Lavinia's Window - Softcover

Michelle Weisen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1607020475 ISBN 13: 9781607020479

Publisher: Words of Mercy, LLC, 2009

Synopsis

Lavinia's Window is a Victorian coming of age story patterned on the genre of domestic fiction popular in the 1850 s and is directed towards girls in the middle reader group. This novel arises from my graduate work, Sounds of Silence: Victorian Girlhood and Empowerment in British and American Domestic Fiction. The year is 1883 and Lavinia Spencer Rexford, a motherless 12 year old girl, resides with her maternal grandmother and great uncle at Millstone Manor in Chaddsford, Pennsylvania. On Lavinia s 12th birthday, her grandmother presents her with a journal, and instructs her to focus on the seven heavenly virtues in the upcoming year, The virtues represent values that we are not born with, but must strive to achieve for ourselves. God gives us the gift of choice, and the ability to differentiate between what is good and what is not. Lavinia is instructed to learn and absorb the values of truth, love, courage, wisdom, creativity, tolerance, and freedom, and to use them in pursuit of a grand adventure to celebrate her passage from childhood to adolescence. Lavinia observes the actions and antics of her eclectic group of family and friends to arrive at her own moral compass. These external forces shape Lavinia s perspective, but it is the internalization of lessons learned through love, friendship, sorrow and pain that prepares Lavinia for the greatest confrontation of her life. As the year draws to a close, Lavinia s father, who abandoned her at birth, threatens the sanctity of her home and only Lavinia can prevent the destruction of her family. The novel reflects historical culture of the 19th century, much of which is relevant to present day girls: blended families due to death, economics and abandonment, caring for a relative wounded in the war, disparities between urban and rural culture, prejudice and suspicion toward immigrants, and the juxtaposition of home and career in the emergence of female emancipation. Incorporated into this story is the Victorian language of flowers. Each chapter begins with the drawing of a flower and the meaning attached to it which sets the theme for that particular chapter. The purpose of Lavinia s Window is to demonstrate that the virtues explored within this novel empower girls to successfully negotiate life s complexities.

About this title

About the Author

Michelle Weisen currently resides in Media, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Florida International University in Miami, Florida with a Master of Arts in English. Her graduate work focused on girlhood in American and British domestic fiction, popular between 1850 and 1880. Michelle has taught English at Florida International University, the University of Delaware and West Chester University. She also owns her own publishing company, Words of Mercy. Her first children s book, In My Own World, written and designed for autistic children, won the 2007 Dragonpencil Award for Superior Illustration. She co-wrote Wildlife Rescue Rangers with Tracy Mahoney to increase children s awareness of the plight of wildlife in a changing environment. Lavinia s Window is Michelle s first novel and the third children s book published by Words of Mercy. Michelle founded Words of Mercy to promote literature that gives children a positive outlook on the world and shows them opportunities where they can participate in making their world better. These books focus on the importance of caring for one another and preserving the earth we live in, thus providing children and their families with enriched reading experiences. Further, a portion of the proceeds from each book is donated to worthy organizations benefiting children.

Edition details

• Publisher: Words of Mercy, LLC
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1607020475
• ISBN 13: 9781607020479
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Samantha Jones
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Carolyn Guss