The Bride's Farewell

The Bride's Farewell
by Meg Rosoff
2009
Viking Peguin
New York
ISBN: 9780670020997

Plot Summary:
On the morning of her marriage to her childhood friend, Pell steals away, taking only her shawl, her beloved horse Jack, and her tiniest brother, Bean. Pell is determined to carve out a new life for herself, minus the pain, poverty, and despair of her childhood surroundings. She possesses a strong talent for blacksmith and horsemanship, but with few chances and even fewer coins in her pocket, Bean, Jack, and Pell are soon plunged into an even less certain world than the world of Nomansland.
Critical Evaluation:
A highly imaginative and emotional story, written with a sparseness of dialogue, and a simplicity of description. Rosoff manages to evoke a world distant and fully realizable at once; in turn, producing a heroine full of contradiction, opposing desires, joy and pain.
Reader's Annotation:
Pell has lived her whole life succumbing to the demands and desires of others. One early morning, she steals away into the countryside, determined to discover what her own desires might be.
Genre:
Gothic realism/Romance
Reader Age/Interest Level:
14 and up into 100!
Author Info:
Meg Rosoff didn't turn to writing fiction until well into her 40's, yet her first novel, How I Live Now, still managed to acquire numerous awards and loads of critical acclaim. The Bride's Farewell is her fourth novel.
Booktalking Tips:
*What makes Pell suddenly depart from Nomansland?
*Are her desires for an independent life a realistic ambition for a solitary young female in the 19th century?
*What does Pell share in common with Esther and her children?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable.
Why Include?:
After reading How I Live Now, I will forever be a Meg Rosoff fan and avid reader of her writings.