“Clemency Wrigglesworth stood at the foot of the gangway
and stared up at the big white ship.”
Clemency’s dad has died in a horse race so she’s left
with her mum. Clemency and her mum are going to find relatives in England but
her mum dies so Clemency goes alone. When the ship lands in England, Clemency
is taken in by a family who run a hotel: Leicester, Whitby, Gully and Aunt Hett.
There are so many people in their family, they are all called after the places
they were born because they are a travelling family. But then a mysterious lady
called Miss Clawe takes her away to find her real family...
The story unfolds in two places, so we follow Clemency
and her horrible life, but at the same time the Genuine Red Indians are hunting
for her. Gully and Whitby never give up hope so nor do we.
The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee (Oxford 2013) is an exciting read that is great for seven year olds and upwards as long as they know every book has a happy ending. I would like to ask Julia Lee why she thinks so many stories are about orphans.
Julia Lee replies:
That’s a really good question. It’s not just to make readers feel sad
about the orphaned character, I can assure you. If Clemency had been
well looked after by two nice, healthy, and sensible parents I wouldn’t
have had a story! There’s much more scope for exciting and challenging
things to happen with mum and dad out of the way for some reason. When
children find themselves alone and in charge, they have to work out what
to do, how they feel, who to trust, and so on, which gives the author
lots to write about.
A hundred years ago and more, health care and medicines were not nearly so effective, ordinary life was risky, and so children were much more likely to be orphans. It’s still true in some parts of the world today. Stories written or set in the past, or in other countries, will reflect this. But in most modern books, if parents are absent or useless, it’s for more modern reasons.
I'm so glad you enjoyed my book, and thank you for your great review! There's another story about Gully and the Marvel family coming out later this year.
A hundred years ago and more, health care and medicines were not nearly so effective, ordinary life was risky, and so children were much more likely to be orphans. It’s still true in some parts of the world today. Stories written or set in the past, or in other countries, will reflect this. But in most modern books, if parents are absent or useless, it’s for more modern reasons.
I'm so glad you enjoyed my book, and thank you for your great review! There's another story about Gully and the Marvel family coming out later this year.
That’s a really good question. It’s not just to make readers feel sad about the orphaned character, I can assure you. If Clemency had been well looked after by two nice, healthy, and sensible parents I wouldn’t have had a story! There’s much more scope for exciting and challenging things to happen with mum and dad out of the way for some reason. When children find themselves alone and in charge, they have to work out what to do, how they feel, who to trust, and so on, which gives the author lots to write about.
ReplyDeleteA hundred years ago and more, health care and medicines were not nearly so effective, ordinary life was risky, and so children were much more likely to be orphans. It’s still true in some parts of the world today. Stories written or set in the past, or in other countries, will reflect this. But in most modern books, if parents are absent or useless, it’s for more modern reasons.
I'm so glad you enjoyed my book, and thank you for your great review! There's another story about Gully and the Marvel family coming out later this year.