eliza’s past, due to the clashing narrative of Mama Fresia and Miss Rose, and with Eliza’s gift for a ‘good sense of smell and a good memory’ makes it clear that Miss Rose had not been telling the truth. The fact that Eliza remembered that the scents she smelled the day she had been found were ‘not clean batiste sheets but wool, male sweat, and tobacco’ this had proven the narration of Miss Rose wrong and provided a clue to her past, as the ‘male sweat’ would have been the scent of her biological father, Captain Sommers. In the way Miss Rose has disguised the true events that unfolded, it is clear that Miss Rose had intended for Eliza to be unaware of her origins, fearing that the truth would be too traumatic for her.
As Eliza grows up to be an attractive woman, she had fallen in love to a stranger called Joaquin Andieta, which was to be one of the most significant aspect involved in twisting the whole plot to another ending we might expect. The love for Andieta drove Eliza to explore the length and breadth of America, an obsession readers such as I found ridiculous to imagine today. However, this kind of obsession can be found in history for a long time and so it is an important point to discuss is the different kinds of love involved in the story. There is such a wide range of ‘loves’, from materialistic love of gold to the emotional romantic love shared between Eliza and the elusive Joaquin Andieta that can keep readers such as I reading until the last word, because of the drama involved within each love. The characters share bonds, interconnecting with each other in striking detail, even though the characters originated from different cultures, they have similar experience and through these experiences, the characters develop bonds with each other. Tao Chi’en’s past as an apprentice of a ‘zhong yi’, a Chinese physician, who gave Tao Chi’en something he had previously never had before; a happy childhood. In turn, Tao Chi’en learned the art of Chinese medicine and furthermore, wisdom from his master. It is clear that Tao Chi’en learnt a great deal from the master and loved it, as Allende described Tao Chi’en through the eyes of his master,
‘He carried with him an obsession for learning that the master immediately recognised because it was identical to his own. He was besides, a sweet and entertaining lad..’
This description added to the fondness readers can relate to and whom readers can ‘trust’ that Tao Chi’en will be, simply described, one of the ‘good guys’ and proven this consistently in the novel. Throughout the novel, similar sets of events had unfolded to Tao Chi’en, the future zhong yi or physician. Tao Chi’en had led a parallel life compared to Eliza, suffering from the consequences of superficial love that had brought him and Lin, his bride, together because his love for bound feet, or ‘golden lilies’. This had brought consequences that signify the impermanence of physical love, but in the end, the ‘spirit’ of Lin had saved Eliza. Tao Chi’en’s ‘intention of beginning a new life’ turned sour with the death, and a significant lapse in his guard brought him to Eliza’s aid aboard her father’s ship. It is apparent that the Tao Chi’en loved his passion which replaced Lin’s love, as Tao Chi’en developed his passion for medicine throughout the novel, practising as a zhong yi, or a physician in America helping ‘fallen’ prostitutes from death.
The development of romantic love is apparent during the course of the novel, as Eliza had fallen in love with Joaquin Andieta, an elusive character, yet an important one, where his existence would carry Eliza from Chile to San Francisco and the length and breadth of America. It is a wonder that she would obsess over such a man such as Joaquin Andieta, whom had previously never been affected by romantic relationship between them, and so never professed his love for Eliza, preferring to indulge in the physical romance. This had also been a similar course of events that occurred to Miss Rose, who was similar yet different at the same time to Eliza. Miss Rose fell in love with a Viennese opera tenor Karl Bretzner, who would have preferred to indulge in physical love instead. This was apparent when Allende described the ‘procedure’ in which they did it,
‘The Viennese tenor had made a date with her, using the pretext of showing her the theatre that Tuesday when there was no performance.’
The description was blunt and detailed, which indicates how dispassionately 'fake' the Viennese tenor view the affair, merely using Miss Rose as another tool for indulgence. This is different with Miss Rose, because through this, she lost lost her virginity, a precious gift to lose. This had made Miss Rose cautious and wary of any signs of love, which makes her different to Eliza. This series of events happened to Eliza before Joaquin embarked on his adventure to San Francisco, in the hope that he would gain something from the ‘gold rush’. Through the search Eliza made to find Joaquin, she discovered the love for her freedom from the convention of Miss Rose’s upbringing. She had experienced a freedom in the nature where she had no worries for her manners by ‘being’ a man, this is quoted during a revealing moment where she had realised this,
‘Her fears had dissipated in the awesome grandeur of this landscape’
This is a significant moment where everything we expected is, as I figuratively put, turned 'upside-down'. Now the hunt for Joaquin does not seems to matter as much and Eliza’s experience is brought to focus. However, after everything that Eliza faced, in the end she was not able to see her love alive, but surprisingly she was happy that she had lost this ‘burden’ because by this time she had discovered passions unknown before, such as her love for freedom from 'burden's' such as love and boredom. Readers may dislike Joaquin Andieta because of the way he had treated Eliza and putting through Eliza in a hazardous quest to find him and in a way, he was put to justice by death, though for another reason. However, had Eliza not searched for Joaquin, she would not have felt the way she did when she saw Joaquin in the end; happy and care-free.
The most dramatic scene, I felt, was when Eliza found Joaquin in the end. Isabel Allende described the scene with such intensity, in which the head of Joaquin Murieta, or Joaquin Andieta’s disguise during his spell as a bandit as a result of the greed that came with the gold rush were shown in a glass jar for everyone to see. Allende created a sickening, yet dramatic spectacle to ‘test’ Eliza’s feelings, quoted as such,
‘They found themselves in a dark room badly lighted by yellow candles emitting a breath from the tomb. Black cloth covered the walls and in one corner a valiant pianist was thumping funereal chords with more resignation than real feelings. On a table draped like a catafalque sat two glass jars.’
This is a horrifying scene, with cruelty of the deed of the people who captured the bandits. This was carefully designed so that Eliza and the readers can openly react however they like and does not foreshadow any possible reactions. However, the next description confirms our expectation of what Eliza saw and her reaction, where the description quoted,
‘They stopped; she felt her friend’s grip grow stronger on hers; she gulped a mouthful of air and opened her eyes. She stared at the head for a few seconds and then let herself be led outside.’
This is a dramatic ending; one which would make a great impact abruptly yet dramatically. Our expectations are confirmed; Eliza had seen the head of Joaquin Andieta, her lover dead and impaled, this is an excellent way to let the readers know what had happened by letting them read ‘between the lines’. In a way, this punishment, had fit the crime Joaquin Andieta did; he was so full of pride that he had never loved Eliza and had left her pregnant of an illegitimate child near death far away from anyone familiar.
The novel, I felt, had every characteristic of a successful novel. The tragic demise of innocence and love paved a way to freedom and compassion is what I think is the main point being portrayed in this novel. The characters are as unique as the plot itself, where every landscape, scene and movement was described with such drama that the storyline is impossible to fail in amazing the readers of the life-like portrayal of the environment of every single character as special as if they are the main character of the novel. The dramatic impact this novel brings are through blends of the history the story is embedded in, the life-like characters whom we can vividly picture in reality, love and the length we would have gone through to express our love and the consequences, whether it be good or bad, that would happen as a result. It had shocked me, as a reader, to find the length Eliza Sommers had gone through to find Joaquin Andieta, and how the plot built up to dramatic climax and ending still amazes me that such an impact can be made through three single words: 'I am free', which is one of the main aspects of the novel that sums up the whole novel dramatically. Isabel Allende has created a masterpiece that left the readers pining for more; a true cliffhanger is present and this is a novel which would have outdone any action novel any day.
Amy Aitken (Age 12)
Bo'ness Academy
The novel Smith by Leon Garfield is a superb novel in which the writer makes his characters come alive. This is achieved by the use of many literary techniques. The author takes us through the “twists and turns” of the dark London alleyways at the turn of the eighteenth century. The central character is a twelve-year old boy who lives in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral. His name is Smith. He must survive in his horrible environment by working as a pick-pocket. He has gone through so much in his twelve years. It seems he has “dogged the smallpox’s consumption, brain fever gaol fever and even the hangman’s rope”. He also appears to be very good at what h e does: “He has a turn of speed that was remarkable”. We can imagine him dodge the law: “All his victims ever got of him was a whiff of cold air”. He lives in the cellar of a notorious and evil tavern:” The Red Lion Tavern is a very evil looking tumbledown structure, weather boarded on three sideband bounded on the fourth by the great fleet ditch, which stank and gurgled and gurgled and stank by day and night like the tavern itself”. I can imagine what terrible poverty and squalor he had to face in his daily life. Smith has two sisters, Miss Bridget and Miss Fanny.
The story revolves around Smith who, one day, pick-pockets and elderly gentleman. Among his finds is a document. Smith, having no education, is unable to read its content. Soon after Smith takes the document, he witnesses the old man being murdered by “two men in brown”. These characters come and go throughout the novel as they search for the document. We are never told what they look like or find out who they are until the end of the novel therefore creating tension as they hound Smith. Smith’s sisters are delighted with his find, however, as none can read, the contents is a mystery. Smith meets a wonderful character called Mr Mansfield, a retired magistrate who is blind. He takes Smith into his home, washes and clothes him. His young daughter, Miss Mansfield teaches Smith to read. It is interesting how Smith is learning to read to better his life financially but education changes him in many ways. He believes the document to be valuable. The writer highlights the theme of hope. This document could free Smith from poverty:
“For its neither more or less than a deed to property”.
The writer creates tension throughout the story. Mr Mansfield’s housekeeper mistakenly puts the document in with the paperwork of Mr Mansfield. There are many twists and turns as Smith tries to retrieve the document.
As Smith learns how to read, it is wonderful to see his personality change. He is going up in the world and content with himself. However, things never go well for long. Miss Mansfield’s boyfriend, Mr Billings, accuses Smith of killing the old man. Smith is taken to the gaol. A deal is struck between Smith and Mr Billings. Mr Billings is a solicitor and therefore someone who should uphold the law. Yet Smith is the thief but more honest in many ways. One of my favourite scenes is Smith’s escape from the gaol. The young boy must force himself along tight canals until he reaches the roof and freedom. The author uses the weather and personification to bring the scene alive: “Bruised and much fouled from his mourning, he crouched in the last bend and stared triumphantly up, fifteen feet above him hung the motionless veins of the wind-mill folded in the snow”. Once Smith is out on the rooftops the writer vividly describes the scene:” “Beyond the sky, grey and weighty and still dispensing its flakes which flickered down and down even kissing Smith’s upturned face”. I could imagine him tasting the snow and freedom: A gust of wind whipped a veil of snow across his vision”. The writer uses humour in his story. When Smith finally reaches the grounds of the prison he must hide underneath his sister’s big-hooped skirts. One very memorable scene takes place when Mr Billings orders the two men in brown to wait for Smith and capture him. As they come towards Smith we are told: “Then it was gone and the two swellings were most remarked. What were they? Heads. A pair of hands reached down grinning at him”.
The story also has a highwayman called Lord Tom. He is also a memorable character. The writer highlights the theme of betrayal for Lord Tom is Smith’s best friend but becomes involved in the plot to take the document from Smith. He is jealous of Smith’s find. In the end Lord Tom redeems himself by saving Smith’s life. The themes of jealousy and deception appear many times. Mr Billing’s is also jealous of Smith, not only because Smith has built up a close relationship with Miss Mansfield, his fiancée but he also wants the document. I like the way the writer shows deception. Mr Billings tells Smith: “I’ll help you if you tell me where the document is”. He is desperate for the document and will even use blackmail.
At the end of the novel the writer shows how important it is to be loyal. In a brilliant final scene, which takes place in a graveyard during a heavy snowstorm, Smith has the opportunity to escape but instead he stays with the blind Mr Mansfield. He will not abandon him in the snow: “Here, here then. Not me hands, you isn’t alone Mister Mansfield – nor never was I”. From the opening of the novel Smith has gone from being a pick-pocket to a loyal friend. His adventures took him from the dirt and squalor of the tavern to learning how to read, then the gaol for a crime he did not commit and finally, to the real friendship of Mr Mansfield.
I have learned that being rich doesn’t change your personality and that even if you are a thief it doesn’t necessarily make you a bad and horrible person. I mean, Smith was a pick-pocket but he was perhaps the most kind and loyal character in the novel. Mr Billings, on the other hand, was a cold-hearted killer who pretended to be good.
I really enjoyed Smith and hope that there are many more books written in such a wonderful style with unforgettable descriptions and techniques to bring the characters to life.
Richard Danks
Age 14
Thomas Muir High School, Bishopbriggs
Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan
“Now, his heart lifted as he saw the fire in Essie, that surviving spirit in her coal-bright eyes. He needed her spark.”
These are the words which I recollect in my mind every time I feel down or something goes against me. I see Essie’s eyes shining behind her dirty face and I have the power to go on: to survive. This is what Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan is all about. How we can get by against all the odds and fulfil our dreams and ambitions. And this is what drew me into this book from the beginning. Although their mother has died at the hands of a famous surgeon and their father has left, brother and sister Robbie and Essie, living in a cruel Edinburgh in 1828, can survive. And although the lure of alcohol, two body snatchers and money come between them, Robbie and Essie can survive. This is what Nicola Morgan is trying to tell us as we read this book and I believe she has succeeded magnificently.
The story of Fleshmarket is this. Robbie is living in Edinburgh in 1828 with his sister Essie. His mother has died during surgery performed by a surgeon called Dr Robert Knox and his father has left them. Then Robbie sees the surgeon, Dr Knox, who he believes killed his mother. He is angry, more than angry, furious with this man for taking away the life he could have had and vows to bring Knox down. Robbie then somehow gets caught up with murderers Burke and Hare, to earn some easy money. But he then realises that what he is doing is wrong and turns in Burke and Hare. He is nearly hung with them and escapes only because they keep their mouths shut. In the end, Robbie finds that Dr Knox is sorry. Robbie can now move on to a better life.
What I think really makes this book work is the setting. The way the author describes Edinburgh makes it come alive in our heads. We see ‘Knox’s Edinburgh’ in the New Town with big houses and clean streets, and we see ‘Robbie and Essie’s Edinburgh’ in the Old Town where rats run riot and the stench of human waste predominates. The setting makes the story ‘real’ and like it really could have happened. And it could have. As Nicola Morgan explains in the About the Author section, the story was inspired by a visit to Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh after which she thought ‘What if…?’
Furthermore, aside from the excellent setting and plot, the authorial techniques used in Fleshmarket left me in awe. The imagery really puts you in the picture. For example, “flickering over the strings like spider’s legs” or “the dwarfed figure of herself pinned on the table in the room below, like a beautiful but damaged butterfly specimen not quite dead” or “…the High Street smiling with people in their Sunday best.” All these examples show how a picture can be formed in our minds by a few choice words. Sound techniques also help to make the book a success. The alliteration featured helps with the mood. “Robbie sank into the song the violin sang.” It creates a feeling of ease and calm. A last feature of style is ‘show don’t tell.’ This is when the author, instead of simply saying something, shows you it. “Her silk skirts were drooping now, crushed and limp from the hot crowds.” The author is trying to get it across that Robbie’s mother isn’t feeling well, but instead of saying it she describes how her skirts were drooping but not her.
From Fleshmarket, I think we can learn a lot. We begin to realise that we all have the strength to succeed and fulfil our potential like Robbie did by becoming a surgeon. And aside from that, l learned a lot about features of style and how to use them in writing. Nicola Morgan has helped me with my writing immensely by inspiring me with hers.
The author makes lots of points on survival throughout the book. I particularly felt comfortable with the point about Robbie surviving because he wanted so badly to fulfil his dreams and ambitions. That kept him alive. Robbie wanted to let people have anaesthetic and to feel no pain during surgery. In the end Robbie fulfils his dream and this is wonderful. One thing I wasn’t so comfortable with was Nicola Morgan’s writing about Robbie’s belief in God. He is beginning to have doubts that there is a God because of his own suffering. I do believe that there is a God and therefore was uneasy with this part of the book.
The title Fleshmarket is excellent. It is so exciting and yet also so mysterious and dark. It makes you think of bodies for sale, blood and murder. This is the first thing which engrosses you in the book, and one of the best. And what is more, the title fits in perfectly with the plot, with Burke, Hare and murdered bodies. This really is a ‘Fleshmarket’.
In conclusion, Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan is an outstanding piece of writing and I would recommend it to anyone with a thirst for historical knowledge, a great storyline and an exemplary use of the English language. Everything needed for a good novel is right here inside the two hundred and sixty-three pages of Fleshmarket, from techniques to plot, from characters to a strong theme, and from a structure to a good setting. Fleshmarket ticks all the boxes, and yet it is unique and very refreshing to read. I cannot find words to describe how good it is, so I will finish how I started, with Nicola Morgan’s words which will be etched onto my brain forever.
“…floating somewhere above the woman’s faraway dreaming, rising and falling, like the last song a swan might sing, the distant arpeggio sound of a violin.”
Lucy Salisbury (Age 14)
Lomond School, Helensburgh
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, a novel about the sister of Anne Boleyn or Ann Bullen, tells the unknown story of Mary Boleyn. Mary Boleyn, Anne’s sister was the lover of Henry VIII long before her sister.
This book first captivated me because I am very interested in the Tudor period of history. Anne Boleyn particularly caught my imagination and, while trying to find a fictional account of her life, I found out about Mary Boleyn who turned out to be far more interesting than Anne. In this novel, Philippa Gregory teaches us about the other Boleyn girl, the forgotten Boleyn girl. Philippa Gregory has lots of facts in her novel but also has personal input as well where no facts can be found, for example the issue of who fathered Mary’s children. Although there is no factual evidence that they were the King’s children, except for Mary’s son being the spit of Henry VIII, she has decided in her novel that they were the King’s children not those of Mary’s husband, William Carey. Philippa Gregory puts forward the point that Mary had no say in what happened to her:
“My life was in the hands of my uncle and father, nothing I could say or do would make me in charge,”
Her novel shows that the Boleyn sisters were not power-hungry, mad women, as some authors have portrayed them, but scared girls controlled by their family. Mary Boleyn was made by her father and uncle to become the King’s lover at the age of thirteen, which disturbed me, I couldn’t imagine that any of my friends would be that mentally mature and maybe Mary wasn’t either. She had her first child, probably by the King, when she was fifteen, this also shocked me. Although Britain today has a regrettably high rate of teenage pregnancy I learnt from this book that at this time girls as young as eleven would be expected to carry children while little more than children themselves. I also found it silly that a courtier’s life seemed to depend on one man and his mood.
“It was shocking that our whole life seemed to revolve around this man. Suddenly what he felt, what he said and his jokes we all had to laugh at. I had realised how stupid the life of a courtier was,”
Philippa Gregory also puts across Anne’s point of view well. Anne wanted success more than anything but when she realised that Henry wanted a divorce, she was just as scared as any of us would be:
“I was thinking that this is the worst night of my life. I was wishing that it had never started and that I might wake up in a moment and it could all have been a dream,”
Most novels I have read about Anne Boleyn put her across as heartless and uncaring. I disagree with this statement; I believe that Anne did want to be Queen and that she wanted to give the King a son, but I don’t believe she didn’t care about her daughter, as her dying speech was about her:
“Haven’t I given you a beautiful daughter? There is not a mark on her!”
Mary was treated like mud and it just goes to show how far respect for women has improved. At the end of the book Mary lost her sister and brother but gained a handsome and loving husband who loved her very much. She spent the rest of her life on a small farm in Rochford, with her second husband, William Stafford, and her three children, Catharine, Henry and Anne.
I enjoyed reading this novel because it gives a very accurate description of Anne and Mary Boleyn; they played with fire and it was their loss. Mary lost her happiness for the prime years of her life and Anne lost her head, dragging with her four innocent (as far as we know) men. This book centres around one man, Henry! Henry’s obsession with having a son and his mood changes made life for everyone around him difficult. I find it so hard to believe that people lived this glamorous life at court but it was also very dangerous; the slightest joke about the king could be treason and punishable by something far more horrific that we can imagine today.
I love reading historical fiction because there is usually room for personal input. You can decide who certain unknown people may be; sometimes people who said very important things are forgotten by name. I have read The Other Boleyn Girl at least fifty times, I enjoy it so much! Not only is it romantic that Mary finds Will, her second husband, but it’s sad that all Anne’s plans and her loves resulted in catastrophe. I found it sad that Anne couldn’t marry Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland and Anne’s true love, because he was above her station but I find it funny also as she ended up being higher than Percy and becoming Queen anyway even if it was only a short time.
I have said the book was both romantic and sad but it is also very scary. The way you would have to spend your last night practising laying your head on a block makes me shiver. It is also disturbing to read about poor Mark Smeaton, the boy who was tortured into a confession by the King’s men. Poor Mark, who wasn’t even as old as me was put on the rack so the King could hear what he wanted to hear. He was hanged in the end as he was not gentry but I find it sad, frightening and disgusting that Henry had absolute power over everyone in his kingdom.
I love this book as it has everything in it that a book should have: excitement, fear, comedy and romance. The fact that it is based on real events just makes it better as you know that Anne really did exist at one point, that her sister really was the lover of the King and that George Boleyn really was beheaded for adultery with his own sister. That in itself disgusts me; the fact that a King will go as far to say that a brother and sister committed adultery is sickening. This book really opened my eyes to the fact that young girls had little say in what happened to them and, if they were pretty and just happened to catch the eye of the King, they would have to do as they were told, no matter what.