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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Teagan's got problems, a new school and her brother in a graffiti gang. When she starts work on a history project on the local stately home, she is haunted by strange dreams. But Teagan doesn't believe in ghosts though she does believe in getting to the bottom of things, and she uncovers more than just the history of Devon House. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille, sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Living History Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , vol. 20 no. 1 2010; (p. 77-86) 'During my research into historical fiction for children and young adult readers I came across a range of texts that relied on a living or lived experience of history to frame the historical story. These novels were similar to the time-slip narrative; however, not all examples used the traditional convention of time-slippage. I wanted to bundle these novels together - 'time-slip' novels included - as examples of 'living history' narratives because they appeared from the outset as a distinct literary form requiring particular reading strategies.
These texts, which I will refer to as Living history novels, require readers to align uncritically with modern perception. Readers are persuasively invited to assume that the modern characters' perception of the past is authentic because it has been formed by a lived experience of history. In Living history novels, readers are positioned to perceive both the strengths and weaknesses of past and present times, ultimately reconciling the two in a present that faces chronologically forwards. Modern focalising characters in Living history fiction place modern perception in a superior relationship to that of the past.
This sub-genre of historical novels is distinctive in its strong and consistent modern character focalisation and point of view. The Living history novel creates a confluence of past and present, be it physically or psychically. Characters are variously conveyed from a generalised present, or past, to an explicit historical period or event. The Living history novel is distinctive in its intense character introversion, quest journey and self-discovery. The most important outcome of the living history experience is that characters learn something significant about themselves. Because the story is about the modern character's quest and self realisation, the past is consistently perceived from their point of view. Modern characters are transported in time and readers are only rarely invited to see the past from a past point of view' (Author's abstract). -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 1 2000; (p. 13)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 14 no. 4 1999; (p. 34)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 43 no. 4 1999; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Bullying
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 216 1999; (p. 42-43)
— Review of Captain Mack 1999 single work children's fiction ; Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction
-
Untitled
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 43 no. 4 1999; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 14 no. 4 1999; (p. 34)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 1 2000; (p. 13)
— Review of Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Bullying
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 216 1999; (p. 42-43)
— Review of Captain Mack 1999 single work children's fiction ; Mystery at Devon House 1999 single work children's fiction -
Living History Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , vol. 20 no. 1 2010; (p. 77-86) 'During my research into historical fiction for children and young adult readers I came across a range of texts that relied on a living or lived experience of history to frame the historical story. These novels were similar to the time-slip narrative; however, not all examples used the traditional convention of time-slippage. I wanted to bundle these novels together - 'time-slip' novels included - as examples of 'living history' narratives because they appeared from the outset as a distinct literary form requiring particular reading strategies.
These texts, which I will refer to as Living history novels, require readers to align uncritically with modern perception. Readers are persuasively invited to assume that the modern characters' perception of the past is authentic because it has been formed by a lived experience of history. In Living history novels, readers are positioned to perceive both the strengths and weaknesses of past and present times, ultimately reconciling the two in a present that faces chronologically forwards. Modern focalising characters in Living history fiction place modern perception in a superior relationship to that of the past.
This sub-genre of historical novels is distinctive in its strong and consistent modern character focalisation and point of view. The Living history novel creates a confluence of past and present, be it physically or psychically. Characters are variously conveyed from a generalised present, or past, to an explicit historical period or event. The Living history novel is distinctive in its intense character introversion, quest journey and self-discovery. The most important outcome of the living history experience is that characters learn something significant about themselves. Because the story is about the modern character's quest and self realisation, the past is consistently perceived from their point of view. Modern characters are transported in time and readers are only rarely invited to see the past from a past point of view' (Author's abstract).
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