At the Sign of the Sugared Plum - Hardcover

Mary Hooper

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582348499 ISBN 13: 9781582348490

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2003

Synopsis

It is 1665 and Hannah is full of excitement at the prospect of her first trip to London. She is going to help her sister, Sarah, in her candy shop, 'The Sugared Plum'. But Hannah does not get the welcoming reception she expected from her sister, because the Plague is taking hold of London. However, Hannah is determined to stay and together the two young women face the worst-with the possibility of their own demise, growing ever closer. But through it all they persevere with the support of their neighbors and each other. And at last, they find hope in a daring attempt to escape the city.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Hooper began writing about 20 years ago, often short stories for women's and teen magazines. She now focuses solely on books. She won the North East Book Award (UK) for her YA novel, Megan. She is also the author of Amy. Mary lives in Eversley Cross, England.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In the summer of 1665, Hannah travels to London to live with her older sister, Sarah, the owner of a sweetmeats shop. But the bubonic plague begins taking hold, and although Hannah enjoys the excitement of big-city life, the realities of the epidemic soon become impossible to ignore. Hooper fills her story with the sights, sounds, and smells of seventeenth-century London: heads decorate London Bridge, and the putrid aroma of rotting meat and kitchen slops pervades the air. Secondary characters--among them an apothecary and his apprentice--help to broaden Hannah's experiences and enhance the many setting and historical details. Quotes from Samuel Pepys' Diary head each chapter, and appended notes and a glossary add to the authenticity of the story. Historical fiction buffs will find much to like, and classes studying the period will find this an excellent resource, especially when paired with James Cross Giblin's When Plague Strikes (1995), or Jim Murphy's An American Plague [BKL Je 1 & 15 03], which brings the tragedy of an epidemic closer to home. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1582348499
• ISBN 13: 9781582348490
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 169