Prisoner of the Inquisition [Hardcover]

Theresa Breslin (Author)

Book Description

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

Zarita, only daughter of the town magistrate, lives a life of wealth and privilege. Indulged by her parents, she is free to spend her days as she pleases, enjoying herself in the company of an eligible young nobleman, horse riding, or leisurely studying the arts. Saulo, son of a family reduced by circumstances to begging, witnesses his father wrongfully arrested and dealt with in the most horrifying way. Hauled off to be a slave at sea and pursued by pirates he encounters the ambitious mariner explorer, Christopher Columbus. Throughout his hardships Saulo is determined to survive - for he has sworn vengeance on the magistrate and his family. As Zarita's life also undergoes harsh changes the formidable and frightening Inquisition arrives in the area, bringing menacing shadows of suspicion with acts of cruel brutality - and ultimately, amid the intrigues of the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in the splendid Moorish city of Grenada, betrayal and revenge...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Theresa Breslin is an award-winning Scottish author who is popular with children, librarians and teachers. She was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Whispers in the Graveyard, The Dream Master was shortlisted for the Children's Book Award, Divided City was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and The Medici Seal was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Theresa lives in Glasgow.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Books (November 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385617038
• ISBN-13: 978-0385617031
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,533,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prisoner of the Inquisition, September 23, 2011

By 

M. Tanenbaum (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Prisoner of the Inquisition. Theresa Breslin (Paperback)

I don't usually order books from England before they are even available in the U.S., but when I read about Prisoner of the Inquisition in an article about England's prestigious Carnegie Award I couldn't help myself. Prisoner was short-listed for this year's Carnegie and won the Carnegie Shadowing Award (books chosen by young people who shadow the official judges and is written by a well-known author of historical fiction in her native Great Britain, Theresa Breslin.

One of my favorite historical fiction titles from back in my own teen days was Samuel Shellabarger's swashbuckling Captain from Castile, (adapted into a famous film with Tyrone Power), also set in the dark days of the Spanish Inquisition. Scottish author Theresa Breslin's young adult novel focuses on some of the same themes of adventure, romance, revenge, and abuse of power by the church that I relished so many years ago in Shellabarger's novel. In alternating chapters we meet two teenaged characters: Zarita, the thoughtless, spoiled, only daughter of the wealthy town magistrate, and Saulo, son of a beggar. Their lives intersect when Saulo's father, needing money to save his sick wife and hungry son, begs at the church where Zarita is praying, grasping her hand in desperation. Saulo's father is soon cruelly executed for daring to assault Zarita, despite her pleas that the man does not deserve to die. Saulo himself barely escapes the executioner's rope, and swears revenge on Zarita and her family.

Their stories are then told in parallel; Saulo is thrown into the harsh life of a galley slave, where through his wits, he is able to learn some navigation, is pursued by pirates, and eventually becomes acquainted with Christopher Colombus, a confident sailor from Genoa who hopes to gain patronage from the Spanish monarchs to explore an alternate route to the Indies. Zarita, on the other hand, has troubles of her own. The Inquisition has come to her town, and with it fear, suspicion, and cruelty. No one is immune from the Inquisitor's tactics, even Zarita's aunt, a nun, a simple-minded relative, and Zarita herself. Soon Zarita and Saulo's lives will intertwine again, in a way neither of them could ever have suspected. Can they escape the dangers of the Inquisition?

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel about one of the darkest periods in Spanish history, although I found the transformation of Zarita's character from a self-absorbed young girl who thinks nothing of a poor beggar in the church to a kind, sensitive young woman a bit difficult to believe. Some of the other characters in the book, including Zarita's young step-mother, are also somewhat one-dimensional, but the novel effectively captures the spirit of the period and is well worth reading. I hope it will soon be released to an American audience.