Category: Historical Fiction
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
(Cover picture courtesy of Small Review.)
Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.
Not every thirteen-year-old girl narrator is a Mary Sue who annoys me. But Charlotte Doyle was just such a girl, and my opinions are worth relating even if I doubt people will listen. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action interest you, read no more. Find a different companion that doesn’t waste precious hours of your life. For my part I intend to tell the boring, disappointing truth as I see it.
You may begin writing your hate mail now.
I was bored out of my mind while I read this book because I could predict every single plot ‘twist’. Even in truly bad books, there are some surprises, but there were none in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Perhaps this is because every single ‘girl empowerment’ book I’ve ever read is the same. Charlotte Doyle starts out innocent, then is hardened a bit and works to make the people who mock her respect her, which she does. Real life isn’t like that, believe me, especially when it comes to men.
Charlotte is a boring, predictable character who changes very little throughout the novel. I could sort of identify with her in the end, but other than that I pretty much loathed her. She is uninteresting, so at times I was cheering for the villain, Captain Jaggery, who isn’t all that evil as ship captains go. Looking back on it, pretty much all of the characters in this novel have no depth whatsoever. This world is so populated with Mary Sues and Gary Stus that it’s sickening. Speaking of sickening, it is obvious that Avi was trying to shove symbolism into the novel, especially when Captain Jaggery snaps and his formerly immaculate cabin is all broken and poorly prepared. That just screams “I want to win a literary award” to me.
The only good thing about this book was the wonderful research. Avi put effort into it. You can just picture the Seahawk and all of the clothes the characters wear. But historical accuracy isn’t everything and nothing can redeem The True Confessions of Charlote Doyle, not even its status as a classic YA novel.
I give this book 0.5/5 stars.
Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Small Review.)
It is the first century B. C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh’s six children, is one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolmey is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history’s most famous leader’s to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sister plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom you can rely—herself.
In Cleopatra Confesses, award-winning author Carolyn Meyer writes the story of the teenage girl who would become Egypt’s most unforgettable queen from her early years to her ultimate destiny.
This is not my favourite interpretation of Cleopatra’s story, but it certainly paints her in a much more sympathetic light. It’s also more appropriate for younger teens than my favourite one, Hand of Isis.
Cleopatra Confesses is the first-person account of the life and death of Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. It tells the story starting with her unhappy childhood, where her sisters Berenike and Tryphaena taunt her mercilessly. As is expected, the life of a princess and the taunts of her older sisters harden the young Cleopatra and teach her she can only rely on herself. This transition from innocent child to slightly cynical teenager takes place gradually and many young readers will be able to relate to it.
As with all of Carolyn Meyer’s work, it is incredibly historically accurate without sacrificing a good plot. She inserts real historical figures and makes them breathe, makes them more accessible to the modern reader. And of course the best part is that Carolyn Meyer has joined many of the authors who are working to rehabilitate the maligned figure of Cleopatra and give her a voice after two thousand years of silence.
This is historical fiction at its finest, but readers should know that there is mature content including violence and sexuality. Personally, I would recommend it for 13+, but it depends largely on the maturity level of the reader.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Historicalfictions Wiki.)
Elizabeth Tudor’s teenage years are hardly those of a fairy-tale rpincess.
Her father, Henry VIII, has beheaded her mother; her jealous half sister, Mary, has her locked away in the Tower of London; and her only love betrays her in his own quest for the throne.
Told in the voice of the young Elizabeth, this exciting novel reveals the deep-seated rivalry between a determined girl who became one of England’s most powerful monarchs and the sister who tried everything to stop her.
Queen Elizabeth I is famous for being one of England’s most powerful monarchs ever, even though she reigned in a man’s era. But what do you really know about her, especially about her formative teen years? Well, after reading Beware, Princess Elizabeth you’ll definitely know why Elizabeth became such a powerful, influential ruler.
Unlike her older sister Mary, Elizabeth does not really remember a time when she was the favourite at court. She is first overshadowed by her boy-king brother upon her father’s death, then imprisoned during the tumultuous reign of her older half sister. She spends much of her young adulthood as the forgotten, ill-favoured bastard daughter of King Henry VIII and his hated second wife Anne Boleyn. Readers will sympathize with her as she struggles through religious reforms, a jealous half sister and broken dreams of love.
Carolyn Meyer takes readers on a wonderful journey through Tudor England, being historically accurate and entertaining at the same time. With a relatively fast-paced plot and well developed characters, this is a fitting addition to the enormous volume of literature on Elizabeth I. You will be able to see the woman behind the legend and that is one of the best parts of historical fiction.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of LIBR 265-10.)
Mary Tudor is a beautiful young princess in a grand palace filled with servants. She is accustomed to sparkling jewels, beautiful gowns, and lavish parties. Then, suddenly, she is banished by her father, King Henry VIII, to live in a cold, lonely place without money, new clothes, or even her mother.
At first it seems like a terrible mistake. Even when her father has a public and humiliating affair with a bewitching woman, Mary remains hopeful. But when he abandons her mother, marries his mistress, and has a child with her, Mary begins to lose faith. And now, dressed in rags, she is summoned back to the palace to be a serving maid to her new baby sister.
Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII, is a servant in her own home.
Believe it or not, it’s all true.
Mary Tudor has a bad reputation—quite deservedly so—but in the end she is the product of her upbringing. Her extremely devout Catholicism, her fall from her father’s favour and the people she grew up around made for a potent mix once she finally ascended the throne. Mary, Bloody Mary tells the story of her childhood at hints at the Queen she would become.
Since Carolyn Meyer tells the story of Mary’s youth, before she started persecuting ‘heretics’, she is a very sympathetic character. Readers will feel the agony of her fall, the ecstasy of her triumphs and the very real danger she was in during the rise of Anne Boleyn. Since she also deals with issues teenage girls today do, her story is still relevant. Her struggle to be accepted by her father and her longing for the mother she’s forbidden to contact is especially relevant to young adults.
Brought up in this kind of dysfunctional family environment changes Mary, but it also adds more tension to the plot. That makes for a much more interesting, if not faster, plot. Of course all of the historical details are much more important than a fast plot and Carolyn Meyer will teach young readers history in an enjoyable manner.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Duchessina by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
Life as the wealthiest and most envied girl in all of Italy should involve a magnificent palace, beautiful dresses, heaps of jewels, and many devoted servants. Instead, poor little Caterina de’Medici, or Duchessina as she’s called, finds herself imprisoned in a drafty convent with nuns who despise her and do everything they can to make her life a misery. She is utterly alone, desperately hungry, and scared.
Imagine Duchessina’s relief to learn that she will be released from this intolerable existence and will move to Rome, where she will live in the grand household of the pope. Finally the days ahead seem brighter—or do they? Little does the young duchess know that her future includes a painful separation from the boy she loves, and a marriage contract that is anything but appealing. But Duchessina is resourceful and determined. She will find a way to command what she deserves. She must—for the sake of her family and her own survival.
Catherine de’Medici has garnered quite a reputation and once again, Carolyn Meyer has stepped in to put things in perspective. We never really are told what it is she does that has given her a reputation, but for people who know about her reign, this tale of her unhappy childhood really does explain a lot. I think you’d turn out pretty ruthless too if you had the kind of childhood Catherine had.
In Duchessina, we learn about the truly horrible childhood she had and that most of her teen years were spent in nunneries hiding from her family’s enemies. Catherine had done nothing to offend them other than being born into the wrong family. Yet she suffers for it as the nuns in the first abbey do everything in their power to make her life absolutely miserable. The only good thing that happens is when she is eventually moved to another nunnery where the nuns are much kinder to her and she learns the things a wealthy young lady of the times was expected to learn: manners, proper conduct and what to wear.
In the beginning, the plot is a bit slow, but it is very fast-paced in the end. Catherine de’Medici’s early years are full of tragedy and judging by the way Duchessina ends, her adulthood is not much better. However, readers will be captivated by the strong narrator and will enjoy Catherine’s transformation from innocent child to cynical teen/adult.
I give this book 4/5 stars.