The Bride's Farewell

ROSOFF, MEG THE BRIDE'S FAREWELL
Puffin (Ages 12+)
ISBN: 9780141383934
The story starts on the morning of Pell Ridley’s wedding. Awake before the rest of her family, Pell creeps out of the house, collecting her horse as she flees. She has no real wish to marry and face a lifetime of hard work and constant child bearing. Before Pell gets away from the house she is stopped by her little brother who cannot speak, but makes it clear that he wants to go with her. Very reluctantly Pell agrees and they set off.
Set at the start of the industrial revolution, girls of that time were all expected to marry, look after a home, and raise a large number of children. Pell’s father is a farmer, but as he is also a gambler and a drunk, they never have enough money. Every thing from food to clothing is rationed, recycled, and kept to a minimum. Pell grows up seeing the poverty, but hearing even worse horror stories about conditions in the overcrowded cities of the industrial north. Desperate workers flock there in the hope of work, and many die from the conditions. Pell also sees her mother be constantly pregnant as father is fond of his marital rites. The frequent pregnancies, births, and hard physical work have taken a toll on her once beautiful and educated mother, who now has ill health and looks old beyond her time.
To Pell, this means that marriage is on a level with slavery, and to a wild spirited tomboy like her, it fill her with dread. Pell also has a gift for working with horses and is employed by a local horse breeder. Marriage would mean that she would have to relinquish the job, and the only joy and freedom that she has in her life. Pell is most concerned that she does not follow in her mother’s footsteps. It is the thought of this wedded drudgery that has Pell running away on the morning of her wedding, in search of a new and different future.
With no money, and nowhere to go, the twosome look for work, and find themselves at a horse fair. Finding temporary work, things start to look better for them, but then the trader leaves without giving them payment. Pell takes off after him, and the two become separated. Misfortune happens to both of them. During the rest of the book, Pell has to keep earning enough not to starve, and have somewhere to stay. She is looking for her brother, and never gives up on him. She even returns home to see if he was there, only to find out the house burned down, her parents are dead, and her siblings in the workhouse. Pell must find them and rescue them before they all die from the overwork and lack of food.
Between the cover and the title, I thought this book was a girlie tale of romance. Indeed, Pell does meet some during her exploits, and they end up together, but it is not a gushing romance. The story simply says “they lived as man and wife from then on”. The tale is much more about Pell’s struggles and her indomitable spirit throughout the novel. There is lots of good historical detail that adds colour to the story, allowing the reader to accurately pictures Pell’s surroundings as travels, and the people she meets. The novel could also be seen as a social comment on the role of women, and on how it is often children who pay the price when things go wrong. They often bear the brunt of the suffering. It is also important to remember that Pell is only fifteen or sixteen when all of this happens. She becomes sole caretaker of the family unit, and is responsible for feeding and clothing her sisters.
Pell’s small brother Bean chooses to live with the gypsy family that Pell meets on her travels. Neither Pell nor Bean find out that the gypsy mother is Bean’s real mother. Apart from adding colour and interest, the gypsy family are there to give us an important message; how you treat others will come back to haunt you. Pell’s father raped the gypsy woman, and left her pregnant. Her partner, and father of all her other children left her, thinking she had had an affair. The woman then handed over baby Bean to her attacker, and had to leave to try to eek out a living on her own, with her children in tow. All this comes back to bite Pell’s father on the bum so to speak, as he looses everything. Again the children suffer, being sent to the workhouse. They gypsy woman helps Pell and Bean. In short, what you dish out comes back two fold, so make sure you dish out good deeds.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and did not want to put it down. It is a mid to high ability read, but very easy to digest. I read it practically in one sitting. A character driven tale, 7/10
What I have learned;

· How threads of a story can keep intertwining and enhancing each other.

Good characterisation can drive a book