|
Editorial Review Book Description
Sarah Henry, wife of the famous statesman Patrick Henry, is losing her mind, and she's secretly being kept in the cellar because she is a danger to herself and her children. Daughter Anne has a secret, too. She knows which child will inherit Sarah's madness, and she'll pay any price to protect her siblings from this information.
With insight and compassion, Ann Rinaldi explores the possibility that Patrick Henry's immortal cry of "Give me liberty, or give me death," which roused a nation to arms, was first spoken by his wife, Sarah, as she pleaded to be released from her confinement. Told from the point of view of Patrick Henry's children, Or Give Me Death eloquently depicts the secret life and tremendous burdens borne by one famous American.
... Read more Customer Reviews (14) 
So bad it's hilarious!
Ann Rinaldi's "historical" novel about Patrick Henry's family is an abomination. I suspect that she used Williamsburg ghost tours as the basis for her "research." Every page demonstrates a thorough lack of information and even worse -- a complete contempt for the reader.
On a brighter note, Or Give Me Death is currently being passed around by history teachers and interpreters for a little comic relief. If you have some familiarity with history, this novel is funnier than Captain Billy's Whiz Bang!
Intriguing speculation on one of history's famous figures
While Patrick Henry may have gone down in history for his famous saying, "Give me liberty or give me death," little is known about the man's personal life - including the fact that his first wife, Sarah, was locked in their cellar for several years while she struggled with a mental or pyschological illness.Ann Rinaldi explores the idea that Henry's famous line may have been spoken by his wife during her captivity.
In "Or Give Me Death," two of Patrick Henry's daughters recount their views of the events leading up to their mother's confinement and the effects it had on the family.The story begins in 1771, several years before the start of the American Revolution, from the viewpoint of the eldest child, Patsy.With the increasing strain of a mother gone mad, Patsy feels the burden and responsibility of keeping the family together and training her younger siblings correctly so they won't be infected by their mother's madness.While she may act suspicious and domineering, her actions are well-intentioned, and she strives to protect her family within the acceptable roles of women in her day.
The second half of the book, starting in 1773, is narrated by Anne, one of the middle children and the second eldest female sibling.Anne is more of a free spirit than her older sister Patsy, and is on better terms with her siblings and the slaves in the household.Burdened with the secrets of her family - chief among them which child will inherit their mother's condition - Anne constantly asks herself when is keeping a secret doing more harm than good.
With the backdrop of the American Revolution and a blossoming country's cry for freedom, Patsy and Anne face the questions of freedom and fairness in their own home.They are not free to ask for help with their mother, nor are they free to discuss her condition with people in the community.Anne also faces those issues in regards to the household slaves.The growing tension between the two sisters also highlights the issues of true freedom, as each sister has her own viewpoint on what it really means regarding the slaves, their mother, and themselves, and those viewpoints constantly clash.
Rinaldi delivers another moving historical fiction novel with this piece on Patrick Henry's family.Rinaldi is excellent at bringing lesser-known parts of history to life with great settings, plots, pacing and characterization.I found "Or Give Me Death" somewhat reminiscient of "The Secret of Sarah Revere," with the many secrets weighing on the family.Perhaps it was just a condition of the time period that families weren't very open with each other.Overall, a great read and one that should inspire people to delve deeper into American history for themselves.
Or Give Me Death
This novel of Patrick Henry's family, written by Ann Rinaldi is a fascinating story.
The story is told from two different t points of view.The first part of the story is told by Patsy, the eldest daughter known in history as the "glue that held the Henry family together."
Patsy is the one to first discover their mother's madness.
The second part of the story is told by Anne, Patsy's younger sister.
Anne has a secret: She has the knowledge of which Henry child will inherit their mother's madness.
Patsy is determined the sickness is because of too many baron's blood in her mother's side of the family, and that it is a woman's disease, and her being the eldest willinherit the sickness.That being said she has decided not to marry.
Anne talks to her mother even though Patsy forbids it, when Patsy finds out she is furious, until Anne tells her that the next time she goes to talk to her mother, she will tell Anne which child will inherit the bad blood. Patsy dies not believe that her mother would know such a thing, until her mother predicts a terrible flood and she is correct down to the last detail.
The slaves declare she has "the sight".
Patsy feels she must know if the bad blood will one day run through her veins, and if so she will not marry if not she will.
Patsy allows Anne to visit her mother and talk to her. Mrs. Henry indeed tells Anne and it is then time to make a decision.
As Anne explores the possibility whether her fathers cry of, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"! Which first encouraged men to fight in the war for freedom against England, could first have been spoken by his wife as she begged to be released from the cellar?
The other members of the family are John the eldest brother, a year younger than Patsy, Will the next brother, Anne the rebellious second sister, Betsy the youngest girl, and Edward, the baby.
I greatly enjoyed this book because it is historical fiction; it is a touching story as well as a page turner.It is sometimes predicable, but at the same time catches you off guard.It deals with real life questions like
"Should you tell the truth when you know it will hurt someone you love?"
Although you must have patience in order to read this, I proudly give it four and a half stars.
A Great Book
This book was "required reading" for this past summer. I fliched at it before I read it. (Last years reading was horrid) I thought it was great though. (I do love history) It is very descriptive, and a farily easy read. I enjoyed it so much I picked up some other titles by Ann Rinaldi. I like the second half (Anne's) better. But never try to explain it to someone it becomes to complicated, but is still easy to read. I din't really like the ending, it was to abrupt for me. This book does take a while to get going, but once it does,it never stops!!!!
I didn't feel the history part of this story.
"Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patrick Henry's Family" is an Ann Rinaldi book that did not feel like an Ann Rinaldi book.I became confused with the book starting out with the protagonist as Patsy, and then switching to Anne.I think it would have been better to stick with one and go with it (Anne being the best choice).The ending was much too abrupt for my liking - as if Rinaldi reached her page quota and ended it right there.I'm also used to her having epilogues - I wanted to know what became of these people, since you rarely learn anything about Patrick Henry.I "sorta" recommend
... Read more
|
