Archive for the ‘Historical Fiction’ Category

The Commoner

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

commonerAuthor John Burnham Schwartz is a Harvard graduate whose pursuit of a degree in East Asian Studies resulted in his living abroad in Tokyo and loosely basing his story The Commoner off the scant details revealed about the current Japanese royal family. The true story is from 1957, when the Japanese crown prince, Akihito, met a beautiful young woman, Michiko Shoda, on a tennis court. She became the first commoner to marry into the imperial family. Despised by her mother-in-law as an upstart and interloper, Michiko eventually succumbed to a depression so intense that she temporarily lost the ability to speak. A generation later, her eldest son, Prince Naruhito, also fell in love with a commoner which also resulted in unhappiness when she was unable to produce an heir.

In the story, Haruko is born in Japan to a well-off family. She attends private school and a prestigious college, and she rejects the arranged proposals of a handful of successful and prestigious Japanese men. Called “Gazelle” by her high school track friend, she remains active throughout her young adult life by playing tennis as a semi-professional hobby. When the Crown Prince is set to be her opponent, she wins the match. This victory making her an intriguing woman in the eyes of the Crown Prince. It took many attempts on the prince’s behalf, and her father cautions her: “More than a man, he’s an institution and a symbol,” but she agrees to become the Princess of Japan.

Once inside the closed world of the palace, however, Haruko cannot be protected by her family. Even her new husband cannot shield her from the sharp tongue of Mrs. Oshima, her aristocratic chief lady-in-waiting, although he defies much tradition to do so in a very subtle way. Haruko’s sole duty is to produce a male heir, and she duly becomes pregnant. But soon after her son’s birth, she realizes that she will have to give him up. “He may be yours,” Mrs. Oshima icily reminds her, “but he does not belong to you.” There are many haunting scenes where her son is weaned from her at just a few months old and how she is reprimanded for just picking the child up out of his pram that the reader is not surprised when Haruko eventually has a breakdown and stops talking. Though she regains her voice, she is unable to fully regain her spirit. As the years pass, she achieves a fragile emotional balance, only to watch in pain when, a few decades later, her son meets a beautiful commoner called Keiko and the dreadful pattern is repeated.

The story is told in vivid detail and imagery that slowly unfolded the story.  This led some of the women in my book club to want the story to hurry up and get going.  Even the dramatic moments revolved around her walking ahead of her husband or supplying witty banter with her antagonist in the palace that was told in a quiet lilting way.

The theme of freedom, flight, and gilded cages was woven throughout the story.  I was especially touched by Haruko’s relationship with her father who was so moving as he loses access to the daughter he so loved.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and recommend if you would like to know more that you pick up Ben Hill’s biography, Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne.

GENRE: Historical Fiction

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Knightley Academy

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

knightleyacademyReminiscent of the Harry Potter series, author Violet haberdasher (aka Robin Schneider) has created a story starring a young boy Henry who is a servant in a private academy for wealthy boys.  A kindly professor has been tutoring him on the sly and when examiners from the prestigious Knightley Academy come to test students for admission, Henry finds himself much by accident sitting for the test.  Even more surprising is when he finds himself to be the only student who passes.

Lord Winter, the new headmaster of the school convinces the board of trustees to fashion a pilot program of commoners having a place at Knightley with Henry.  Two others, Adam and Rohan join Henry and they become fast friends and roommates.

One of the themes of the book is discrimination between class, religion, and race. The book has a historical British setting and these themes are explored through the characters like Rohan who is the adopted son of a lord, but is actually Indian. Despite having the upbringing of the privileged boys, he is hated for his dark-skin and Adam who is Jewish.  Frankie, the headmaster’s daughter, and friend to the boys also introduces an opportunity for the author to comment on the roles of women in society and explore girls being denied an education.  These heavy subjects are handled in a humorous way appropriate for older elementary students.

The school is about training boys to become knights and its classes include such subjects as military history, medicine, fencing and protocol.

Throughout the story, Henry and his friends find that someone is trying to sabotage their chances of succeeding at the school.  Lost assignments, being locked overnight in the library, poisoning and stolen artifacts keep the action moving and the reader guessing who is most interested in seeing the program fail. The friends also uncover a conspiracy that could lead to war.

The story manages to replicate the successful formula of the popular Harry Potter series while steering clear of the dark and evil premise that so many frowned on. The series alludes to some interesting discussions of government and freedom in the future.

GENRE: Historical Fiction

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Uprising

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

uprisingUprising is Margaret Peterson Haddix’s gripping page-turner about true events. It is the story of three girls involved in the Shirtwaist Factory strike of 1910 which actually happened, as did the horrendous fire of March 25, 1911 in which 146 workers died as well as two of the main characters from our story. History comes alive for readers through the eyes of the three young girls, who are fully real despite being fictional characters and the skillful intertwining of fiction and actual events makes this a story that resonated even today.

Harriet is one of the daughters of Shirtwaist Factory owners and a survivor of the fire.  The book opens with her begging Mrs. Livingstone to explain to her the events leading up to the fire and the reader begins to unravel the mystery of which of the three girls survived to become Mrs. Livingstone.

Bella came to New York alone at age 15 from Italy in order to send money home to her starving family. She lives in a filthy, crowded boarding house with her distant cousin, Pietro, whom she falls in love with. New to the company she suffers through her daily 10 or 12 brutal hours of work at the factory, often locked into the workroom and abused by the factory’s foreman.  She doesn’t understand any of the languages spoken by those around her and is cheated weekly of her wages.

Bella meets sisters Rahel and Yetta who assist her when Pietro vanishes. The sisters are activists, hoping to help form a union to help the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory employees.

Jane is not a factory worker; she is the coddled, sheltered daughter of a wealthy businessman. She desires to rebel from the social niceties of her class and a forced marriage of her father’s choosing. She feels smothered and worthless until a college student invites her to attend lectures on women’s rights and to walk the Shirtwaist Factory picket line with the strikers.
During the strike, Yetta is right in the middle of the action, picketing in front of the factory. Despite getting beaten or arrested for disorderly conduct, Yetta’s passion for fair treatments of women workers grows with every page.

The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory looms ahead for the entire novel. This sets up an interesting dynamic–as I would read and get to know each character better, I’d root for them to survive, despite realizing the other two would have to perish. It gave the book momentum and a reason for me to keep reading at the few moments the plot lagged.
Haddix’s ability to weave fiction and fact together creates a realistic portrait of the time period and encourages young women to think about the world and what they can do to change it. I would love to see this novel become required reading in more classrooms.

GENRE: Historical Fiction

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