Wildthorn [Paperback]

Jane Eagland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2009

Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor's daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labeled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself - and others - in order to be set free. And love may be the key...

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up–When 17-year-old Louisa Cosgrove arrives at England's Wildthorn Hall, her world suddenly turns upside down. She is told that she's sick and that her name is Lucy Childs. When she protests, she is told, “Thinking you are someone else and thinking you are not ill are signs of how sick you are. You are lucky that you are here where we have the skill to cure you.” With these words, her nightmare begins. Louisa tells her story herself, therefore pulling readers into her harrowing experience in the asylum. Eagland skillfully fills in backstory by having Louisa narrate the events that led up to her confinement. She recalls her early childhood and how her father encouraged her study of medicine, while her mother entreated her to conform to 19th-century expectations for her gender. These memories alternate with her current experiences and cruel treatment in the hospital. In fact, the author manages to plant a seed of doubt as to whether Louisa is really who she says and believes she is. Eagland does a beautiful job of depicting the “real” Louisa in the end, with an unusual twist on the conventional romantic denouement. Teens will identify with her frustration at not being believed, be horrified by how she is mistreated, feel relief about her daring escape, and learn a great deal about life in a 19th-century “mad house.” Modern readers may find it difficult to accept the reason for her being locked up, but most teens will stick with Louisa's story until the end.–Wendy Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NYα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

A caution for readers eager to enjoy the traditional trappings of a gothic historical romance: this novel, like its protagonist, doesn’t always conform. Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove wants to be a doctor, but she is constantly blocked by societal and familial opposition. Only her father, who educates her himself, much to her mother’s concern and brother’s jealousy, wants Louisa to succeed. Shortly after his death, she is tricked into going to Wildthorn Hall, an insane asylum. Now addressed as Lucy Childs, stripped of her clothes and, ultimately, her identity, Louisa must plan her escape and uncover the betrayal that landed her in Wildthorn. While paying proper homage to women of the past wrongly locked away for an “over interest in learning,” Eagland casts just the right amount of doubt about Louisa’s sanity, with the conflicted heroine thrown into further confusion as she slowly falls for the kindnesses of a chambermaid named Eliza. Though predictable on occasion, Eagland’s debut stands out for its well-crafted treatment of an unconventional love affair. Grades 9-12. --Courtney Jones --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pan Childrens (March 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330458167
• ISBN-13: 978-0330458160
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,158,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Kind of Historical, May 23, 2010

By 

Tez Miller (Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wildthorn (Paperback)

Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove thinks she's been sent to be a companion. Instead, she's in an asylum, but who's to blame for signing her in? And why does the staff insist her name is Lucy Childs?

Usually I'm not one for historical fiction, but I'm easily swayed by promises of asylums and/or opium. Thus WILDTHORN is my kind of historical, with mysterious fellow inmates, medical treatments, and social commentary. 'Twould be more interesting if Louisa really was insane, and if breaking out wasn't so easy. But still, a wonderful escapist romp of a read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your every day girl, or tale, October 27, 2010

By 

Tiffany A. Harkleroad "Tiffanys Bookshelf" (Kittanning PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildthorn (Hardcover)

Lousia is not your typical girl. She does not conform to the standards of women of her time, aspiring to be a doctor instead of a wife and a mother. And then there is the issue of her love life. While Louisa's father supported her dreams, upon his passing, no one else would hear of it. So when Louisa finds herself locked in an insane asylum, with the administrators insisting she is someone named Lucy Childs, she is not sure if it is a case of mistaken identity, or something far more nefarious.

This book does a respectable job of being a modern gothic novel. While it is no Jane Eyre, it certainly does have gothic appeal, and could very easily attract new, young readers to classic gothic literature. I greatly enjoyed the historical aspect of the novel, reading about mental health approaches of the past. It reminded me a but of the movie The Snake Pit. Not a topic often written about in young adult literature, the plot was definitely unique and left you wondering what was reality and what was insanity.

I greatly enjoyed Louisa's character, and while her sexuality is never explicitly addressed, it is hinted that she is a lesbian, something I found at once intriguing and disappointing. I am intrigued at this choice, for it must have been quite accurate that many women who did not fit the conventional standards may have been bisexual or lesbian, but I am also disappointed in that the conclusion is drawn that only a lesbian would be so unconventional, or such an unconventional woman, wanting to be a doctor, would have to be a woman not sexually attracted to men. In fact, the hidden theme seemed to be that Louisa wanted to be a man, though this is never really explored in depth. Why could she not just be an assertive woman. And why could a married woman, with children, not be a lesbian? Just something to ponder.

While I did greatly enjoy this book, I felt it a bit mature for the intended audience of grades 9-12. I think it would be more appropriate for readers at the older end of that spectrum. It is certainly dark, with fairly mature themes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, August 18, 2010

By 

Kendall "@Telly Says...." (ROCKAWAY, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildthorn (Kindle Edition)

"Excessive study, especially in one of the fair sex, often leads to insanity..."

The Dangers of Excessive Learning: (girls who studied too much would become) "dogmatic and presumptuous, self-willed and arrogant, eccentric in dress and disagreeable in manner."

Can you imagine living in times when this was the norm? When you could be deemed insane because you didn't want to be a housewife and mommy? Sounds crazy to us and we are lucky to live in the age that we do.

This book was one hell of a ride! From page one I was grabbed by the throat and carried along. The writing was so alive that I felt like I was in Louise's body feeling the fear, the anger, the confusion that she was. I was in that asylum with her and it was as horrible to read as it had to be to live it. The fact that this book is based on true stories turns my stomach even more.

I accused everyone in her family but was floored by the events that came out as the book went along. (Can't go into detail, read the book!!!) I loved the relationship between Louisa and Grace but at the same time I wanted to shake some sense into Grace!

Eliza was a godsend. From the moment she entered the story to the end, she was an angel in disguise. I am not sure that I liked the ending but I did understand why it ended as it did.

That's all you are getting from me. Find this book and read it. It says Young Adult but I wouldn't have called it that.

Recommended to anyone, females especially and yes, young adults so they can appreciate what they have and what people had to endure do they could have it.