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At the Sign of the Star, by Katherine Sturtevant
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The tale of a bookseller's daughter
Meg Moore is the motherless and only child of a bookseller with a thriving business in Restoration London-and that makes her an heiress. She knows that someday she will have her pick of suitors, and that with the right husband she can continue in the book trade and be friends with wits and authors, as her father is. But Mr. Moore's unexpected marriage throws all Meg's dreams into confusion. Meg resists the overtures and edicts of her stepmother with a cleverness equaled only by her fierceness, but in spite of it all her rival's belly soon swells with what Meg fears will be her father's new heir. Meg seeks wisdom from almanacs and astrologers, plays and books of jests, guides for ladies and guides for midwives. Yet it is through her own experience that she finds a new matrimony with which to face her unknown future. This vibrant novel recreates a lively and fascinating historical period when women claimed a new and more active role in London's literary scene.
- Sales Rank: #2981965 in Books
- Published on: 2000-10-16
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .65" h x 5.75" w x 8.55" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 140 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Though her mother died four years ago, the heroine of this novel set in 1677 London feels fortunate indeed: her father is a bookseller and publisher, and she is his only heir. Thanks to her anticipated dowry, she will have an unusual degree of freedom: "I would not live my life like other women, bound to dreary husbands and household duties." With her love of books and her admiration of Restoration London's great wits, the hours Meg spends working in her father's shop bring great pleasure. But all this changes when Meg's father takes a new wife: not only is Meg's inheritance jeopardized by the possible birth of a half brother, she must also study the womanly arts she scorns at the side of her stepmother, Susannah. Refreshingly, Meg's struggle to come to terms with her altered situation never degenerates into a battle of one-dimensional tomboyish virtue against uncomprehending femininity. Though readers never lose sight of Meg's predicament, Susannah is gradually and convincingly revealed to be as sympathetic and as hardheaded as her stepdaughter. Avoiding simplistic devices, resolution is achieved through perseverance and genuine emotional growth. Admirers of historical fiction will relish Sturtevant's (A Mistress Moderately Fair, for adults) detailed depiction of life in the great city, including a trip to Vauxhall, a visit to the theater (where Aphra Behn's work is performed) and the simple errands that take Meg through the smoky, noisy and beguiling streets. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Restoration London in the year 1677 comes alive through the eyes of 12-year-old Meg Moore, the motherless only child of a bookseller whose home and place of business is, as the title conveys, "at the sign of the Star." Meg's father publishes the works of playwright John Dryden, among others, and Meg enjoys being part of the literary world. She expects to one day inherit the business and marry well with such a dowry. However, her expectations are dashed by her father's remarriage to Susannah Beckwith. Meg is cruel and insulting to her stepmother, who quickly becomes pregnant with the heir she fears will steal her future. When Susannah asks the girl to care for her baby in the event that she (like Meg's mother) dies in childbirth, Meg remembers how she had loved a younger brother who died. Though she does lose her inheritance when Tobias is born, she eventually comes to realize that, while the future may be unknown, she has many options. Sturtevant paints a lively picture of the time and place, weaving information on such diverse topics as medical procedures, food, and wedding rituals. Each chapter bears the title of an actual book written during the late 17th century. Readers also learn about Aphra Behn, a successful woman playwright of the time, who becomes a role model for Meg. Good historical fiction with a strong female heroine set in a time and place not often portrayed in books for this audience.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-8. Working in her widowed father's London bookshop in 1677, twelve-year-old Meg loves being on the fringe of the literary world and talking with her father and their customers about books. In addition, she feels secure knowing that the business she will inherit will give her the financial freedom to marry a man of her choosing. So when her father remarries, Meg finds the adjustment difficult. Not only must she now acknowledge that she will probably not inherit the bookshop, she must also accept her stepmother's tutelage in household skills and womanly decorum. Those lessons come hard to the quick-witted, rebellious child, who finds quiet, spiteful ways to needle her stepmother. Gradually, though, Meg comes to accept her new place in her old home and the inevitability of change itself. It's commonplace to find that the heroine in historical fiction is a strong-willed girl, reluctant to be bound by the conventions of a past society, but Meg seems less like a child transplanted from the late twentieth century than a product of her own times. In this novel, Sturtevant creates a vivid sense of a different culture through the vocabulary, speech patterns, and reactions of the characters, as well as the many details that make up the lively backdrop of seventeenth-century London. Readers will end the book hoping for a sequel to this engaging story, which is set in a period little visited in historical novels for young people. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
AT THE SIGN OF THE STAR
By A Customer
Meg Moore is only eight years old when her mother dies in childbirth. Her bookseller tells Meg that she is now heir to all his books, copyrights, and other interests. With such a dowry, she knows that someday she will have her pick of suitors and that with the right husband she can continue in the book trade. She dreams of being friends with witty people and authors, as her father is. She obstinately refuses to attend school, preferring to learn the booksellers' trade in her father's shop. She does not care to learn women's ways. Strong-minded, with a lively wit and caustic tongue, Meg brings London in the 1600s alive for us, through her eyes.
When her father remarries a woman named Susannah, it looks like Meg will lose her birthright and inheritance to Susannah and any child she might have. However, Meg does not want to live life as only a wife or servant, either. It seems though, that these might be the only options open to her unless she learns a trade. Meg consults Anthony Barker, an astrologer. Mr. Barker tells her that a great change is coming to her life.
Thirteen-year-old Meg must learn to take charge of her own life in an era when woman do not have much control over their lives. Meg is determined that she will become a bookseller or at least have some other trade. She refuses to be at the mercy of a husband or be forced to live as a servant.
Will an unsuspected talent be Meg's salvation, and will she find the maturity to face her unknown future? In AT THE SIGN OF THE STAR, Katherine Sturtevant has recreated the world of 17th Century Restoration London at a time when women were finally coming into their own on London's literary scene.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A fascinating novel filled with details of 17th century life
By Rebecca Herman
As the only child of a widowed bookseller in 17th century London, twelve-year-old Meg Moore stands to inheirit her father's entire estate. Because she is an heiress, Meg will be able to take part in the bookselling trade - her greatest wish - and will be able to chose her own husband. But Meg's entire future is changed when her father decides to remarry. Meg dislikes her new stepmother, Susannah, even though Susannah tries to be kind to her. She fears that Susannah will provide her father with a son that will take Meg's place as his heir, and that she will be reduced to marrying any man that will take her, or even worse, working as a maid. But over a year of change, Meg realizes that accepting Susannah can only bring good, and that there are ways that she can help influence her future, even if she is not an heiress. This was a fascinating glimpse into a time period that is not often written about in young adult fiction. Highly reccomend to teen fans of historical novels.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Live in Another Time
By Kat Corbett, author of the DanceFutures series
Women and girls today have so many more freedoms and opportunities than they once had. Find out what it was like to be a girl in Restoration London--specifically, in 1677. Meg Moore, an independent-minded girl of 12, chafes at the restrictions on her life--on how she must behave, speak, and accept the future arranged for her. If her father's new wife bears him a son, she will no longer be his heir. Upon his death, she will not be able to take over his bookselling business, which she loves, as she hopes and plans to do. She acts out her resentment of her stepmother in bold rudenesses that you will guiltily enjoy. :) By the time her worst fear becomes a reality, however, Meg has discovered a new talent that may win her an even more independent future.
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