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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You'll probably notice the different spelling. I'm going with the British spelling as A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley is a British novel. As the title implies, the novel is a time travel story but the time travel is a method for uniting the present (1934) with a wonderfully told historical fiction set around the Babington Plot.
Penelope Thacker is a bit fey as apparently all the Penelopes in the Thacker family and she begins to experience things from the past but try as she might, she cannot change them. As Penelope begins to live half her life in the past she learns how to live in the 1580s. Alison Uttley fills the world of the Thacker Manor with the mundane details of running a home and farm along with the big events surrounding the imprisoning of Mary Stuart.
Uttley's novel has enough historical information to teach the basics of the Babington Plot without hitting one over the head with facts, dates and figures. Readers knowledgeable of the events will enjoy filling in the missing details. Readers not as familiar with the history can still follow along and enjoy the time travel aspects of the novel.
Penelope Thacker is a bit fey as apparently all the Penelopes in the Thacker family and she begins to experience things from the past but try as she might, she cannot change them. As Penelope begins to live half her life in the past she learns how to live in the 1580s. Alison Uttley fills the world of the Thacker Manor with the mundane details of running a home and farm along with the big events surrounding the imprisoning of Mary Stuart.
Uttley's novel has enough historical information to teach the basics of the Babington Plot without hitting one over the head with facts, dates and figures. Readers knowledgeable of the events will enjoy filling in the missing details. Readers not as familiar with the history can still follow along and enjoy the time travel aspects of the novel.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Penelope visits her aunt and uncle at Thackers Manor and finds herself stepping back and forth in time, visiting relatives and residents of the place from three hundred years before, and taking part in helping Mary Queen of Scots try to escape her imprisonment. A Narnia-style story with a history lesson and a hint of romance, too. I would have absolutely loved this one when I was a kid, and I still enjoyed it quite a bit now.
Penelope is sent with her brother and sister to stay at Thackers Farm, nr Hollow in the countryside with her Aunt Tissie and Uncle Barnabas. As Penelope has ill health when her siblings return to the city she remains behind. A sensitive child she becomes aware of the existence of a parallel world to her own into the past which she glimpses through doorways. Soon glimpses turn into a blurring of the lines and Penelope finds she can travel between timelines into the life at Thackers Farm in 1582 and a plot to rescue Mary Queen of Scots.
The writing is beautifully descriptive of rural life of the gentry in the 16th century and the precarious political times. I did struggle to connect with the story also my sympathies don’t lie with those who were plotting to restore Mary Queen of Scots to the throne.
The writing is beautifully descriptive of rural life of the gentry in the 16th century and the precarious political times. I did struggle to connect with the story also my sympathies don’t lie with those who were plotting to restore Mary Queen of Scots to the throne.
Slightly disturbing to realise that I first read this in 1981!!!
Big Toe Books from BBC Radio 7. The plot seems to be interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xlw17
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xlw17
I wish I'd read this when I was 12, it would have been one of my favorite books ever. As it is, I'm glad to have read it at this late date. Sweet little British story of a girl with the second sight, an enchanted house, and the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots.