The Rebellion of Jane Clarke: A Novel

This is our book club pick. We are looking for strong patriotic women in historical fiction.

Now and then we find a book that is so startling we cannot put it down, and never want it to end. Author Sally Gunning's novel, "The Rebellion of Jane Clarke" is such a book. The plot does not contain radical surprises or terrifying horrors awaiting a beloved character just around the next corner. Although placed on the eve of the American revolution, the taking of sides, colonial against royalist, and sudden bursts of anger from resident against British occupying troops are not all that unexpected. What really sets "The Rebellion of Jane Clarke" apart from others on the shelf is the elegance of the prose, its semblance to the period and its depth of characterization. In Gunning's carefully drawn images (and interior monologues), the reader is taken into the personality of Jane Clarke, a woman intellectual, reader and thinker who is by those traits branded an outsider. The final straw for Jane is drawn in the opening the chapters when she is evicted from her father's house for turning down the suitor he has chosen for her.In the following passage, we see Jane examining the climate of her quandary about marrying her father's choice."Jane sat, struggling to order her thoughts, but the more she sat the more she began to resent the fact that she'd been forced to such a struggle at all. Her father could marry as many housekeepers as he chose; he could not marry away Jane as he chose. And what of Phinnie? Could he not share some of the blame for her predicament? All these words that would not slide off her pen the way she wished might have slid easily enough off her tongue if he'd but stayed to hear them instead of bolting off in the dead of night and disrupting the household. And she might not have needed to explain anything at all if he'd managed to answer a few simple questions with a little honesty and attention."In Boston, we are given a taste of the coming revolution - a circumstance where Jane once again sees herself as an outsider, on the wrong side of the issues. There, author Gunning introduces us to Tories and Patriots alike, their points of view, and how the coming war is made inevitable by both sides. One of the truly inspiring aspects of The Rebellion of Jane Clarke is that Jane grows, as a character; she matures, becomes stronger, more in touch with what is right for her. The following passage shows her after two years in the city that most fomented the revolution."Jane burrowed under her coverlet, but soon tossed it back again. When she knew the thing to do she needed to do the thing. She returned to the keeping room and went though the old routine--blowing up the fire, lighting the candle off the coal, setting the inkwell on the hearth to thaw, laying out paper and pen--and as she did those things she thought how this was to be a part of her life now, no matter whether she lived in Satucket or town, that "home" was now a fractured thing, that someone she cared about should always be away from her, and only letters would allow an exchange between. Might she one day become her brother who could forsake a home for a cause? Or her grandmother, who it now appeared would at last forsake her home for a husband? Yes, Jane thought, she might do such a thing. But not for Henry Knox. She picked up her pen."It is the growth and change or reasoned acceptance of herself that I find so elevating in "The Rebellion of Jane Clarke". All too often we find books with wooden characters, vignettes of pre-formed characters put in place to perform, then exit without having been influenced by the experience the plot provides.Jane Clarke will return to your thoughts many times after you've grown with her as she matures. This is a book you can't afford to miss.

This is the third book in the series about Satucket, MA. The time period for the book is just prior to the revolutionary war. Jane is a young woman, living with her father, stepmother, and her younger siblings. She is being courted by young man put forward by her father. While she likes him, she wants more from her life, and shocks everyone when she turns down his proposal. Her father offers her the choice of reconsidering or going to Boston to be the caretaker for her elderly aunt. Jane decides to go to Boston and is happy about being closer to her brother, who is working as a clerk for Adams. Jane is an independent thinker and is puzzled by how both sides (loyalists like her father and revolutionaries like her brother) can distort the facts about the events surrounding them. While in Boston, she is courted by a bookseller, and also has the opportunity to spend some time with her grandmother and grandfather (whose story was told in the prior books). Jane must sort out her conflicting loyalties and feelings and decide what is right. This comes to the forefront after she witnesses the Boston Massacre. The book provides an interesting perspective on the time period.

This is an engaging coming of age story set in the pre revolutionary war period, a time in our country's history marked by turmoil and conflict. Sally Gunning weaves some great period detail as she sheds light on what life was like for young women of marrying age during this time and provides great insight into the political unrest of the colonists. Jane, much like her budding country, is conflicted as she struggles to define herself. The heart of the book is the endearing voice of Jane as she weights the pro and cons of her decisions. As she grows her personality blossoms and although she is a soft presence, she is strong and nicely carries the book. The other strength of the book is the elegant writing style of this author, which perfectly complements the cast of characters and the setting. The overall pace of the book is slow but does hold your interest except mid way through where the plot stalls a bit. Stick with it though, it does pick up again. I recommend this book to those who like historical fiction or interesting stories with lasting memorable characters and beautiful prosaic writing.

This is the third in Sally Gunning's excellent trilogy about women in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Historical fiction through the prism of women's true position in life is often trite and prone to bodice ripping. This is not the case for Ms. Gunning's meticulously referenced works. Even the "-e" at the end of Jane's surname is true to Cape Cod history.If you think this country is polarized now, you should have seen Boston in 1775. Jane is a first hand witness to the Boston Massacre and knows her observations run counter to the "political correctness" of the time.If you want to understand, not merely observe, how our "foremothers" lived, these three books are for you. Clearly written, precisely crafted, they stand as a definitive historical fiction -- if there is such a category.I would suggest that anyone familiar with Cape Cod read the back matter first -- the author gives you your bearings: Rte 6A is Kings Road, etc. That is my only criticism.