The Ivory Rose - Belinda Murrell

Jemma finds herself a regular visitor to Rosethorne, one of the famous Witches’ Houses of Annandale, as she works at her first babysitting job – minding Sammy. Jemma loves spending time with Sammy and visiting Rosethorne, except she’s been witness to some strange happenings there that she can’t explain. Sammy says that someone she calls Georgie is in the room, but Jemma can’t see anyone. Does Sammy have a wild imagination? Or are the rumours true? Could Rosethorne really be haunted?

When Jemma and Sammy are playing hide-and-seek one day, Jemma finds a beautiful rose charm made of ivory. But when she puts it around her neck it sets off a terrifying chain of events that end in her falling down the stairs and knocking herself unconscious. When she comes to, she finds she has time-travelled to the year 1895. Poor Jemma has no idea how she arrived here or how to return home, nor that she will be involved in a life and death quest to save the life of the pale and sickly Georgiana, young heiress of Rosethorne.

Fans of Belinda Murrell’s time slip tales will not be disappointed with her latest addition to the series. The Ivory Rose explores the late nineteenth century world of Annandale, Sydney, in the midst of a devastating depression. Through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Jemma we see the life of the times at grassroots level; through Jemma’s friendships, her disappointments and frustrations, her shocking discoveries about the hardship of the working class, Murrell leads us into a thrilling and intimate journey into history. This is a thoroughly engaging story. It will appeal to upper primary through to early teenage girls who will relate to all the challenges Jemma must face both at home in her own time and in her stint in the nineteen eighties. Murrell’s artful and thoroughly researched crafting of setting, her cast of believable characters, and her bent for interesting plot twists will keep this book securely in the hands of the reader until it is finished. She deals deftly with themes of bullying, friendship, resilience and hope, and as always supplies a history fact file at the back of the book. The Ivory Rose would make a great addition to any classroom. Recommended.

 

Random House 2011

 

(A version of this review appears in Magpies Vol 26, Issue 2, May 2011)

The Ruby Talisman - Belinda Murrell

Tilly’s life is falling apart. She needs the support of her family and friends, but she is so angry, she’s pushed them away. How can she bear to visit her father, who has left to be with Bunny and her three children? And why should she have to look after her annoying younger brother, who probably drove Dad away in the first place? Mum is always on her back to do jobs around the house and Tilly’s school friends are beginning to exclude her. Even her fencing coach has warned she must not let her anger get the better of her.

 

A visit to Aunt Kara’s, however, when Mum goes away for a few days, sets Tilly on a course she could never have dreamed of. Or could she?

 

When Tilly complains about having to do a history assignment on the French Revolution, Aunt Kara searches out a family heirloom – a beautiful ruby pendant – and relates to Tilly the story of her French ancestry. She is surprised to hear she has been named after Amelie-Mathilde-Louise-de Montjoyeuse, and that Mathilde – her real name – means “battle mighty”, like a courageous warrior.

 

That night, when Tilly realises she is still wearing the pendant and rubs its fiery surface, she falls into a deep and graphic dream about Amelie-Mathilde. The following night, after spending all day researching the French Revolution with renewed vigour, something very peculiar happens: the troubled Tilly timeslips into the eighteenth century where she tries to help Amelie-Mathilde and her cousin Henri – both of the French aristocracy – escape the terrors of the Revolution. Poor Amelie, though she lives in the opulence of the Palace of Versailles with her aunt and uncle, must marry the horrible old Chevalier. She wishes that someone could rescue her.

 

This is the story of three companions, who find themselves, along with their monkey and dog, in the middle of a dangerous adventure that pits them against the might of an ugly and terrifying uprising. Belinda Murrell has certainly done her homework. The story is jam-packed with facts about the French Revolution and life of the times. There is even a glossary of French words at the beginning and “Fast Facts on the French Revolution” at the end. There is a sense that Murrell has tried too hard to squeeze in all of her research, which translates into some overwriting, but even so, she takes the reader on a thrilling ride through the putrid streets of Paris and French countryside of 1789 as Tilly, with her knowledge of the future, tries to persuade her new friends to leave France for the safety of England.

 

This book should be enjoyed by girls in their early teens. It deals with the themes of loss, resilience, tenacity, friendship and hope.

 

Random House 2010

 

(A version of this review appears in Magpies Vol 25, Issue 4, September 2010)