Happy St. Patty's Day!! I don't know what the weather was like in your neck of the woods, but here it has been more like a late May day than the middle of March....but I'm definitely not complaining!!
This afternoon, in an effort to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, I grabbed a chair and my kindle and headed out for some sunshine! I recently downloaded a bunch of books for free onto my kindle, so I started with the one at the top of the list...today's book. As I've demonstrated through a number of the books that I have thus far chosen to read, I'm a sucker for history, whether it is fiction or nonfiction.
My first year as a librarian, I grabbed a book off the shelf that intrigued me...The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood--about what life would have been like in the American colonies immediately after the Revolutionary War if we had lost. It was a very interesting idea to me, and I have often wondered how things would have been different if certain events had been different: how different would the world be if Abraham Lincoln had not been assassinated? if the Titanic hadn't sunk or the Hindenburg exploded? it the Archduke Ferdinand had not been assassinated? And the questions go on.
In today's book, Ainsley is 13 in 2011 and loves visiting her grandparents at their home in Charlottesville, VA, near the site where Thomas Jefferson grew up and near his home of Monticello. Her grandfather has told her stories of her famous relative, Jack Jouett, who rode in the middle of the night on June 3, 1781, to warn Thomas Jefferson that British commander, Banastre Tarleton, was on his way to arrest as many important traitors to the crown as he could, including Jefferson specifically. (An important side note--Ainsley's Uncle Myles is a professional ghost hunter.)
On the night of June 3, the anniversary of Jack's ride, Ainsley decides that she wants to try to see a ghost for herself, and she wants to see Jack Jouett. So, with some of her uncle's ghost-hunting equipment, she camps out down by the river where she and Uncle Myles have guessed that Jack crossed the river on his famous ride. Not only does she get her wish and sees Jack, but he also sees her...and that sets a different set of events into motion. With Ainsley in tow, Jack does not get to Monticello in time to warn Jefferson, who is then captured, along with Patrick Henry and Benjamin Harrison. The men will be hanged for treason, as soon as Tarleton can get the gallows built.
Ainsley and Jack (the only one who can see Ainsley), with the help of a local tavern owner, Barbara (who can also see Ainsley), they come up with a plan to help the prisoners and attempt to put time and history back in their proper places.
After doing some research about Jack Jouett, I discovered that he has been called "The Paul Revere of the South," and some have even claimed that his ride was more crucial than Revere's because of the stakes involved if Jeffereson, Henry and Harrison, major leaders of the revolution, are captured. (Thanks wikipedia!) As a result of his heroics, the Virginia state legislature awarded Jack Jouett two silver pistols and a sword-hence the title of the book. This fact wasn't mentioned until the very end of the epilogue, which makes me question the title...there has to be a better title for this story out there, one that will make sense much earlier in the story.
Overall, it was a quick easy read that I enjoyed. It is currently available in kindle format as well as in paperback...this title may be finding its way to the shelves of my school in the near future....
Happy Reading!!
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