The ravenmaster's secret #1

The ravenmaster’s secret

Elvira Woodruff

Historical novel

Pages read 29/214

 Summary

A little boy named Forrest Harper is doing chores at the tower of London with his beloved raven Tuck where his family lives watching over the prisoners brought there. He complains about doing chores every day although he is the son of the ravenmaster and wishes to prove his courage by going on an adventure of some kind. So he acts as if to fight off 3 men and his father finds him like that. He scolds at him for “thinking that nonsense” and changes the topic. He tells him that it is the “collar day” which is the day that prisoners are hung. He also tells him that his mother and sisters are waiting for him at home and that another prisoner; a reb is coming to their tower. Forrest is very excited because he gets to see other peers from the town so Forrest returns swiftly after putting Tuck into a cage.

His mother and sisters are excited about the collar day because they get to hear the music that is played by the balladeers. So they set off to the place of execution Forrest with his sister Bea around his hips. Unfortunately Forrest and his sisters were separated from their mother because of the swarming crowd. They managed to get through where they could see the execution clearly and he meets the bullies Edward Finch and Charles Whipley who are also sons of people who guard the tower. They were bigger than Forrest which was the main reason for bullying him. They laughed at him and called him “Mistress Harper” because he was holding his baby sister in around his hips like a mother. Also, they dared him to watch the last moment of the prisoner which is the moment Forrest looked at his boot every time. But this time he decided to watch to prove his courage. But he vomited and was called a girl again.

That night, Harper couldn’t sleep. He thought about the bullies and wished that he was big like his father; not small like his mother. So he went to his father and talked about the problem at hand. His father told him to ignore them and said that “a man’s greatness can’t be measured by his size” and sent him back to bed. Meanwhile, the two prisoners who are being transported plans to escape as it is better to at least fight and die than to just die.

Reflection

The setting is interesting in a way that resembles London in 1735. It feels like I am Forrest Harper himself. It was exciting to hear that another prisoner is coming to their tower just like Forrest was and I was a little depressed when the he was bullied. I think Forrest Harper will one day prove his courage to other boys and become a ravenmaster.

Passage

His mind returned to the scene on the hill. A wave of if onlys tormented him.” If only I weren’t so much smaller than other boys. If only I hadn’t been holding Bea. If only I had had the courage to watch the Highwayman swing! If only, if only, if only…”

This passage shows Forrest’s biggest problem of being bullied because of his size and his naivety. I think he will ultimately overcome this one day and prove his courage.