Our Castle By The Sea by Lucy Strange

Our Castle By The Sea is a juvenile historical fiction novel set in southeastern England during the beginning of World War II.

Twelve-year-old Petra (Pet) Zimmermann Smith lives with her father Frederick, her mother  Angela Helene whom they call Mutti as she is from Germany and her fifteen-year-old sister Magda (Mags). Pet's father operates the lighthouse located near the village of Stonegate so their family lives in the adjacent cottage attached to the lighthouse.

Their lighthouse has always been known as the Castle because it is surrounded by four granite megaliths known as the Daughters of Stone which look like buttresses or guard towers. The megaliths are believed to have been used by the druids. Pet's father once told them the legend of the stones. A fishing vessel named the Aurora failed to return to the harbour one foggy night. The daughters of the four men on board went each night to the clifftop to light a signal fire to guide the Aurora home. People believed the ship was lost to the Wyrm, a sandbank just offshore known to shift and sink ships. The last night of their vigil, the daughters sang a song to the sea, offering up their souls in exchange for the return of the Aurora. They sang all night and at dawn a ghostly boat returned with the men. In return for bringing home the Aurora, the Wyrm and they misty tentacles of fog turned the four daughters to stone. This story both entrances and terrifies Pet.

In the Autumn of 1939 Mag's comes home one day with a swollen eye and cut fists. She has been in a fight at school because people have been taunting  her about Mutti. With the start of the war with Germany people in England are suspicious of anyone who is German.

Pet's father receives an order from the government to paint the lighthouse green, camouflaging it from the air. Not long after this, Pet and her family are frightened to see so many planes flying over the lighthouse. They seek shelter in the coal cellar of the lighthouse cottage and while there, Pet discovers a photograph of her parents wedding which she decides to keep. The picture interests Pet because no one looks happy and there are only two guests at the ceremony.

Gas masks arrive in the village and everyone is called to the village hall where Mrs. Baron the headmistress and magistrate at the court in Dover, demonstrates how to use them. Mrs. Baron announces that she will also be the Air Raid Precaution warden for the village.

Pet begins to notice that her sister Mags seems to be acting strangely. She also notices strange goings on in the village. Her father seems distracted when aiding a ship with the lighthouse foghorn and the optic light. Then Pet discovers Mutti leaving the cottage early one morning, and discovers she is following someone else.

In the Spring of 1940, Hitler invades France by way of the Netherlands and Belgium. The real war has now begun. One morning Pet and her family wake up to a fire in the village; someone has set fire to the village hall which was being used as a base for the Local Defense Volunteers and the Scout hut where equipment was being stored.

But then one day Mutti is summoned to a tribunal. Because she was born in Germany, Mutti was considered to be an "enemy alien". Every enemy alien had to be categorized according to the risk they were considered to pose; Category A aliens were a serious threat and locked up in internment camps, Category B were not locked up but were restricted on where they could live and work, Category C aliens were minimal risk and faced no sanctions.At the tribunal, Mutti is declared at Category A alien when a set of maps and charts are presented as being drawn by her.  Despite Mutti's denials and little proof they are actually hers, she is sentenced to an internment camp.

In shock, Pet and Mags decide they must prove Mutti's innocence. But their investigations lead no where and Pet finds herself doubting everyone around her. But a shocking confession from Mutti in a letter and a stunning revelation overheard by Pet throws her world into chaos. What is the truth and will Pet's family ever be the same?

Discussion

Our Castle By The Sea is the story of a young girl, afraid and struggling to understand the world around her who overcomes her own fears to try to save her family from events beyond her control. Strange's novel is unrelenting in the tragedies the Smith family experience making it unusual for juvenile fiction. There is no happy ending here, but there is hope.

The coming difficulties for Pet's family are foreshadowed by her discovery of her parent's wedding photograph, hidden in the Castle's coal cellar. The photograph reveals a wedding that was not filled with joy and attended by only two other people. It suggests a troubled past that Pet doesn't know about and an uncertain future.

Strange weaves many historical details into her story which spans the time period of a year from Autumn 1939 to Autumn 1940. The war in Europe is just beginning. It's been only twenty years since the last world war which was supposed to end all wars. The Germans are in France and the threat of invasion is very real. The coast of France is a mere twenty miles away. The people are afraid and suspicious of anyone German. With little due process, anyone of German ancestry deemed "dangerous" is incarcerated in a camp. Pet notes how the war begins to change people so they turn on neighbours and friends,  when her mother is one of those sent to an internment camp.
"...They were our friends. People from church, the village shopkeepers and fishermen, the parents of the children we had grown up with. But something had changed them. The war. The enemy plane. The things they had heard on the wireless and read in the newspapers. The rumors, the whispers. They were angry. And they were very, very frightened."

Another event mentioned is the evacuation of children from areas considered dangerous such as the coast to villages further inland. The evacuation of Dunkirk is also incorporated into the storyline. When Pet's family learns that boats of all kinds are needed to rescue the trapped troops on the coast of France, Mags is determined to go. But their father insists that she not, although in the end Mags disobeys him. Instead he goes and is lost in the evacuation. Strange touches on all of these real events in her Historical Note at the back of the novel.

Strange incorporates the the legend of the Daughters of the Stone and the Wyrm throughout her story. The legend is presented early in the story and we see that it has a profound effect on Pet. She often dreams the Wyrm is pursuing her right up to the lantern room but never quite makes it. This motif of a shifting sea monster that is after her and her family represents Pet's fears associated with the war. She equates the war with the sea monster that haunts her dreams. "This war is a sea monster, I thought. Sometimes it destroys things violently and openly, and sometimes its tentacles squeeze in through the cracks of normal life, and it strangles us silently."

When Pa and Mags leave to help in the evacuation of Dunkirk, Pet keeps watch on the clifftop. But when it seems like they are not going to return, Pet believes like the Daughters of Stone, she must sing to bring them home."This was the moment that I had always known about in my bones, ever since Pa first told me the legend of the stones. This was the moment in which I would finally become part of this ancient story. The sky wrapped around me, gray as fate, enveloping me together with the stones and the cold-smoking sea." As she sings, a boat arrives in the harbor but it is Kipper and Mags and not her Pa. Later on Pet thinks, "I thought about the lullaby that I had sung to the sea as I prayed for Mags and Pa. I had felt so sure that some kind of magic was working...Just enough to bring Mags safely home, I thought. But not enough for my Pa." Pet continues to wonder, "Was there a price to be paid or not? Would I end up being turned to stone?"

After her accident on the clifftop which leaves her paralyzed from the waist down, Pet considers herself to be a Daughter of Stone. Now she sits in her wheelchair in the lantern room. "I was a Daughter of Stone now -- so, from up in the lantern room, from first light to twilight, I did what the Daughters of Stone do: I kept watch over our sky and sea."  During her watch one night Pet someone enters the lighthouse, knocking out Mags and entering into the lantern room. At first Pet believes it is the Wyrm coming finally to  claim her. In reality it is Mrs. Baron who turns out to be a traitor and a Nazi. Drawing on the legend, Pet thinks, "In that moment, I was aware of the Daughters of Stone outside on the clifftop, sparkling darkly, calling to me as one of their own - warning me, giving me strength." Mrs. Baron reveals much to Pet, including that she is in the lantern room to aid in the beginning of the Nazi invasion. With all the strength, courage and self-sacrifice of the Daughters of Stone, Pet helps to thwart Mrs. Baron's plans. Pet has been transformed from a girl, "...small and unnoticeable and frightened. A girl whose mother was locked away and whose father was lost at sea, who battled with monsters braving the raging skies and the darkness of the night..." Pet is now "Defender of the White Cliffs, Dragon Slayer, Daughter of Stone"

Our Castle By the Sea a mixture of  historical fiction and adventure, a coming of age story with a thrilling climax. And despite Pet having suffered many losses, she demonstrates her resiliency, courage and maturity in her hope for the future, despite the ongoing war. She grows into a strong heroine through adversity.

This novel would definitely have benefited from lovely pencil illustrations. Sadly, illustration in juvenile fiction is mostly lacking today, but a good artist helps tell the story and fuel the imagination of the reader. Nevertheless, Our Castle By the Sea is a well-written novel that historical fiction fans will very much appreciate.

Book Details:

Our Castle By The Sea by Lucy Strange
New York: Chicken House      2019
319 pp.

Suffragette

Suffragette attempts to portray the struggle of women in Britain to obtain the right to vote. It was never meant to be an encompassing film. Instead Suffragette attempts portray the intense struggle and vicious opposition women faced to obtaining their civic right to participate in the political sphere of their country by focusing on a small group of women.

The movie opens in 1912 with fictional Maud Watts (Carrie Mulligan), who works at Glasshouse Laundry, delivering a package for her employer, Mr. Norman Taylor (Geoff Bell). While doing this errand on her way home from work, Maud becomes caught up in an act of civil disobedience by the suffragettes who throw stones at shop windows. She escapes the ensuing melee between the suffragettes and police and makes her way home but not before recognizing a co-worker, Violet Miller (Anne-Marie Duff).

The suffragettes are encouraged by Alice Haughton, the wife of an MP, to speak before parliament regarding amendments to the suffrage bill. Maud tells Violet, who has been chosen to testify she will accompany her but when Violet shows up badly beaten by her husband, Maud is asked to step in. Reluctantly Maud prepares to read Violet's statement but she is questioned about her own situation by Prime Minister Lloyd George. The suffragettes are pleased with Maud's success and Edith Ellyn (Helen Bonham Carter) invites Maud to tea. Edith runs her husband's chemist shop. Her father opposed her getting educated but she was able to do so because of her mother. Her husband inherited the shop but she runs it, although she really wants to be a doctor.

When the suffragettes return to parliament they learn that the Prime Minister has not granted the right to vote. Furious, the suffragettes begin protesting but the police immediately begin kicking and punching the women. Many are arrested including Maud, Violet, and Edith and Alice Haughton. Alice wants her husband Benedict to bail all the women out but he refuses. He doesn't allow her to use her own money as she wishes. They are kept for a week in prison under harsh conditions. During this time Edith and Violet encourage Maud to be strong and introduce her to Emily Davison who is on a hunger strike.

When Maud returns home, her husband Sonny is angry over her involvement with the suffragettes and completely unsympathetic to what she went through in jail. Maud promises him she will not be further involved. Meanwhile Pankhurst is in hiding and the suffragettes await her further instructions. News arrives of a secret meeting where Emmeline Pankhurst will speak to the suffragettes and Maud attends with her friends. Pankhurst encourages the women to become rebels, to fight in anyway they can since their demands have been ignored now for years. She tells them "Deeds not words" is their motto.

The police raid the meeting arresting Maud and others. On the orders of Inspector Steed (Brendan Gleeson) who has been tracking the suffragettes, the women are taken to their homes so that their husbands can "deal" with them. Sonny, furious at Maud's participation refuses to let her back into their home or to see their son, George.

Haughton and Steed meanwhile decide they need to get into the East London group and hope to obtain an informer by publishing photographs of the women involved in the suffragette movement. Maud is shown her picture by a disapproving neighbour. When Taylor sees the pictures, he fires her. Ridiculing her for the abuse she has suffered at his hands, Maud burns his hand with the iron.

Inspector Steed who has been called to the factory tells Maud that she will go home provided she becomes an informant for the police. Maud tells him that Taylor deserved what happened because of what he's done to her and other women, but Steed reminds her that no one listens to "girls like you."

Maud meets with Edith who explains to the group that they will be bombing the King's post office boxes. Before she undertakes her part in this Maud manages to see George and spend some time with him but when she returns him to Sonny he tells her by law their boy is his and he can prevent her from seeing him. This results in Maud writing Steed to inform him that she has decided against his offer. She believes in fighting for her rights as a woman and if the law won't let her see her son, she needs to work to change that law.

All of this leads to Maud becoming more radicalized and more involved with suffragettes. With each arrest and jail time, she along with the other suffragettes become determined to win the right to vote and to obtain other rights for women too.

Discussion

Suffragette is a movie that provides an excellent starting point to create awareness of how different life was for women a century ago and that many of the rights women enjoy today were hard won. The women's movement in the United Kingdom began in the 1800's as more and more women desired to participate more fully in society. Women's rights became a national movement in the UK around 1872. Women began lobbying for more rights but change was slow and often piecemeal. For example, in 1882 women won the right to own property but as of 1912, women could still not vote, despite years of lobbying.

Emmeline Pankhurst emerged as a leader in the women's movement in the UK. She founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) which challenged women to act in order to secure more rights. Conditions in Britain for women at this time were deplorable. Many worked long hours in factories in terrible conditions for pay that was far less than that of men. They had no parental rights and no say in the political process. They were unable to hold meetings because it was almost impossible to find a venue. Unable to secure the right to vote Pankhurst decided that a more militant approach was required and her group advocated civil disobedience in the form of smashing windows, bombing postal boxes and eventually arson. She and many of her followers were arrested and staged hunger strikes while in prison. Many were brutally force-fed.

Suffragette is set against this backdrop in 1912 to 1913. The movie, directed by Sarah Gavron, accurately portrays life for women during this time period. In Suffragette, as Maud experiences the injustice of laws which favour men, she becomes increasingly radicalized. The abuse by her employer, the loss of her husband and her son, the brutality of the police, the ridicule of those around her and torture by doctors in the jail all drive her towards supporting the suffragettes. Carrie Mulligan portrays Maud's increasing desperation and her transformation from reluctant mother and laundress to determined activist realistically.  It's gradual and not without conflict.

Helena Bonham Carter's performance as Edith Ellyn was wonderful. It was enjoyable to see her in a role where her considerable acting abilities could be brought to bear. She gave Edith a refreshing brashness that made her seem the most realistic of all the film's characters. Bonham Carter brought out Edith's resourcefulness and stoic determination to make things better for the next generation. She saw her own dreams of becoming a doctor and owning her own business thwarted merely because of her gender.  Yet she soldiers on and encourages the other suffragettes to do so too. Meryl Streep brief performance as Pankhurst was solid.

The event that forms the climax of Suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison's walking out in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby was a real event that occurred on June 4, 1913. Emily was struck by King George V's horse, Anmer and trampled to the ground as she tried to offer the women's vote flag to the rider. She died four days later in hospital. Her death and funeral made headlines around the world. As the movie does not fully develop the real life characters, Emmeline Pankhurst and Emily Wilding Davison, viewers are encouraged to research these women. Pankhurst's autobiography, Suffragette: My Own Story is worth reading.

Canadian women might be interested to know that women in Manitoba were the first to get the vote in Canada. That right was granted on January 28, 1916. They could run for provincial office and vote in provincial elections but they could not vote federally. The right to vote in federal elections was not fully granted to women in Canada until May 24, 1918. Aboriginal women did not gain the right to vote in federal elections until 1960.

An Eagle In The Snow by Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo has crafted a beautiful story within a story. Set in 1940 England during the bombing of Britain, a stranger tells a young boy and his mother how a chance encounter and the decision to do the right thing appears to have been the wrong thing done.

The novel opens with a young boy, Barney travelling with his mother on the 11:50 train to London, on their way to the safety of Cornwall by the sea. 

Barney is ten years old and he lived on Mulberry Street in Coventry with his mother and father.  His father is now off to war, with the Royal Engineers in Africa. He and his mother have just endured weeks of bombing attacks by Germany in what will one day be known as the Blitz. 

The latest attack destroyed their home leaving them with nothing. Barney scrambled up the rubble of their home to find his toy train and red bus but was held off by the air raid warden. At the insistence of his mother, Barney's  grandpa took hin to check his fields and there they found his beloved horse, Big Black Jack dead. Now Barney and his mom are off to stay with her sister in Mevagissey on the Cornwall coast.

In the train with them is a man whom Barney recognizes as the air-raid warden who pulled him off the rubble on Mulberry Street. Barney says nothing to his mother. But when his mother falls asleep on the train, Barney tells the stranger he recognizes him from Mulberry Street. The air-raid warden who is referred to as the stranger, tells Barney he should be fighting alongside Barney's father but a wound from the last war has prevented him from being accepted. Everyone has told him he has done his part and has the medals to prove it. 

While looking out the window, Barney spots what he thinks is a Spitfire, a British plane coming directly towards the train. However the stranger recognizes that it is a German Messerschmitt that is attacking the train. He pushes Barney and his now wide awake mother to the floor. The train races along faster and faster until it reaches a tunnel and roars inside. Then they hear the brakes screeching as the train struggles to stop inside the tunnel.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspecting Coventry Cathedral.

The tunnel is pitch black and Barney doesn't like the darkness. The stranger tells them that they will have to wait inside the tunnel until the German fighters are gone. He offers to tell Barney and his mother a story to pass the time waiting, just like they used to do in the trenches during the Great War. 

His story is about his friend, William Byron, who went by the name of Billy Byron and how the two of them grew up on Mulberry Street and then joined the army. At first being in the army was an adventure. The air-raid man and Billy were given good food, clothing and sent to South Africa. However, war came to Europe and they soon found themselves sent to the front where conditions were very different. 

On a march to the front, Billy encountered a little girl, an orphan girl, who was close to death. Against the orders of his Sergeant, he picked up the girl and took her to the field hospital. He was certain the little girl was trying to tell him her name was Christine. This experience made him determined to stop the war as quickly as possible. 

The stranger continues his story as they wait for the German aircraft to leave so the train can leave the safety of the tunnel. At times Barney becomes upset at the darkness, so as he's telling the story, the stranger strikes matches to comfort him with their light. Barney learns that Billy Byron was a brilliant soldier who was seriously wounded several times and won many medals including the Victoria Cross.

But near the end of the war, he spared the life of a German soldier who was dazed and wandered out of the battlefield near the village of Marcoing. Billy felt there had been more than enough killing, so he fired a shot in the air, and the little soldier laid down his gun and walked off.  For the Battle of Marcoing, Billy was awarded the Victoria Cross, pinned on his chest by King George V.

Like most Great War veterans life was not easy after the war. Billy eventually located Christine and they married. At times he seemed fine, other times troubled. As Adolf Hitler comes to power and hostilities begin between Germany and Britain, a fateful night in the cinema reveals to Billy the seemingly terrible consequences of good deed done years ago.

Discussion

An Eagle In The Snow is loosely based on the life of Henry Tandey who was a British soldier in World War I. Tandey was a Private in the Green Howard regiment. He survived the Battle of Ypres and was awarded the three highest awards for heroism in a six-week period in 1918. It is uncertain that Henry Tandey ever met Adolf Hitler. 

The story holds that they met each other at the Battle of Marcoing when a soldier wandered into the British lines and Tandey refused to shoot him because he was wounded. That soldier was supposedly Adolf Hitler.  In his Afterword, Morpurgo explores the myth behind the story of Henry Tandey, who stated that if he had met Hitler he simply did not remember him. So readers can decide for themselves if Tandey really did encounter Hitler near the end of the Great War:

Morpurgo tells his story with simplicity, capturing both the devastation experienced by Coventry during the Blitz in 1940 as well as the hardships of soldiers during the First World War. The story provides the framework for young readers to explore the question, "What if doing what you believe is the right action at the time seems to be the wrong choice in the end?"  "What if showing compassion towards another human being doesn't pay off?" The novel offers readers the opportunity to explore these questions along with the themes of compassion, heroism, and war. 

In An Eagle In The Snow, readers are confronted with Byron's moral dilemma to rectify what now seems like a wrong. Years ago he encountered a wounded Adolf Hitler. Sick of war and the killing, he spared the German soldier's life only to learn years later he became history's more cruel dictator. After seeing Hitler in a news reel about Hitler's aggressions, Billy was consumed by the thought that somehow his act of virtue in saving a life, had led to war. Then his guilt seems to be resolved by a phone call from Prime Minister Chamberlain who tells Billy that in a meeting with Hitler, the German leader expressed gratitude towards the British soldier who spared his life years earlier. This gives Billy a brief respite, hope that Hitler is not going to turn out to be the evil man he seems to be. That is until Germany wages war on Europe.

Determined to rectify what he considers a terrible mistake, Billy Byron sets out for Hitler's stronghold of  the Berghof, in the Alps, near Berchtesgaden. He spends days in a village near the Berghof, drawing the eagles that wheeled through the air. But when Billy finally does meet Hitler outside his home, he is knocked down by an Alsatian who is very friendly. Billy had just watched an eagle swoop in and pick off a hare, leaving behind the blood-stained snow. Billy finds himself unable to carry through with his plan, and although Hitler recognizes him, he once again just walks away. He can no more kill Hitler in 1939 than he could back in 1918. He cannot bring himself to do something that is morally wrong to achieve a good. 

Perhaps the outstanding feature of this novel, is the way in which the story is told. The story employs third person omniscient point of view to tell the present story set in 1940, while the stranger uses third person to tell Billy Byron's story. Neither the reader nor Barney know the identity of the stranger until the very end. Although Billy Byron's story is that of Henry Tandey, it should be noted that Tandey did not attempt to rectify his decision  of 1918 by returning to Germany.

An Eagle In The Snow has a great cover to draw readers in but the book is marred by poor binding and likely won't last long in even the most caring of readers. The novel has the lovely pencil illustrations by Michael Foreman which often feature in Morpurgo's novels. Quite simply, this is another outstanding story for children and adults from this award-winning British author.

Image credit: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/ww1-henry-tandey-adolf-hitler-7184044  

Book Details:

An Eagle In The Snow by Michael Morpurgo
London: HarperCollins 2015
265 pp.

Kate Tattersall Adventures in China by R.S. Fleming

This little novel is the first in what is expected to be a ten part series by R.S. Fleming about the adventures of a young woman, Kate Tattersall. Fleming was a member of the Canadian military, serving as an instrument, electrical and aviation technician. The real Kate Tattersall was one of the author's ancestors and he has taken information from her diaries and letters and created a fictional character who worked as  a clandestine operative for the British in the middle 1800's.  You can read more about the fictional adventures of Kate on the website katetattersall.com

Adventures in China opens in 1849. Fifteen-year-old Lady Katelyn Elizabeth Beaufort has just "come out" in British society and has also been presented to Queen Victoria . Kate's father, Lord Beaufort, was a widower for thirteen years and has recently remarried. Her stepmother, Lady Jane Beaufort, is only twenty-five, and determined to see Kate engaged withing the year, preferably before her upcoming journey to China with her brother Jack. Lady Jane encourages Kate to consider an older nobleman so as to inherit a title and fortune, but Kate is reluctant. Kate mentions her brother's friend, Henry Tattersall, a brilliant, eighteen-year-old doctor who runs a clinic in Canton, China. She remembers him as being very intelligent and considers Henry to be a prospective husband.

Kate has hundreds of invitations, most of which she will refuse. But one she doesn't refuse is that of Lord Palmerston, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who asks her to meet with him. Lord Palmerston questions Kate regarding her planned voyage to China, asking her if Jack has mentioned a "clandestine operation". Kate knows nothing about this, believing that they are travelling to China to deliver two crates of bibles to the Church of England Mission in Ningpo. What she does learn from Palmerston is that he and Jack have known each other for years and that her brother recommended her for this secret "mission".

When she meets Jack at his home in Hastings, Kate is shocked to learn that Jack will not be accompanying her on the journey. Instead, she will be travelling with Mrs. Farewell and her grandfather will meet them in Suez, Egypt. She also learns that Jack has been working for Palmerston and that they would like Kate to take pictures of all the new buildings in the various Chinese ports she visits on her journey.

Kate and Mrs. Farewell have an uneventful journey from Portsmouth to Rosetta, Egypt, travelling by ship through the Mediterranean Sea. From Rosetta they travelled by paddlewheel up the Nile River to Cairo where by caravan they cross the desert to Port Suez. It is at Port Suez that they rendezvous with Kate's grandfather, Sir Thomas Roberts, a tall, elderly man who served as a general.

Their trip to China is not so quiet as they repel an attack by fierce sea pirates. When Kate arrives in China, she finds Dr. Henry Tattersall desperately ill and obviously unable to complete the mission.  Kate, who finds him attractive, has her grandfather arrange for Henry to be taken to Bombay to be treated. Meanwhile, she gives Henry the package and he tells her that she must get the special rifle to a Mr. Wu in one of the nearby factories. Kate learns from Henry that Wu is to assassinate an Englishman who is smuggling large amounts of opium into China through Canton, and taking young girls as slaves out.  That Englishman turns out to be Aloysius (Wish) James Napier, a childhood friend. Can Kate and her grandfather accomplish their mission to stop the opium smuggling and the slave trading without resorting to assassination?

One of Mia Lane's illustrations

The concept behind this series is very good, but the writing doesn't always live up to expectations. Some of the dialogue is awkward (for example when Lady Jane describes her stepdaughter, Kate, as having "alabaster skin contrasting nicely with your onyx hair.") and strangely, at times the writing gets bogged down with descriptions of Kate's wardrobe.

There isn't much character development - Kate's initially presented as a headstrong girl who isn't interested in marrying young. Kate wants an grand adventure and that's what she gets. Rather suddenly she comes into her own, fending off pirates, entering an opium den, and outwitting a man in pursuit of her. Unfortunately, other characters in this novel are not developed and mostly one dimensional.

However, I'm willing to give this series a chance, in the hopes that the writing improves because the concept is unique - a young noblewoman as a British "clandestine operative" or spy. Judging by the author's website, he's done considerable development of the series which I hope will be demonstrated in the next novel.

Detailed illustrations such as the ones done by Canadian artist,  Mia Lane for Fleming's website katetattersall.com, would make these books much more appealing. Lane's exquisite illustrations would flesh out the novel, adding more character and flare to the series. The addition of a map showing Kate's journey from Portsmouth to Canton, China would also help readers place where events in the novel occur and a diagram of the area in Canton and region would also be helpful.

My only other concern is that the cover, done in the style of the "penny dreadfuls" published in the 19th century,  suggests that this is a novel for upper middle grades to early high school. However, some content is too dark for this age group; Kate works in an opium den, is sexually harassed there, and witnesses the assassination of a man.

This first installment of the Kate Tattersall adventures is set against the backdrop of the Opium Wars which most young people are likely not familiar with. The BBC has an excellent webpage, The Opium Wars: When Britain made war on China, which provides background information on understanding what the Opium Wars were and how Britain became involved in smuggling opium into China. The Victorian Web also has a webpage devoted to England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60.

The novel, published by Dancing Cat Books, has small, dense text which makes it not the easiest of  books to read, but it is short and sweet, which is always a bonus for reluctant readers.

This fascinating book trailer sets the stage for the first novel and the series:



Book Details:
Kate Tattersall: Adventures in China by R.S. Fleming
Toronto: Dancing Cat Books, an Imprint of Cormorant Books Inc. 2013
138 pp.

Documentary: Banaz: A Love Story (2012)

"I think the fact that honour is a total misnomer. There's no honour in any of this. The law has a word for it - it's murder."

Banaz: A Love Story is a documentary produced and directed by Deeyah about the 2006 honour killing of Banaz Mahmod in Britain. Honour based crimes are not new to many cultures, but have been going on for centuries and span various cultures and religions. This documentary tells the story of one victim of an honour killing in London, England, using some of the police video footage and as such it is Banaz's story in her own words.

Banaz Mahmod was born in 1985 in Iraq in to an Iraqi Kurdish family. She had one brother and four sisters. Her family emigrated to Great Britain in 1995, as refugees from Saddam Hussein's Iraq when Banaz was ten years old. They lived in a flat in Mitcham, south London. Banaz's teachers spoke highly of her, saying that she often mothered younger children.

Problems with assimilation soon made themselves evident in the Mahmod family. The family was very isolated and after Banaz's disappearance it became evident to investigators that she had no friends and no social network. They tried appealing for friends to come forward on facebook, but received no response. Diana Nammi, Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organization indicated that in this society, the control of women and of their sexuality is paramount.

Banaz's older sister, Bekhal ran away from home when she was fifteen years old. Bekhal who testified against her family in her sister's murder trial, told how all the older sisters suffered through genital mutilation at the hands of their grandmother while living in Iraq. (Female genital mutilation is done to prevent women from experiencing any sexual pleasure.) For Bekhal, she began to run into serious conflict with her father over small things that teenage girls are interested in; long painted nails, plucked eyebrows and the use of perfume - all of which were banned by her father. She left home several times and suffered through many beatings.

Joanne Payton of the Honour Based Violence Awareness Network explained that for men, coming over from these cultures entails a loss in social status. Bobbie Cheema, Prosecutor explained that because of this the men take refuge in cultural morality which they use to control their women. Mahmod soon lost control of his daughters and therefore lost face. In 2002 the family tried to restore its lost honour with an attempt on Bekhal's life. Bekhal survived and went into hiding.

Against this background, the tragedy of Banaz played out. She was married at age 17 to an illiterate immigrant from Iraq. After two years of marriage Banaz went to police and told them in a taped interview how her husband, Ali, abused and raped her. In an attempt to document her abuse, Banaz took pictures of her injuries and kept a diary - all of which were destroyed when Ali learned of their existence. Despite pleading with her family to let her out of the marriage she was sent back time and again to be a "better wife".  Finally Banaz decided to leave the marriage after a severe beating. She returned home.

In 2005, Banaz met Rahmat. What was initially a friendship turned into a romantic relationship where they would text every morning and evening. Banaz felt she was being followed so she went to the police. When she asked police what they would do she received an vague indication that they would act on her case. They never followed up. Banaz and Rahmat attempted to keep their relationship a secret, however, the two were seen kissing in December 2005. This triggered a family council in which Banaz's uncle, Ali, who was the strong personality in the family, ordered the murder of Banaz.

Banaz Mahmod

After a first attempt on New Year's Eve did not succeed, Rahmat reported Banaz missing on January 25, 2006. Not a single person in the Kurdish community helped police, despite, as lead investigator, Caroline Goode indicated, literally hundreds of people knew what had happened to Banaz. Goode indicated that at least fifty people were involved in the murder in some way. All reminders of Banaz's existence were removed from the family home and not one family member showed concern or called police to learn about the status of the investigation.

However, two things helped police in their investigation of Banaz's disappearance; they learned of Bekhal's situation and Banaz had sent a letter to police in December of 2005 naming the three men, cousins who were prepared to do the job of murdering her.

Caroline Goode and Andy Craig, a detective with the Metropolitan Police were able to locate Banaz's body. Both her father and uncle were arrested and one cousin, Mohamed Hama were arrested, tried and sentenced to life. However, the other two cousins, Mohamed Ali and Omar Hussein, fled to Iraq. Determined not to let these two men go free, especially after they were seen bragging in Iraq about raping and murdering Banaz, Goode was able to see justice done. Today Bekhal remains in hiding and Rahmat is under the witness protection program.

Discussion

Banaz: A Love Story is so titled because of Caroline Goode and her staff's desire to become surrogate parents to Banaz and to love her and honour her memory. "We loved her and we still do." Goode stated in the documentary. Goode was relentless in pursuing Banaz's killers and her work led her to receive the Queen's Police Medal in 2011. Caroline's narrative in the documentary was extremely touching. It was evident that she was profoundly affected by the murder of Banaz Mahmod. At the beginning of the documentary, Caroline Goode expresses how these honour based murders make her feel:

"...I just find that I love these women. I don't know them. But I loved them. And because they haven't been loved by the people that should have loved them, should have cared for them, should have protected them, I feel that I want to take the place of whoever should have done that."

Banaz: A Love Story was produced and directed by Deeyah Thathal, a Norwegian artist/singer/director who has been at the forefront of raising awareness about honour based violence. Deeyah founded Memini, which is Latin for remembrance, a digital remembrance webpage that honours the memory of those who have lost their lives to honour based violence.  In 2012, Deeyah co-founded the Honour Based Violence Awareness network (hbv-awareness.com) with Joanne Payton. "A one of a kind international digital resource centre, HBVA is a learning, information and training tool created for front-line professionals, from teachers, health workers, social services to police, politicians, and others who may encounter individuals at risk. HBV estimates that there are a minimum of 5000 honour based killings worldwide each year. Honour based violence has been going on for centuries and across the world in various cultures and religions."

The entire documentary has been placed online and can be watched on YouTube.

DVD Movie: Oranges and Sunshine 2010

In 1986, Margaret Humphreys was a child protection officer working in Nottingham, England. Incredibly, she stumbled upon one of the most astonishing and horrendous secrets safeguarded by the British government for over eighty years. In the movie which is based her book, Empty Cradle, one day after work Margaret is approached by a woman by the name of Charlotte, asking her to help her locate her family. Charlotte had been visiting from Australia where she lives and she tells Margaret that all she knows is that she, along with a large group of children, were sent over by ship in the 1940s and 50s to Australia. Charlotte was four years old at the time. She was told her mother had died and she was unsure of her true name and her birth date.

At first Margaret is reluctant to get involved until one day in her post-adoption group therapy session, one of the attendees, Nikki, tells the group that out of the blue she got a letter from someone claiming to be her brother Jack and that he lived in Australia. Nikki cannot understand how this can be. As she tells the group more, Margaret realizes that this must be more than a coincidence and she decides that she must look into what is going on.

Margaret researches Charlottes birth certificate and manages to track down her mother, reuniting the two women. When she meets Charlottes mother, Margaret learns that she had been told her daughter was adopted out to a family.  She never knew her daughter had been sent to Australia. And she had always hoped to get her daughter back, not see her adopted out.

Margaret eventually meets Nikki's brother Jack, who seems devastated over what happened to him. In an attempt to learn more about the children, Margaret flies to Australia on her own time and using her own funds to determine how many other children have had a similar experience and to try to understand the scope of what happened.

Eventually Margaret and her husband, Mervyn uncover a migration scheme so widespread that there is no way the British government could not have known about it.They discover that these "forced migrations" began as early as 1900 and lasted until 1970. During that period of time there were "waves" of forced migrations and there were so many children involved that upper levels of government would have had to have given permission, including the Home Secretary. All of the children were in care and it was evident that these children were systematically deported. These schemes were run by charities and churches, among them, the Christian brothers.

Margaret, through her visits with children who were forcibly sent to Australia, learns that many suffered abuse, both emotional, physical and sometimes sexual, and worked as virtual slaves. Some received little educating and were basically indentured slaves. All this despite being told they were going to a warm country where there was plenty of sunshine and they could pick oranges off the trees.

Margaret attempts to get the organizations involved in the migrations to accept responsibility and acknowledge that they did a great wrong to these adult children and their families. It took 23 years before the British and Australian government finally issued an apology for the child migration schemes. More than 130,000 children had been deported. Margaret, with the help of her husband, continue their work today of helping reunite children with their families.

Discussion

Oranges and Sunshine deals with this difficult subject in a forthright way but one that also demonstrates how the forced child migration affected the children, their mothers and how it continues to affect them to this day. Emily Watson does a stellar job portraying Margaret Humphreys in a performance filled with intelligence, gentleness and subdued passion. She is never deterred from her mission of finding these "lost children" even when her personal safety is at stake. Eventually the stress of dealing with so many people who have been hurt takes its toll on Margaret and she is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She tries to keep her distance and set personal boundaries but the breadth and depth of the tragedy is so overwhelming that she is unable to accomplish this. Watson conveys this with such utter realism that we forget we are watching a movie.

The effect of her work is especially well portrayed in the scenes with Len (David Wenham) near the end of the movie. Len is a man who has been deeply affected by his experiences; by his own admission he stopped crying at the age of eight. Wealthy enough to afford a private detective to find his mother, he is at first doubtful of Margaret's intentions and her ability. Yet after finding his mother for him, Margaret is challenged by Len to go to Boys Town at Bindoon to see what he and other child migrants experienced. She doesn't want to but in the end she agrees. Bindoon is in the middle of nowhere, and as Margaret and Len look down from afar at Boys Town, we see a colossal structure built by child migrants who were at the mercy of the Christian Brothers and who suffered some of the worst abuse. The cinematography effectively captures the isolation and the fear these children must have felt as they saw themselves being driven far from any town or village.

When Margaret sees this place she is terribly shattered because she feels that what she is doing is not enough. But Len tells her, "You feel it for all of us because we can't...You're in there for us. You're fighting for us. So let the rest go. Just let it go."

Oranges and Sunshine is based on the book, Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys. The film was produced by Emile Sherman and Camilla Bray who also produced The King's Speech. The Oranges and Sunshine website (orangesandshunshine.com.au ) has more information on the making of the film and the actors involved.

Secrets of the Henna Girl by Sufiya Ahmed

"I knew everything there was to know about family honour. My dad had always talked about it. When I was a child he would sit me on his knee and tell me that wives, sisters and daughters were like precious glass vases within which a man's honour was contained. These glass vases must never be broken. If the female did not behave accordingly then a man's honour was compromised. His friends would laugh at him, his brothers would jeer at him and -- even more shamefully -- other women would ridicule him."

Sixteen year old Zeba Khan, a Muslim girl from Yorkshire, has just finished high school where she excelled at writing and all her other subjects. Zeba anticipates attending college to complete her A-levels and then enrolling in university. Her whole life is before her, with all the excitement and promise of a brilliant future.

But Zeba's world as she knows it comes to crushing halt, when she learns on her family's holiday to Pakistan, that she is to be married at sixteen to her cousin Aisf who is a soldier in the Pakistan army. Her uncle, Taya-ji is worried about his only son, Asif's future in the army and wishes him to leave Pakistan and emigrate to England. The only way he can do this is to marry an English girl.

Zeba is sent by her parents to live with her maternal grandmother, Fatima or Nannyma as she is called in the hopes that she will gradually accept the marriage. Nannyma is a dignified woman who is well respected because she owns land. She is the voice of moderate, progressive Islam in the novel. Her other daughter, Nusrat, lives in America and is married to Tahir, an engineer. Nannyma encouraged Nusrat to "follow her fate, her kismet."  and Nusrat believes that women should be free to follow their dreams and reach their full potential. Zeba realizes that maybe Nannyma is her sole supporter.

When her father comes to Nannyma's home and tries to explain the reason for the marriage, Zeba confronts him, telling her father she will not marry Asif. He tells her that it is his duty to protect Asif and to put his honour first, rather than protect his daughter. Zeba cannot believe that her mother and father would use her and sacrifice her happiness for Asif's safety - that they would make a promise of marriage without consulting her.

While living with Nannyma, Zeba meets another bakri or sacrificial lamb, Sehar, who is from Birmingham and who was forced into marriage by her family to the youngest son of the powerful village landlord, Sher Shah. Sehar tells Zeba that when her family announced a trip to Pakistan, unlike Zeba, she became suspicious and contacted the Forced Marriage Unit in Birmingham. A woman from one of the charities, named Tara, offered her help if she felt she needed to leave her family. But Sehar thought that if she just stood her ground, her parents would relent. She was wrong. Now she finds herself married, seven months pregnant, being beaten often by her husband, and planning her escape back to England. Sehar's story makes Zeba realize that this might very well be her future.

One of  Zeba's lowest moments comes when her parents leave for England and tell her they will return in one month for her wedding. Nannyma attempts to intervene in Zeba's forced marriage by appealing to the imam. The imam tells them he was tricked into marrying Sehar and did not realize that she did not consent to the marriage. But when he tries to appeal to Taya-ji who has arranged the marriage, Taya-ji becomes enraged and has the imam driven from the village. The fallout from Nannyma's intervention is widespread and Zeba begins to understand that she will not be able to escape. She also learns that Asif has no intention of leaving Pakistan because he is very dedicated to his career in the army. At this point, Zeba gives up all hope of returning to England.

But a terrible tragedy causes Zeba to rethink her situation and her decision to give in to the marriage two weeks before her own wedding. Her own break happens when she is helped by Nusrat and Tahir, who are visiting Pakistan. They take her to Karachi so that she can use the internet to contact the Forced Marriage Unit in the UK, her friend Susan, and a teacher and more importantly Tara. Zeba must now hope that someone will help her before it is too late.

Discussion

Secrets of the Henna Girl explores the issue of forced marriage which has become a serious issue in the United Kingdom. In fact, it is so serious a problem that the government has created a Forced Marriage Unit to aid young women (and some men as well) who are taken abroad to their ancestral countries to be forcibly married. It is common enough that pamphlets are distributed throughout schools so that girls can be made aware that a planned "vacation" may in fact end in a forced marriage. According to the handbook put online by the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) in Britain, the British Embassy will arrange a safe flight back to the UK.

Secrets of the Henna Girl is well written, with Zeba's story easily captivating the reader's attention. Zeba's naivete, helplessness and the overwhelming nature of her situation are poignantly portrayed but it is the tragedy of her friend Sehar that is so memorable. This is a reminder that for some girls, there are no happy endings, and that their suffering is intense.

Ahmed is not only able to tell a good story but she is also able to provide the reader with interesting background information about Pakistan and its culture, thus educating and informing. Sufiya Ahmed also effectively educates the reader on the tragedy of forced marriage, its cultural basis and what motivates parents and family to do this to their own children. There are some interesting passages on how the feudal society, which still exists in much of Pakistan, perpetuates the practice of forced marriage.

One of the strongest elements of Secrets of the Henna Girl is the tremendous conflict that exists between Zeba and her parents and also between her parents and their culture of honour. Zeba cannot understand how her parents can do this to her. These are the same people who played with her and sent her to school. Zeba cannot understand her parents who are suppose to love and protect her but instead value honour more than anything else. "All those shared memories that should have invoked a protective arm around me seemed to have disappeared. I was no longer my father's rani, I was my father's honour instead."

Zeba also recognizes that her father does not really want to marry her to Asif, but because he gave his word, his honour is bound to this promise. If he goes back on his word, he will be disowned by his family, and family and honour is everything. The internal conflict her father experiences is evident to Zeba, but she feels that he should put her safety and concerns first before family. "Today was his only child's engagement ceremony and he looked like he had the world's worries on his shoulders. There was not a hint of happiness on his face, only misery. I knew in my heart that he didn't want this for me, and I just couldn't understand the obligation he felt to his older brother."

It is uncertain why Nusrat and Tahir did not take Zeba directly to the British Embassy in Karachi where she would have received immediate assistance. Zeba's marriage was imminent, and in the tribal regions of Pakistan, locating one girl with no working phone, no passport and no access to the outside would be daunting. Perhaps Nusrat and Tahir, despite their open minds and more liberal views on women and culture, still wished to preserve their place within the family and they also wished to protect Nannyma who might have suffered serious consequences as a result of their actions. In the end though, the family would have come to the realization that it was Nusrat and Tahir who helped Zeba escape.

The attractive cover, showing a young woman's hands covering in henna designs, wearing colourful bangles, and handcuffs. Author Sufiya Ahmed indicated that this is symbolic of a girl being forced to marry. For Ahmed, her Muslim parents did not support forced marriage, believing that marriage should be freely chosen. Many people do not understand that forced marriage is a cultural practice that occurs across ethnic and religious groups. Ahmed was motivated to write Secrets of the Henna Girl after hearing the stories of survivors. She wanted to raise awareness among girls about the practice and that there is help now available in the United Kingdom. Secrets of the Henna Girl puts a human face to the tragedy of forced marriage. Her characters are realistic and evoke empathy. It's evident that this issue is dear to the author's heart. Ahmed succeeds in educating readers, helping them to understand the cultural forces at play in such situations. Secrets of the Henna Girl is a much needed novel.

Book Details:
Secrets of the Henna Girl by Sufiya Ahmed
London: Puffin Books 2012
271 pp