The Brothers Story
-
-
2.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Teenage twins Kit and Christy have grown up amid grinding poverty in their Essex village. As Christy has been "simple" from birth, Kit is literally his brother's keeper. But the latest hardships visited upon their country home by the Great Frost of 1683–84 bring Kit to frustration and despair, and he abandons Christy to make his way to London, seeking to better himself. There he finds work as an apprentice to a struggling artist and much else to take his mind off what he has left behind. But the time comes when he can no longer ignore the problem of his brother.
A fascinating portrait of a young person struggling to balance family and freedom, The Brothers Story is also a frank depiction of Restoration London in its bawdy, raucous glory.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set against the bitter English winter of 1683 1684, Sturtevant's (A True and Faithful Narrative) moving coming-of-age tale follows the adventures of teenage Kit, who impulsively flees his Essex parish and the burden imposed by his "simple" but adoring twin, Christy, to seek his livelihood in London. Finding employment as servant to a painter, Kit delights in his new freedom and the town's busy energy, while nagged by guilt over having stolen from his former mistress and abandoned his dependent brother. Although barely able to read, Kit is biblically literate and ponders scriptural applications to his own life, particularly the story of Joseph, saved by his caring brother Reuben. Kit's wrestling with situations of moral complexity leads him to question some of the era's culturally accepted religious mores, providing a subtle but enlightening exploration of class and gender roles. A budding romance illuminates the particular challenges faced by women at a time when female sexuality was blamed for many evils ("everyone knowed how lustful women was"). An era comes alive in this tale of a young man's awakening to his life's call. Ages 14 up.
