Forge

THE specter of full-grown adults festooned in tricorn hats may have retreated in the post-Tucson landscape, but the American Revolution and its reputed lessons are still in the air, making this an interesting time for Laurie Halse Anderson to publish "Forge," her new novel about the Revolution and colonial-era slavery, and a sequel to her prize-winning "Chains." While her books take up some of the same themes as the "Octavian Nothing" novels of M.T. Anderson (no relation) - the link between the freedom of the colonies and the freedom of slaves, the double-dealing and hypocrisy of both the American colonists and the British - they are different in scale; the two volumes of "Octavian Nothing" are encyclopedic and magisterial, whereas "Chains" and "Forge" are conspicuous for their almost claustrophobic narrative voices. In "Chains," significant events involving the Tories and the patriots unfold in the background while the voice of Isabel, a slave, commands our attention; the commotion outside enters her consciousness only as "buzzing." On the inside, however, Isabel is screaming. Her life is one of constant pain from whippings, branding, imprisonment and other forms of mistreatment. A new narrator appears in "Forge" (the second book in an anticipated trilogy). Curzon is another slave and a boy who captured Isabel's interest in "Chains." The scene changes too, from a besieged New York to the winter encampment of Valley Forge. But what continues is the close, internal voice of an abused narrator. Curzon is not only a freed slave returned to bondage, but a new recruit in the Continental Army during that winter's freezing cold and constant hunger. "Breakfast was firecake and water. Dinner was firecake and water," Curzon reports one day in December 1777 - firecake was flour baked on stones. A handful of rice the next day is cause for celebration. Valley Forge has forever been linked with Thomas Paine's question about whether the rebel would prove to be merely "the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot." Here, Curzon supplies an answer. Intent on gaining his own freedom as much as that of the colonies, he endures - with the help of poor white friends, in the face of evil slave-holding gentry and despite the petulance of Isabel, his romantic interest, with whom he is dramatically reunited when both are re-enslaved. When it comes to background research, Anderson has clearly and commendably done her work. It is difficult to imagine there will ever be historical fiction about this time in America that is more nuanced or respectful of time and place. Her accounts of the hardships at Valley Forge are moving and vivid; historical quotations serve as epigraphs to each chapter, hinting at what will follow ("We have near 90 men in the regiment that have not a shoe to their foot and near as many who have no feet to their stockings," a lieutenant colonel wrote in January 1778 to his superior officer). Anderson's appendix includes an annotated list of books by historians, expanded on her Web site, and using her considerable skills as a storyteller, she has brought them to life. She herself has been a librarian and a park ranger, and is a descendant of Revolutionary soldiers. In our own times, Tea Party acolytes have reimagined America's radicals and revolutionaries as protoconservatives keen on fiscal restraint. Anderson's "Forge" is a terrific return not only to the colonial era but to historical accuracy. Jerry Griswold teaches at San Diego State University. His most recent book is "Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature."

Gr 6-10-Following Isabel and Curzon's escape at the conclusion of Chains (2008), Laurie Halse Anderson's sequel (2010, both Atheneum), set during the American Revolution, begins as 15-year-old freed slave Curzon joins the army. Curzon must find a reliable way to feed and clothe himself while Isabel has run off to find her sister. As a private in the Continental army, he enjoys the soldier's life until his previous master, now working for the army's officers, reclaims him and Curzon becomes a slave again. With mixed feelings, Curzon discovers that Isabel has also been recaptured, and the two runaways are reunited. As their lives become more repugnant and their feelings for each other slowly grow, the pair plots their escape. Anderson masterfully presents moments in history through Curzon's eyes and gives listeners much food for thought. Students will learn about the Battle of Saratoga, wintering in Valley Forge, and more in this well-researched novel. Tim Cain's wonderfully rich voice adds subtle nuances to Curzon's text in this well-paced production. A must-have for libraries that already circulate Chains.-Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.