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curly_kate94's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘There’s times in here I have to check I ain’t just gone and died already. All I’ve got is a pile of hours, and hours ain’t what people think they are.’
Usually, a 14 year old orphaned gypsy girl and a 26 year old widowed governess would not have much in common. Usually. But in 1842, when Miriam Booth is convicted of burglary and Rose Winter is convicted for the theft of fourteen silver knives and forks and one ring, both are sentenced to seven years transportation. Both will sail on ‘The Marquis of Hastings’ to Van Diemen’s Land.
Miriam has lived by her wits in the Newcastle slums, until she became involved in house-breaking. Rose, once much higher in society than Miriam, became a governess when she was widowed with three young children of her own. Her father has been imprisoned for slave trading (a prosperous but by then illegal trade) and Rose’s position in society suffers as a consequence.
Conditions aboard the ship are appalling, although women with money to spare or willing to be ‘wife’ to one of the sailors can secure a better passage. Rose, who is accompanied by her youngest daughter Arabella, is able to share a cabin while Miriam is stuck in the hold where she is befriended by Ma Dywer, a former brothel-keeper travelling to join her convict husband already in Van Diemen’s Land.
After they arrive in Van Diemen’s Land, Miriam and Rose are hired by the Reverend Sutton to work at his nursery for convict babies – an alternative which seems much better than working at the Cascades Factory for Women.
‘But I was coming to see for myself how there was a lot of difference in this world between the Christian way of thinking and the Christian way of acting.’
Alas, the Reverend Sutton is a hypocrite, and while he frequents the brothel next door and also takes advantage of some of the women who work for him, any evidence of sexual transgression (and especially pregnancy) is to be condemned. Miriam, who falls in love with the Reverend Sutton’s son John, becomes trapped.
‘I am arresting you for the crime of being advanced in pregnancy.’
And Rose? Her daughter Arabella has been taken from her, and while she takes good care of the convict babies she longs to look after another child.
I found it difficult to put this book down. Rose and Miriam tell their stories with their own distinct voices. Miriam’s reflects her much lower class upbringing: much more direct and full of grammatical error. Rose has more control over what she says and how she says it. As a consequence of their two distinct voices and different perspectives, I felt that I obtained a more complete view of their lives, the times and society in which they lived. While we start with a fair knowledge of Miriam’s life and circumstances, Rose’s story unfolds during the course of the novel. By the end of the novel I felt particularly sorry for Miriam: so young, so vulnerable, so trusting.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Usually, a 14 year old orphaned gypsy girl and a 26 year old widowed governess would not have much in common. Usually. But in 1842, when Miriam Booth is convicted of burglary and Rose Winter is convicted for the theft of fourteen silver knives and forks and one ring, both are sentenced to seven years transportation. Both will sail on ‘The Marquis of Hastings’ to Van Diemen’s Land.
Miriam has lived by her wits in the Newcastle slums, until she became involved in house-breaking. Rose, once much higher in society than Miriam, became a governess when she was widowed with three young children of her own. Her father has been imprisoned for slave trading (a prosperous but by then illegal trade) and Rose’s position in society suffers as a consequence.
Conditions aboard the ship are appalling, although women with money to spare or willing to be ‘wife’ to one of the sailors can secure a better passage. Rose, who is accompanied by her youngest daughter Arabella, is able to share a cabin while Miriam is stuck in the hold where she is befriended by Ma Dywer, a former brothel-keeper travelling to join her convict husband already in Van Diemen’s Land.
After they arrive in Van Diemen’s Land, Miriam and Rose are hired by the Reverend Sutton to work at his nursery for convict babies – an alternative which seems much better than working at the Cascades Factory for Women.
‘But I was coming to see for myself how there was a lot of difference in this world between the Christian way of thinking and the Christian way of acting.’
Alas, the Reverend Sutton is a hypocrite, and while he frequents the brothel next door and also takes advantage of some of the women who work for him, any evidence of sexual transgression (and especially pregnancy) is to be condemned. Miriam, who falls in love with the Reverend Sutton’s son John, becomes trapped.
‘I am arresting you for the crime of being advanced in pregnancy.’
And Rose? Her daughter Arabella has been taken from her, and while she takes good care of the convict babies she longs to look after another child.
I found it difficult to put this book down. Rose and Miriam tell their stories with their own distinct voices. Miriam’s reflects her much lower class upbringing: much more direct and full of grammatical error. Rose has more control over what she says and how she says it. As a consequence of their two distinct voices and different perspectives, I felt that I obtained a more complete view of their lives, the times and society in which they lived. While we start with a fair knowledge of Miriam’s life and circumstances, Rose’s story unfolds during the course of the novel. By the end of the novel I felt particularly sorry for Miriam: so young, so vulnerable, so trusting.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
terrijane's review
4.0
My review is up here: http://twoninethree.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/reading-the-night-flower/
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