Customer Reviews

The Rebellion of Jane Clarke: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book begins in 1769 as the Winslows and Clarkes battle over water rights and a horse - was it Jane's father who whacked off the ears of the Winslow horse? Jane defies her father and despite the heated political sentiments decides to ship her off to tend to Aunt Gill in Boston. Jane settles in and cares for her elderly aunt, but her world is soon torn asunder when she witnesses British troops shoot down five civilians (the Boston massacre), inflaming the rest of the town to a heated frenzy. Jane's brother was shot, but he survived and the two have different recollections of what really happened.

Will Jane's relationship with her brother survive their disparate testimony at the subsequent trials? Will Jane find more than she bargained for living with Aunt Gill? Will she marry the man her father choses or find love with another in Boston?

I'm not sure if it was me or my current mood (life was a bit off-kilter the last week or so), but I never warmed to Jane nor cared much what happened to her. I really had a hard time keeping track of some of the lesser characters, as well as events as related by the author. Perhaps I'm a bit dense but I couldn't always tell exactly what was going on - the writing was too obtuse for my tastes - and in the end the author just did not suck me into her world. A shame as the massacre and ensuing aftermath should make for gripping reading, but it just didn't work for this reader - I didn't feel the crowd's anger nor the soldier's fear of the crowd - I didn't feel anything at all. A good book, just not a great one.

My review is based on an ARC I received through Librarything Early Reviewers.

I found this book a little slow going at first, but I am very glad I stuck with it. By midpoint, I was totally hooked. I at first found the characters a bit cold and distant, but as I got to know them, they grew on me. And that is one of the themes of the novel, that you do need to get to know people and understand the emotions and morality and motives behind our public masks. The main character, Jane Clarke, has herself a very different understanding of some of the other characters by the end of the novel, and a very different view of herself.

I found the historical details especially compelling and enlightening. It is so rare and wonderful to find the Colonial/Pre-Revolutionary War era described from a woman's point of view.

Jane Clarke begins as a girl-woman in a small town who, essentially, doesn't have much of a point of view and doesn't know she has choices. She is, to put it bluntly, stuck in a rut but doesn't know it. When she refuses the marriage proposal of the man whom her father favors, she really doesn't know why. She senses all is not right, but cannot really define her feelings.

She is essentially disowned by her father and sent off to turbulent Boston, where she is employed as an aide to her elderly aunt. She again knows something is not quite right there, and when that mystery is revealed, it is quite a surprise.

John Adams is the lawyer for her contentious father, and her brother, a devoted revolutionary, is his clerk. Other major historical figures also appear, with the tragic James Otis being a standout.

Jane finds herself with both Crown and rebel acquaintances and is confronted by lies and deception. Are people lying because they are immoral or are they too emotional to see the full truth? Do they believe the end justifies the means?

This confusion comes to a climax with the so-called "Boston Massacre." Jane is a witness and is pulled in various directions by those affected.

Jane also, for the first time, encounters a long-term happy marriage, full of love and respect, and begins to understand her family.

She gradually finds her way through these tangles of strong emotions and becomes a much different person, the "no longer silent daughter."

By the end of the book, I thoroughly liked Jane Clarke, and I think you will, too.

I hate to rate this only 2 stars because I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading Widow's War or Bound. I really loved both of those. However, if I hadn't read the first two books I might not have been likely to continue after the first couple of chapters. Actually, at first I did feel disappointed and set it aside and almost returned it to the library. It took several chapters to become interested. The story didn't have enourmous depth to it. It does still show how dispensable women were if they didn't do as told like the other 2 stories, but only lightly in comparison. There seemed to be too many plots going on and not just one really developed storyline. Jane is just a little rebellious but doesn't seem to be a hero in her own right. As far as historical development, a lot is left to the imagination and further study of the historical period. This book is "fluff" compared to her others, too chick lit. I hope commercialism and "selling" hasn't settled in for this author. I only gave this 2 stars because it doesn't hold up to her first 2 books or other true historical fiction that is already out there.

I enjoyed the author's previous historical novel, The Widow's War. It had high action, an accurate historical context, and was overall a well told story.

This novel, which occurs during the time of the Boston Massacre, also shows meticulous historical detail, and the author knows the vernacular of the time period. It is evident that she has done her research. Her storytelling lacks though. Except for some drama near the end involving betrayal by those close to Jane, the plot drags on, is not exceptional, or engaging. The drama is too late and is surrounded by a very slow-paced plot.

This story was a disappointment based on the author's previous work.

By contemporary standards Jane Clarke isn't really much of a rebel. Taken in context, however, her bold decisions to turn her back on her father and stand up to the anti-British townsfolk of Boston during the end of the 18th century enable her to rise above the typical 'cooking, cleaning, and having babies' Revolutionary-era woman. That's what makes her interesting and more of a heroine than merely a character in this book. She is educated in a time when women were treated as little more than unpaid help with no opinions or convictions that mattered.

When the story begins Jane lives at home with her father, his third wife, and her brother and sisters. Her relationship with her father is complicated - she adores him and knows that, in spite of his inability to show it, that he loves her as well. When she defies his wish that she marry a man that she knows she does not really know or love, she is sent from her small village of Satucket to be a caretaker for her seemingly eccentric aunt in Boston. While in Boston she meets a man that she thinks she may want to marry, but the politics of the times and her desire to follow her morals prevent her from following her heart. Jane sees the injustices done to both the citizens of Boston and the British soldiers sent to keep the resistance at bay. Through it all she remains confident, resolute, and defiant and that's refreshing given that most of the ladies of this era are written as love-struck airheads or meddling spinsters.

The book is chock full of real people - you will recognize the names of Sam Adams, John Adams, and, perhaps, Henry Knox, as well as the bona fide case of "Winslow v. Clarke qui tam" and the Boston Massacre conflict. The historical aspects of the novel ring true and provide an intriguing look at the birth of a new nation and how our forefathers fought in the streets (and not just the battlefields) for liberty, justice, and equality. Each character is much more than a caricature set against real history situations. This book may be considered as part of the YA genre, but with the caveat that there is just one 'bad' word and a gratuitous bed scene. As historical fiction, it is informative and genuine good read from start to finish. The twist near the end was unexpected, yet believable.

Follow Jane's journey toward finding her place in her family and society and how even the smallest act of rebellion can make a big difference.

P.S. My mother loves to read historical novels so I lent it to her. She read it in less than a week - which is something she rarely does. She loved it and couldn't wait to find out what happened to Jane and her two suitors. She also loved the historical aspects and made her think about the life and times of women in the 18th century.

Sad to say this is one of those books that merely winds up as something I didn't hate but will probably wind up forgetting all about. Historical fiction is always of interest, but the trick as with all books is to make it stand out. Gunning is a lovely writer who had a good idea and even a good plot, but there was so little else to make this book interesting. It seemed to avoid passion in order to keep the setting historical but didn't dare go enough into the history and characters to even make it all that educational. So this winds up being the story of a self-assured young woman who happens to be viewing pre-American Revolution events.

And that's it.

Jane's father is having issues with a neighbor. Jane is having issues with a suitor. To avoid it all, Jane gets sent away to take care of an ailing aunt in the same town where her brother is getting a little too involved with the rebels. Jane happens to think the local British soldiers are nice, decent men but hears about all the rebel talk. Strange things are afoot at the aunt's house. All right. Intrigue! I'm down with that. But then Gunning goes and waters it down by a new love interest in Jane's life. Admittedly, the story really picks up near the end, but before that it's Jane wandering around and thinking vaguely snarky thoughts and despite being the most interesting character she really seemed to get in the way of a potentially awesome plot.

The rest of the characters, well, they were all great at playing their parts in all the intrigue and it's always good to see an historical person, but none of them ever came to life; they were but tools of moving the story along.

Still, it's a promising story and I can't say Jane's thoughts weren't fun and amusing. Gunning's nice prose is also a pleasure to read, and I enjoyed the bit of history the story offered. It's certainly a good story for what it's worth and if you're not expecting the next American Revolution classic.

As with "A Widow's War" and "Bound," her two previous novels set during the Pre-revolutionary period, Sally Gunning gets her history right. Her knack for describing the accoutrements of daily life give us a time machine effect, transporting us to New England on the eve of the American rebellion.

Gunning's meticulous research give us a colorful and genuine feel for the clothing, social mores, food, even the slang of the period. Some famous names make appearances and it's interesting the way Gunning gives us their human side. In her first two novels in this series, Gunning appended these delicious tidbits to great stories. This time, the story falls a little short...it's still worthy of five stars but only if you enjoy history and the period interests you. If however, you are of the Torn Bodice wing of the Historical Novel none of Gunnings' books will sweep you up in its manly arms, toss you over its coal black steed and run away with you.

Gunning captures the rebellious and chaotic days prior to the Boston Massacre and the American Revolution, Boston seething with political activism against British occupation, the battle lines between loyalist and rebel clearly drawn. Growing up on Satucket, Jane Clarke, twenty-two, navigates a bucolic world, where the most disturbing event is her father's chronic legal disagreements with a neighbor. While her father blusters about his loyalist beliefs, as the eldest, Jane seeks his approval, although she balks at the recently sanctioned engagement to Phinnie Paine. Refusing to tolerate Jane's flaunting of his plans, her father sends her to care for an elderly relative in Boston, to be recalled to Satucket only with his permission. Jane arrives in Boston unprepared for the political drama of citizens raging against the unfair demands of the English Crown. And while Aunt Gill is fragile and ailing, her household unfriendly, it is in Jane's nature to be generous and affectionate. Soon enough, in search of like-minded acquaintances, Jane experiences the dangers of the streets and the enmity between citizens and soldiers.

Conflict all around her, Jane is a witness to history in the making, shocked by the shouting and violence on behalf of a cause. More temperate in her judgments, Jane is tested in this new environment, both in a relationship with a potential suitor and the activities of notables such as Samuel and John Adams, James Otis and Henry Knox. Soon enough, Jane is thrust into controversy during the Boston Massacre. And as in her other novels, Gunning's protagonist is of a piece with unfolding Revolutionary history, challenged by circumstances and her own beliefs, the adversarial relationship with her father, a shocking betrayal, her expectations of a life partner and her appreciation for the direction of the country. Filled with historical detail, from the quiet of Satucket to the rowdy streets of Boston, men join together in common cause as a young woman determines the course of her future, another compelling tale of a country on the verge of independence. Luan Gaines/2010.

I suppose one could call this a female version of JOHNNY TREMAIN, with a more sedate narrative. Jane Clarke is a level-headed but lively young lady of marriageable age living on Cape Cod with her father, stepmother, and younger siblings. As the story opens, Jane discovers that her father, a contentious miller, has been accused of an unspeakable crime against a neighbor he has been feuding with. When Jane has doubts about him, and also refuses the marriage proposal of a promising young man whom she likes, but does not feel she knows well enough, her father ships her off to the Boston home of an unpleasant, sickly aunt to serve as her companion and nursemaid, a Boston being consumed by revolutionary fever. Ironically, Jane's nursemaid duties gradually set her free from conventional thought, as she discovers how ardent a patriot her brother has become, befriends both British and revolutionary figures including bookseller Henry Knox, and grows in both personal and self knowledge. It's a well-written voyage of self-discovery with a nice period feel; Gunning portrays the colonial/Revolutionary period and lifestyle well, and Jane herself is personable and real, someone you might imagine having as a close friend.

This coming of age story of a young woman is placed in Massachusetts a decade before the American Revolution, where the tenstion between the colonists and the British army acts as an allegory for the tension between the heorine, Jane and tradition as reified in her father. The book is appealing to those who enjoy historical fiction and also those who like women's literature, and is well written if slow moving.

The immediate dramatic fulcrum is her father's attempt to pressure young Jane into marrrying the affluent but unappealing Phinnie Paine, setting up Jane's banishment to Boston where she is tasked with caring for her aunt, but being thrust into the controversy around independence and the cruelties on each side, she inevitably comes to terms with first her community, then with herself, and ultimately in time with her family.