Petals in the Ashes [Hardcover]

Mary Hooper (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

This gripping account of London's Great Fire of 1666 is a worthy companion to At the Sign of the Sugared Plum. Only one year after the city suffered such terrible losses during the Plague, London is recovering and Hannah convinces her parents that, with her younger sister Anne's help, she can return to the city and manage the sweetmeats shop on her own. The girls are thrilled to be back in London, and Hannah even finds her old beau, Tom, alive and well and working for a magician. But her newfound happiness is short-lived as fires begin to spring up around the city and quickly move closer to their shop. Finally, Hannah and Anne are forced to abandon their home to save their lives. When the fires have abated, the girls return to find their shop in ruins. They also find Tom, beaten and injured after being chased by a mob that blamed the magician for starting the fire. Despite their losses, Hannah is sure that one day she will rebuild her shop and once again trade under the sign of the sugared plum.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–After surviving the plague in London and using health certificates belonging to others, Hannah and her older sister Sarah manage to escape the city and take the baby of a noblewoman to her aunt. However, the anticipated warm welcome is not forthcoming, and the girls are quarantined in a pestilence house for 40 days to make sure that they are free of infection. When their good health is finally proven, they return home to Chertsey before returning to their sweetmeats shop in London. When Sarah decides to remain at home, Hannah returns to London with her younger sister Anne. Shortly thereafter, the Great Fire breaks out. In this sequel to At the Sign of the Sugared Plum (Bloomsbury, 2003), the chaos, terror, uncertainty, and horror of that tragedy are vividly portrayed. Hannah is a determined, sensitive, well-drawn heroine who deals courageously with the disaster. Hooper weaves an engrossing, fast-paced tale steeped in historical detail. Though it seems a bit too convenient when Hannah finds Tom, the boy she is fond of and who supposedly perished in the plague, this subplot simply adds another absorbing dimension to the story. This is exemplary historical fiction, skillfully combining reality and imagination. Quotes from Samuel Pepys's diary introduce each chapter, giving an even greater tone of authenticity.–Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Sisters Hannah and Sarah escape the plague, but another historic calamity looms on the horizon--the Great Fire of London. Hooper follows last year's well-regarded At the Sign of the Sugared Plum with another rich tale about seventeenth-century England. After a respite with her family outside of the city, Hannah returns to reopen the abandoned sweet shop, accompanied by her younger sister, Anne. She finds sweetheart Tom, assumed by many to have succumbed to disease, and starts rebuilding her life with optimism. History interferes, though, and the central characters find themselves devastated by the horrific fire that raged in 1666. Hooper does a masterful job of portraying lively, realistic characters while also making history interesting and accurate. As in the first book, quotes from Samuel Pepys' Diary open each chapter, and historical notes and recipes (this time suggesting uses for dried herbs) are appended. Readers need not have previously made Hannah's acquaintance; each title will attract readers for the other. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (July 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582349363
• ISBN-13: 978-1582349367
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,480,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful sequel to At the Sign of the Sugared Plum., August 29, 2004

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Petals in the Ashes (Hardcover)

Teenaged Hannah and her older sister Sarah barely managed to escape London alive during the great plague of 1665. Now a year has passed, and the plague has finally died out. Hannah wants to return to London to reopen their sweets shop, but Sarah wishes to remain at the family home in the countryside. So when Hannah returns to the city, she is accompanied by her younger sister, Anne. However, her life is once again interrupted when fire begins to spread through London. Can Hannah find the strength to survive yet another terrible calamity?

I highly recommend this book to all readers who enjoyed the first book about Hannah, "At the Sign of the Sugared Plum." I also recommend it to new readers who enjoy historical fiction and are interested in this time period. Hannah is a wonderful character, and her struggle for survival is riveting. I hope Mary Hooper writes another book about Hannah's adventures, as I would love to read it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you won't be able to put this down, July 20, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Petals in the Ashes (Hardcover)

The sequel to AT THE SIGN OF THE SUGARED PLUM is just as good and carries on the wonderful adventure of Hannah as she grows up to learn different things in different enviroments. Just as thrilling as the first this will keep you guessing what's going to happen. If you want your teenage daughter to read give her this book and the one before. She'll love it and feel the same feelings as Hannah. Seeing as i'm a teenager i know what i'm talking about.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 young readers, February 22, 2008

By 

Jen E "book otter" (flashlight reader, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Petals in the Ashes (Paperback)

This historical fiction about the great fire in London is a sequel to "At the Sign of the Sugared Plum." It is a good book for young readers 10-13 years old. I used these books for my 6th grade elective reading. It is a very quick and easy read, with questions at the end of the book to help the reader gain a better insight to the devastation that happened during that time period.