The Winter Hare

by Joan Elizabeth Goodman

Overview

Young Will Belet is sent from his noble family to serve as a page in the household of the earl of Oxford, where he must confront treachery within the castle as well as danger outside its walls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547561844
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/28/1996
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	966 KB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Joan Elizabeth Goodman has written several novels of highly acclaimed historical fiction. She lives with her husband and their two children in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6-9-Meticulously crafted, this 12th- century coming-of-age story is dense with English history. A long bout with the pox has made 12-year-old Will Belet small for his age and inspired his nickname, Rabbit. As he is released from his mother's protective embrace, he is brimming with optimism that becoming a page to his uncle, Earl Aubrey, will inevitably lead to knighthood. He is unprepared, however, for the carnage of the battlefield or the complex social and political forces shaping his nation's destiny as well as his own. Caught in the middle of a bitter civil war plus a feud between his father and uncle, Will confronts physical hardships and life-threatening danger in a world where learning whom one can trust may be the most important lesson of all. In the book's most suspenseful sequence, Will plays a key role in Empress Matilda's daring escape from Oxford Castle as it is besieged by her enemies. The novel is well plotted, paced, and vividly drawn, but fails to make an emotional connection. Supporting characters are clearly delineated but not fully developed, and Will is empathetic but not very interesting. The historical thoroughness and accuracy will weigh heavily on an audience unfamiliar with the socio-political structure of medieval Europe. Preface, epilogue, and author's note offer background information, but there is no glossary. Good for school assignments, but unlikely to fly off the shelf on its own.-Margaret Cole, Oceanside Library, NY

School Library Journal

This first novel by Goodman (Bernard's Bath, 1996, etc.), set in 1140, chronicles the desire of Will, 12, to emulate King Arthur and to become a great knight during a time of civil war in England.

Despite Will's small stature, worthy people believe in him, among them his father, Sir John, and Lady Elaine, the heart and soul of Oxford Castle, where he trains as a page. Ranulf d'Artois seems to be his nemesis as Will struggles to improve his skills in the face of a barrage of teasing that includes his hated nickname, "little rabbit." But the fast-moving novel has surprises in store when evil plotting is revealed to Will and he finds that d'Artois is a stern protector. As Will matures, his childhood dreams start to become real. Will is a fully realized character, whose concerns have a contemporary feel. Blood, battles, sorrows, and joys of the era are authentically portrayed. Only determined readers will have a chance at comprehending the preface, which lists warring factions and royal lineage, but thereafter they will find a riveting plot that culminates in an escape scene worthy of translation to film. There is no glossary for the obscure terms, but there are handsome black-and-white chapter decorations and a map to complete this expressive work.

Kirkus Reviews

"This first novel by Goodman, set in 1140, chronicles the desire of Will, twelve, to emulate King Arthur and to become a great knight during a time of civil war in England. . . . Will is a fully realized character, whose concerns have a contemporary feel. . . . A riveting plot that culminates in an escape scene worthy of translation to film." Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher