Synopsis
John Wilson, an ex-geologist and frustrated historian, is the award-winning author of 12 historical fiction novels, most recently Four Steps to Death, Flames of the Tiger and And in the Morning. He has also authored five nonfiction books for young adults, including a biography of John Rae (Discovering the Arctic) and a book about the geology of Canada (Dancing Elephants and Floating Continents), a novel for adults (North with Franklin), over 30 poems, and hundreds of freelance articles.
Children's Literature
AGERANGE: Ages 12 up.
Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1897 is the book's opening event. From there, this work of historical fiction takes the reader back to India in 1857. The central character is 16-year-old Jack O'Hara, who is sent to live with his Aunt Katherine and Uncle James after his parents die. Jack has spent his life in the Canadian wilderness, so he finds the heat, the rigid caste system and the British mentality of the colonists hard to bear. However, he is fascinated by the strange and unfamiliar Indian customs and befriends the stable boy, Hari. When Jack sees five chapattis (round Indian flatbreads) left on the front steps, he thinks nothing of it. However, Hari tells him that this symbol is the Indian declaration of war. Shortly after, Jack, his soldier friend Tommy and 1,000 other British colonists are trapped in an under-stocked and ill-prepared entrenchment as the Indian army mutinies. The novel provides detailed information about the British military and its colonization of India. There are also other threads throughout the book about Jack's maturation and his interest in Alice, the beautiful daughter of the general. Reviewer: Lynn O'Connell