Anson's Way [Hardcover]

Gary D. Schmidt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 1999 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

It is the mid-eighteenth century, and young British subject Anson Granville Staplyton has traveled to Ireland, where his regiment has been sent to keep the king's peace. Anson has waited all his life for the day he would follow his father to serve His Majesty in the Staffordshire Fencibles. But the young drummer's notions of glory are shaken when he witnesses the violent injustices thrust upon the Irish people. Anson is torn even further when he meets an Irish hedge master who secretly teaches children the lilting language and history of their won country-lessons that it is Anson's duty to silence. Torn between family honor and his ever-changing sense of justice, Anson struggles to choose his own way in beautiful yet turbulent Ireland.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Carrying on an old family tradition, Anson Staplyton ships off to Dublin to be a drummer in the Staffordshire Fencibles under his martinet father, the colonel. The lad is eager to help keep the peace in Ireland, but after the Fencibles shoot a poor tenant farmer, flog a man for teaching school and burn a peaceful village, he feels his loyalties painfully divided. Events come to a head when Anson must at once act to save his comrades in arms and the Irish rebels he's befriended. Many readers will find this a real pageturner, for there's plenty of derring-do, but history buffs may be disappointed. Schmidt (The Sin Eater) never establishes a clear time frame, other than to loosely cite George II as king. Accordingly, references to Australia (discovered 10 years after George's death) and other anachronisms point to deficient research. The plot conceit is ahistorical as well, for the only son of a wealthy landed family would almost certainly not have been sent off to be a soldier, nor would all his forefathers, especially since England didn't keep a standing army. Anson, who could be any age from 12 to 17, seems out of time and out of place. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Six generations of English officers from the Staplyton family have served the Staffordshire Fencibles in support of their monarchs. The proudest day of young Anson Staplyton's life is when he follows his ancestors, arrays himself in full uniform, and becomes drummer boy to the troops his father leads for King George II. But after disembarking in Dublin, their latest port of duty and a center of unrest, the Fencibles find their assignment of keeping the peace something less than glorious. Anson, dreaming of noble battlefield deeds, is stunned when the first action he witnesses is the brutal whipping of Owen Roe Sullivan, a "hedge master" punished for clandestine teaching of Irish history, religion, and language, a high crime in 18th-century Britain. Added to this shock are a military operation that goes horribly, fatally wrong and the sight of Colonel Staplyton kowtowing to a powerful but cruel patron. Soon Anson's boyish fantasies are in tatters, and he begins to feel divided between his sworn duty and his growing respect for Ireland and its people. Anson's search for the right path results in a tense, exciting story peopled with lively characters moving through glorious Irish landscapes, all depicted movingly in this first-rate historical novel.
Starr E. Smith, Marymount University Library, Arlington, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (March 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395915295
• ISBN-13: 978-0395915295
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,880,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary D. Schmidt is the author of the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. His most recent novel is The Wednesday Wars. He is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understand the roots of the Irish/English conflist at last, May 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Anson's Way (Hardcover)

Anson has heard tales of Irish rebellion from his family and willinglly and proudly, accompanies his father to Dublin on behalf of King GerogeII. When he actually lives in the country, meets the people and witnesses the King's justice, he comes of age. Anson becomes an independent thinker and resigns from the King's army. I wonder if a third generation Fencible would break with his family? Reminds me of Charlotte Doyle. Are these characters true to their times or politically correct for 1999? Again, Australia, the land of "transports", was not available to the English for "transports" for at least ten years after King GeorgeII reign ended. It is still a good read, full of excitement. I loved it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read for Kids of all ages., May 10, 2003

By 

D. Boven "heraldo" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anson's Way (Hardcover)

Gary Schmidt has done an amazing job of researching this rich and realistic novel. Everything down to the color of the soldiers' pants is correct. This book moves very fast and gives the reader an idea of the origins of the conflict between the English and the Irish. The story of the hedgemaster is truly inspiring. I could only give it five stars, but it deserves many more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review By:Kevin, March 19, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Anson's Way (Mass Market Paperback)

For someone below the age of 13, you would have to know alot of vocabulary words. The book didn't have much action in it, and it was very confusing. On the positve side, the book was extremly realistic and fast pace. Though I dont think I'd read it again to be honest.