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Library | Material Type | Call Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Branch | Juvenile Book | J B BONETTA | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Central | Juvenile Book | J 941.08092 BON | 7 | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Central | Juvenile Book | JB BONETTA S. | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Central | Book | J 941.08092 M992A | 1 | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Central | Paperback | J PB | 1 | Juvenile Paperback | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... East | Paperback | PAP MYE 1999 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... East | Book | 92 BON | 1 | Biography Collection | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... East | Book | 941.08 MYE | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Midlands | Book | J B BON | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Juvenile Book | YA B BONETTA SARAH | 1 | Biography Collection | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Juvenile Book | J 941.08 MYER | 2 | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Book | TA 940 M992 PA | 1 | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Book | J 92 BONETTA | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Juvenile Book | J 941.08 MY | 1 | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... South | Juvenile Book | JB BONETTA | 1 | Juvenile Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... West | Book | 92 AFR | 1 | Reference Material | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Biography of the African princess saved from execution and taken to England where Queen Victoria oversaw her upbringing and where she lived for a time before marrying an African missionary.
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) In 1849, a young African girl came within moments of being sacrificed in the bloody Dahomian ritual called the "watering of the graves." But Commander Frederick E. Forbes, the young British captain of the HMS Bonetta, intervened, provoking Dahomian King Gezo to offer the girl as a gift to Queen Victoria instead. Forbes named the girl Sarah Forbes Bonetta and took her back to England, where she became Queen Victoria's protégée. Walter Dean Myers discovered the kernel of Sarah's story in a bundle of original letters he purchased from a London book dealer. From these letters, along with excerpts from Queen Victoria's diary, newspapers, and Forbes's published account of the Dahomans, Myers pieced together Sarah's life. In his unembellished narra-tive we learn about Sarah's capture by the slave-trading Dahomans; her rescue by Forbes; her life in England under the Forbes' care; her regular visits to the Queen; her stay at a missionary school in Sierra Leone and abrupt return to England; her marriage and early death. Yet, as horrific and miraculous as the events of Sarah's life are, Myers can only pose questions about who Sarah really was ("What were her dreams for her own future...? What images came to her as she rode in the pony cart with the royal children? How often did she think of Dahomey? Of King Gezo?"). Sarah's chatty, unprovocative letters, which hint at the upperclass Englishwoman she became, reveal nothing about her African heritage or about the traumatized girl she must have been (Myers could not even discover her African name). Ironically, this seeming weakness proves the ultimate testimony to Sarah's life-the very absence of her voice bears undeniable witness to her story. marilyn bousquin From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Working from a packet of letters found in a London bookshop, Myers reconstructs the life of one Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a child of royal African descent who was rescued by a British sea captain from a sacrificial rite in Dahomey, became a goddaughter of Queen Victoria, and grew up in a succession of upper middle-class households. A celebrity in her day, Sarah, or Sally, as she was also known, visited the Queen regularly, traveled repeatedly between England and Africa, grew up to marry a West African businessman, named her first born Victoria, and died of tuberculosis in 1880, aged about 37. Filling in gaps with well-chosen passages from newspapers, memoirs, and the Queen's diary, plus occasional speculations--"Snow! What must she have thought of snow?"--Myers (Angel to Angel, p. 498, etc.) creates a credible, perceptive picture of her probable experiences, adding for flavor detailed accounts of her wedding, a royal wedding she attended, and a general glimpse of London street life. He suggests that, although she may have felt caught between two worlds, and fully comfortable in neither, she had a lively intelligence and a gracious, forgiving nature. A generous selection of contemporary prints and photographs includes both British and African scenes, as well as portraits of Sarah and both Victorias. This solidly researched biography will enthrall readers, and ranks among Myers's best writing. (bibliography) (Biography. 11-13) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. Myers pieces together bits of history and letters to form a unique and dramatic mosaic: the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a seven-year-old African (Egbado) princess saved by an English naval officer from a rival tribe's ritual sacrifice in 1850. Sarah is brought to England, where Queen Victoria puts the girl under her protection until Sarah's marriage. The queen also acted as godmother to Sarah's first child and met and corresponded with Sarah throughout her life. Through Sarah's story, Myers offers insights into Victorian attitudes and society and examines the flow of people and ideas between England and Africa during the period. The inclusion of passages from Sarah's correspondence helps bring her to life, and Sarah's photo on the jacket brings readers face-to-face with this remarkable young woman. An intriguing biography as well as an unusual source for those interested in British or African history. To be illustrated with reproductions of photographs and documents. (Reviewed April 1, 1999)0590486691Carolyn Phelan