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imperfectcj's review against another edition
4.0
My nine-year-old daughter and I read this together and very much enjoyed this story of a young girl orphaned in tribal violence and then, essentially, gifted to England's Queen Victoria. I think we were both drawn to the narrative of a child traveling without family to a foreign land and then trying to find a home there.
I appreciated that Myers included excerpts from the primary sources that he used, not only because they help my daughter see how to weave material from primary documents into a narrative but also because I enjoy hearing the story in the words of those who lived it. As Myers mentions in the epilogue, there are many questions left unanswered about Sarah Forbes Bonetta's life, particularly how she felt and what she thought about her circumstances. We can make guesses from her letters to loved ones, but throughout the book, I wondered about the woman behind those words.
Reading about Sarah Forbes Bonetta reminded me of how I felt when I learned about Native Americans who had been taken to England in the 17th century, either as captives or as curiosities. Much as I wonder what it was like in England for Squanto or Pocahontas, I wonder how Sarah Forbes Bonetta experienced England. She lived her life among the English and made her home primarily in England, but did she feel accepted in English society? Did she feel at home? Her choices seemed limited, but were they more limited than the choices any woman in Victorian England would have had?
This book exposed my daughter and me to a different side of England in the 19th century, and we enjoyed it despite (or maybe because of) the unanswered questions. It prompted discussion not only about the historical and cultural context of Bonetta's life, but also about what makes a family and what makes a place "home."
I appreciated that Myers included excerpts from the primary sources that he used, not only because they help my daughter see how to weave material from primary documents into a narrative but also because I enjoy hearing the story in the words of those who lived it. As Myers mentions in the epilogue, there are many questions left unanswered about Sarah Forbes Bonetta's life, particularly how she felt and what she thought about her circumstances. We can make guesses from her letters to loved ones, but throughout the book, I wondered about the woman behind those words.
Reading about Sarah Forbes Bonetta reminded me of how I felt when I learned about Native Americans who had been taken to England in the 17th century, either as captives or as curiosities. Much as I wonder what it was like in England for Squanto or Pocahontas, I wonder how Sarah Forbes Bonetta experienced England. She lived her life among the English and made her home primarily in England, but did she feel accepted in English society? Did she feel at home? Her choices seemed limited, but were they more limited than the choices any woman in Victorian England would have had?
This book exposed my daughter and me to a different side of England in the 19th century, and we enjoyed it despite (or maybe because of) the unanswered questions. It prompted discussion not only about the historical and cultural context of Bonetta's life, but also about what makes a family and what makes a place "home."
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