At the Sign of the Star

The tale of a bookseller's daughter

Meg Moore is the motherless and only child of a bookseller with a thriving business in Restoration London-and that makes her an heiress. She knows that someday she will have her pick of suitors, and that with the right husband she can continue in the book trade and be friends with wits and authors, as her father is. But Mr. Moore's unexpected marriage throws all Meg's dreams into confusion. Meg resists the overtures and edicts of her stepmother with a cleverness equaled only by her fierceness, but in spite of it all her rival's belly soon swells with what Meg fears will be her father's new heir. Meg seeks wisdom from almanacs and astrologers, plays and books of jests, guides for ladies and guides for midwives. Yet it is through her own experience that she finds a new matrimony with which to face her unknown future. This vibrant novel recreates a lively and fascinating historical period when women claimed a new and more active role in London's literary scene.

Author: Katherine Sturtevant
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 09/25/2002
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 7.90h x 4.90w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780374404581

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.6
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 43276 / At the Sign of the Star


Review Citation(s):
Kliatt 09/01/2002 pg. 22

About the Author

Katherine Sturtevant is also author of A Mistress Moderately Fair, a historical novel for adults, and Our Sister's London: Feminist Walking Tours. She lives in Berkeley, California.