Book description
In the aftermath of the 1838 rebellion in Lower Canada, Sophie
Mallory's father is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to
life imprisonment in Australia. But there is no question about what
Sophie should do: with her guardian, Lady Theodosia Thornleigh, and
Luc Moriset, she sets sail for Sydney. She finds Australia an
outside-down country. The water goes down the drain the opposite way,
half the population are (or have been) convicts. In one notorious
incident, her father, Benjamin, and the Canadian convicts arrest
police. Lady Theo even finds herself renting a house from her own servants.
Shortly after they settle in Sydney, Sophie and Luc make friends with
the Hendricks twins. Luc quickly chums with Billy, but Sophie
astonishes everyone. She loathes, despises, and abominates Polly. Luc
despairs of her, and Lady Theo compounds the problem by sending Sophie
to Polly's boarding school. When the school closes temporarily, due to
an outbreak of scarlet fever, the girls rashly decide to make their
own way to Polly's house in the country. Not surprisingly, they're
kidnapped by bush rangers. During their escape, Polly's feet become
dangerously infected when she jumps onto an oyster bed. Trying to
avoid recapture, Sophie must make her way across Port Stephens in a
one-oared rowboat to save Polly.
When her father and Luc's brother are pardoned, Sophie faces the
biggest decision of her life to that point -- whether or not her place
of exile will be here home.
Dr. Beverley Boissery is a historian and the author of three works
of non-fiction: A Deep Sense of Wrong, Uncertain Justice, and Beyond
Hope. Her childrenÌs novel SophieÌs Rebellion was released in 2005 to
critical acclaim. Boissery lives in Vancouver with her quiet cat and
rambunctious friends.
