LoveReading4Kids Says
Hazel’s life is changed forever on the day that she sees a woman step out in front of the King’s horse during the Epsom Derby on June 4th, 1913. Who was the woman and why did she do it? Hazel’s determination to find out leads her on an exciting but dangerous mission. Based on a true story, this is a thrilling historical novel. If you enjoyed this do try her novel Ivy and her debut novel Follow Me Down. Also check out her second her second novel Merrybegot.
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Hazel Synopsis
Sweet but dull - that's how life has always been for Hazel Louise Mull-Dare.
But on the day of the Epsom Derby, June 4th, 1913, everything changes. A suffragette in a dark coat steps out in front of the King's horse, dying days later from her injuries. Who was she and why did she do it? Hazel is determined to find out. But finding out leads her into worse trouble than she could ever have imagined. It leads to banishment. To secrets that have festered, and a shame that lingers on. To madness and misunderstanding in the place where sugar cane grows.
Sweet but dull - that's how life used to be for Hazel Louise Mull-Dare. Not any more.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780192735010 |
| Publication date: |
2nd May 2013 |
| Author: |
Julie Hearn |
| Publisher: |
Oxford University Press |
| Format: |
Paperback |
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Julie Hearn Press Reviews
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 prewar Kensington life. There's 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 historical events. The Guardian
About Julie Hearn
Julie Hearn was our Guest Editor in August 2011. Click here to see the books she selected.
Julie Hearn used to be a tabloid journalist but much prefers writing novels because she is less likely to be sued nowadays for making things up. After her daughter, Tilly, was born she began a degree in Education but switched to English after suffering a panic attack while attempting to teach maths to year six. She went on to complete a Masters Degree in Women's Studies at Oxford University, where an idea for her thesis became the inspiration for her first novel, Follow Me Down. Julie lives in Oxfordshire where she writes full time (most mornings anyway) in a pink and green office in her garden.
Julie Hearn Q&A:
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Ever since I can remember. When I was five I wrote stories about elves and rabbits on scraps of paper and sewed them up the middle to make little books. I wrote diaries too - pages and pages every day - and if nothing exciting had happened I made stuff up. My teenage diaries are shocking, but a pack of lies from start to finish.
I still wanted to write when I left school so I became a journalist. And that was great fun, for a long time, although when it came to making things up, there was only so far I could go!
Why did you decide to write children's books rather than books for adults?
I suppose I'd had enough of writing for adults - first as a journalist, then as a student of English and women's studies. I wanted to give my imagination free rein in a way that didn't have to be clever, or cynical, or have a great wodge of footnotes at the bottom of every page to explain things!
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