The Plague - Hardcover

Dahme, Joanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0762433442 ISBN 13: 9780762433445

Publisher: Running Press Kids, 2009

Synopsis

In a land overshadowed by death, fifteen year-old Nell's uncanny resemblance to Princess Joan brings her to act as her double—what young girl wouldn't want to leave a life of poverty and pretend to be a princess? But when the plague catches up to the royal entourage, thwarting the King's plan for the princess to marry the Prince of Castile and seal an alliance between their kingdoms, Nell's life could change forever. Princess Joan's brother The Black Prince schemes to make the wedding go on declaring Nell will no longer double for Joan, she will become the princess and dupe Prince Pedro into marriage! With the aid and protection of a quirky band of friends—a Spanish minstrel, a monk, a gravedigger, a band of merchants—Nell must evade not only the Black Prince, a practitioner of the dark arts, but the plague as well, as she fights to return to the King and country. Based on historical truth, Dahme beautifully captures the dark terror of a Plague-infested fourteenth century Europe, while bringing to life the daily existence of medieval life for young adult readers.

About this title

About the Author

Joanne Dahme works for the Philadelphia Water Department as its Watersheds Programs Manager. She received her civil engineering degree from Villanova University in 1980, and went on to earn a Masters of Journalism and Master's in Creative Writing from Temple University. Creepers, her first venture into the realm of young adult fiction, met with widespread acclaim from the literary world. Joanne lives with her husband and son in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–10—On the day Nell's parents are taken away by the gravediggers, her destiny changes because she bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Joan, daughter of King Edward III. Worried that his military campaigns, as well as the burgeoning plague, could put his daughter in danger, the king decides that 15-year-old Nell should serve as his daughter's body double. As Nell and her brother George are traveling to Spain with the princess for her marriage, Joan's brother, known as the Black Prince, carries out a treasonous plan that leaves the princess dead in France and Nell forced to take her place in a phony marriage to the Prince of Castile. Realizing his treachery, Nell, George, and Henry, a soldier, try to escape the Black Prince. As they try to make their way through Bordeaux, they are joined by one cast of characters after another, and eventually find themselves in the clutches of the Black Prince once again. The three are taken back to England to be tried for treason, and they pray that King Edward will believe their story. The author's writing style is appealing, but the novel is largely plot driven and episodic with little character development. Additionally, the suggestion that the Black Prince has supernatural control over the plague-infested rats introduces a jarring element of fantasy in what is otherwise strictly historical fiction. The open-ended resolution leaves room for further adventures of Nell, George, and Henry, but readers will want stronger characters with whom they can develop a connection.—Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
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About this edition

• Publisher: Running Press Kids
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0762433442
• ISBN 13: 9780762433445
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272