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Raider's Tide
Paperback / softback
Main Details
Title |
Raider's Tide
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Authors and Contributors |
By (author) Maggie Prince
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Physical Properties |
Format:Paperback / softback | Pages:208 | Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129 |
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ISBN/Barcode |
9780007124039
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Classifications | Dewey:823.914 |
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Audience | Primary & Secondary Education | Teenage / Young Adult | |
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Publishing Details |
Publisher |
HarperCollins Publishers
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Imprint |
HarperCollins Children's Books
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Publication Date |
4 February 2002 |
Publication Country |
United Kingdom
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Description
Strong historical fiction and powerful romantic drama set in border country during Elizabethan times - forbidden passions and family loyalties; heresy and witchcraft, but at the heart of it, the burgeoning love of a young girl. The year is 1578 and Queen Elizabeth 1 is on the throne. Sixteen year old Beatie, the daughter of a North Country farmer is defying her family over the matter of her proposed marriage to her cousin Hugh. She is too busy being the elder daughter and watching over her family - overseeing the kitchen work; riding her horse, Saint Hilda, and most importantly keeping a watchful eye out for the first sign of marauding Scots from over the border. The family live in Barrowbeck Tower - a stronghold which should keep out invaders. But the Scots do invade and Beatie has to push at the face of one of them who appears - courtesy of a grappling iron - at an upper window. It is a young face and one that Beatie will never forget. It is the first Scot she has injured, probably killed. Next day, Beatie finds a dirty, bleeding body in the old hermit's hut in the wood, and discovers that it belongs to the Scot she pushed from the window. Through guilt she determines to nurse this enemy back to health, despite the terrible danger to herself which could have her burned at the stake. A smouldering tension of love and intimacy develops between patient and carer, but that isn't the only possible relationship for Beatie. She is also growing very close to the young parson, John Becker. This is an exceptionally atmospheric novel, written in the first person through the voice of this feisty Elizabethan teenager. The reader is immediately taken on a journey to Elizabethan England - the country, not the city - and the smells and sounds are vividly brought to life. Maggie Prince draws a vivid picture too of the wild landscape of the Border Country and the eternal teenage struggle to break free of childhood and lead an independent life.
Author Biography
Maggie Prince was born and grew up in Lancaster. She was educated at London University, from where she obtained a Master's Degree. She now lives in Hertfordshire and is married with two children. As well as writing for children, Maggie has worked as a teacher, a freelance journalist and an information officer in London and Johannesburg. Her previous books include Memoirs of a Dangerous Alien which won the WHSmith Mind-Boggling Book Award in 1995, was shortlisted for both the Angus Award in Scotland and the Lancashire County Library Children's Book of the Year Award and was chosen as one of the World Book Day Super Reads in 2001. Raider's Tide, published in February 2002, is Maggie Prince's first novel with CollinsChildren's Books. This historical story from the prize-winning author is a powerful romantic drama set in border country during Elizabethan times and has received fantastic reviews. 'Page-turning excitement with a warm, strong story of a young woman's first love at its heart The reader vividly shares the fears, frustrations and yearnings of this sixteenth-century border community, whose lives, though ordered by their traditions, shelter private secrets of crime and passion.' Jonathan Douglas, Library Association 'This is a novel about growing up and coming to terms with the adult world, about duty versus desire and the vagaries of love. Written in a modern, accessible style, it has nevertheless plenty of period flavour, along with characters you care a great deal about. This book will surely become a firm favourite with Sherryl Jordan readers.' Tara Stephenson, The Bookseller
ReviewsPre pub quote from Jonathan Douglas, Library Association: 'Page-turning excitement with a warm, strong story of a young girl's first love at its heart. The reader vividly shares the fears, frustrations and yearnings of this Tudor community, whose lives, though ordered by traditions, shelter private secrets of crime and passion.'
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