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Julie Hearn: "Hazel" |
Over in one corner stood a doll's house, its brick-painted front shut tight, and fastened with a big hook and eye. It was a long time since Hazel had played with it; so long that she could no longer remember whether the mother doll was in bed with a headache or down in the kitchen frying miniature eggs in a tiny pan. The father doll, she knew, would be sitting alone in the drawing room. And the little girl doll was hiding in a cupboard.
Sometimes, when she woke in the night, there was moonlight glinting on the doll's house windows and she imagined all the little people inside shaking their tiny fists and shouting 'Play with me! Play with me!'
It was the same with the larger dolls. And the teddies. And the wooden animals in the ark. She remembered all their names - even the ark's two ladybirds, though barely bigger than full stops, had been given names once upon a time - but the idea of playing with them no longer appealed. And when she thought about them, or caught sight of them, propped awkwardly on a shelf, she felt irritated and strangely sad.
Only the rocking horse attracted her still because, if she closed her eyes and held tightly to the reins, it was almost like riding a real one. And she could fancy herself galloping far away... to the desert sands of Arabia, or a tropical jungle. Anywhere, really, where she wouldn't have to eat horrendous things like rice pudding and boiled greens, or embroider stupid bluebirds on ridiculous handkerchiefs which no one ever blew their noses on because of the bumpy stitches.
Like the hothouse flowers in Kew Gardens, Hazel Louise Mull-Dare has been protected, pampered and cosseted. All that is about to change. On June 4th 1913 a tragic event at the Epsom Derby leads Hazel into a world she never imagined existed. Banished from her life in London to the family's Caribbean sugar plantation, she uncovers a past that appals her and a secret that has festered for years.
"You guilty by blood, girl. It passed down to you like pieces of silver or a dress for your wedding day."
Sugar-sweet but duller than ditch water - that's how life has always been for Hazel Louise Mull-Dare.
NOT ANY MORE.
Throughout, it is the quality of Julie Hearn's writing - assured, flexible, bringing every scene vividly to life - that makes Hazel such a pleasure to read. From the larkiness of the school scenes to the drama of a Caribbean hurricane she takes us on an exciting and memorable journey.
The Guardian
Hazel is a hugely ambitious novel... Unsure what is going to happen next, readers should simply give way to a good story expertly told from a writer who is herself happily unclassifiable.
The Independent
The strength of this novel lies in its gently comic portrayal of characters seeking escape from the conventions and pretensions of pre-war Kensington life. There is a rich vein of social and political material to be found here; readers will also appreciate the hint of irony to be found in the characters' self-absorbed responses to momentous historic events.
Guardian Education Weekly
Any reader, especially a female one aged eleven to sixteen, will find this book a stimulating, engaging read. It offers a mixture of historical background and age-appropriate psychology. It is a great yarn, a story to immerse oneself in.
For fans of Julie Hearn I have a feeling that the dog-loving bohemian mother of Hazel is nobody else but Ivy.
Julie responds: That's right, she is. And in the next book (about Hazel's son) she'll be the dog-loving bohemian grandmother!
... a thrilling historical novel...