A Ring Through Time

by Felicity Pulman

Alice Bennett has moved to Norfolk Island with her family who are descended from John Bennett, last commandant of the Second Settlement of the penal colony that was established on the island in the 19th century. John Bennett was a particularly brutal commandant and Allie comes up against long-standing resentment from some of her classmates when she attempts to vindicate him in a history class. Angriest of all is Noah, who is descended from Padraic O’Brien, one of the more outspoken of the convicts. Allie starts to sense her own connection with her past and when she is babysitting for the family who now occupy Government House she discovers a diary and realizes she has uncovered a tragic story.

The story is of Alice Bennett, daughter of the infamous John, who was notorious for the ill-treatment of the convicts under his command. Alice encounters Cormac O’Brien, who is a political prisoner, a gifted musician and possessor of a pair of blue eyes that immediately entrance Alice. They pursue a doomed romance, and tragedy strikes. Alice’s father has been spying on her, and in a preemptive move, orders Cormac to be hanged. Alice’s diary ends abruptly, as she sends her younger sister Susannah to ‘go on to dinner without her’.

Determined to find out what happened to her ancestress, Allie asks a friend in Sydney to see if Alice can be traced. The friend discovers a letter from Susannah, Alice’s sister, to their brother William, explaining what has happened - that Alice, inconsolable at the loss of Cormac, has walked into the sea and disappeared. After the colony is closed up, Susannah goes to Hobart and marries, and William becomes the ancestor of Allie’s family.

In two minds whether to show Alice’s diary to anyone, in the end Allie shows it to Noah, and then to her classmates, in the interests of revealing the truth, and resulting from this, their own developing relationship. Noah, too, has a secret - it seems Cormac and Paddy were forgers, not political prisoners. Allie and Noah, having come to terms with their historical background, are balancing past with present, and moving towards their future.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Historical Fiction, Romance

302 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

I grew up (a long time ago!) in a small bush town in Africa. No TV, iPods, computer games and surfing the internet – you could say I had a very deprived childhood! Not so. Instead, for entertainment I learned to read. Books became my windows to the world: they told me about dragons and fairies and magic. They told me about other countries and other cultures. They told me about myself. And I have never stopped reading, because I love stories.

I guess I always did things back to front – the hard way! In Africa, when I ran out of books to read, I wrote my own. I love writing stories, but I never thought about it as a grownup occupation. As a grownup, I had to go back to school to find out that I really was a writer. After doing the HSC at the age of 40, I went on to do a BA (Communications) degree at UTS. My major was creative writing, and suddenly I found myself experimenting with all sorts of genres and, in particular, writing the sorts of stories that I love to read – crime and timeslip fantasy back into the past.

Reviews

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is no secret that I'm a big history nerd, it has always been one of my favorite subjects, in school or otherwise and I try to read as many as I can.

When I saw this one, set in Australia/Norfolk, I knew it was something that I had to try. Throw in a slight paranormal aspect and I just knew it was something I wouldn't be able to resist.

This was quite the interesting read, told from the present perspective through Allie and then the past told through the diary of Alice, Allie's descendant who once lived on the island that Allie's family has just recently moved to.

While I liked Allie, my real love for the story came through the diary entities of Alice and her mysterious past on the penal colony. I couldn't help but feel for her situation, her struggles and her love and compassion for those around her. Her story truly was what made this book good.

I loved all the history of what happened on the island as well as the characters.

Overall this was an enticing read that I really enjoyed.

[Isolde Martyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-researched YA novel is up there with PLAYING BEATTIE BOW and deserves to become part of the Australian education syllabus. There are so many issues woven into this beautifully written story that is set on historic Norfolk Island. It is a no-holds-barred look at a dark era of Australian history but it is also a novel of reconciliation and it acknowledges that although some of the mistakes of the past cannot be wiped out, at least they should not be ignored. There is so much opportunity here for student discussion. Abuse of power, parental authority, prison reform,and what it means to be human are just some of the themes that are woven into the two stories of past and present. It is also a coming of age story as the two heroines develop their own judgment even if the consequences for one of them are fatal.
This book should become an Australian classic.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. I loved everything about it, from being an Australian to a historical, but also the fact that it was written in the present and then shifted to the past. A Ring Through Time was fantastically written and so intriguing that I just had to find out what happened to both the past and present Alice’s. I loved how present Alice accepted her ancestry and apologised for her rash outburst. My first thoughts were wow, this is so well written and I was drawn in immediately.

Alice (Allie) Bennett was dragged from Sydney to Norfolk Island. Her father had gotten a job and as they were descended from the infamous John Bennett, thought it might be another way to research their family history. Not really happy about the move, Allie had to leave her friends behind, but after a mishap with her boyfriend, she needed to have a fresh start.

Allie’s first day of school and she wasn’t looking forward to it. She was in history and they were discussing the local history that mentioned Allie’s ancestor. Allie was pleased and wanted to set the record straight that John Bennett was what the Island needed to bring the criminals to in line. John Bennett was known among the locals as the bloody tyrant; Allie had an argument with her teacher and classmates, Noah in particular. This was not how she wanted her first day to go and Allie was extremely upset about it all. Now she is determined to find the truth.

Allie took on a babysitting job in a residence that is known to be where John Bennett lived. Thinking she hit the jackpot, Allie went searching for any clues that might help her prove John’s innocence. The house is known to have a ghost and Allie thought she saw a woman heading into a room. Freaked out, but still wanting to find something, she followed her. Allie found hidden a journal of Alice Bennett.

Allie found that Alice must have been John Bennett’s daughter, but hasn’t heard any mention of him having daughters. Reading the journal Allie was taken back in time to when the convicts inhabited the Island and through the eyes of a teenager, read a detailed life of a tyrant’s daughter. Reading of a love story that was forbidden and the tragedy that followed, Allie has found her answers.

Follow along as Allie reads Alice’s story and her forbidden love; but also the feelings that Allie starts to see for Noah. This is such a fantastic book by Ms Pulman that I had tears coming down my cheeks without realising I was crying. There is such a tragic love story back in early settlement and has everything, betrayal, ghosts and your heart will go through so many emotions from heartache to remorsefulness to elation. I have found another favourite author in Ms Pulman and cannot wait to pick up another of her books. This is one amazing book and I highly recommend to all.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Ring Through Time tells the story of Alice 'Allie' Bennett a sixteen-year-old only child who has moved to Norfolk Island with her parents. For her Dad it is a chance to find out more about his family history, as one of their direct ancestors was a governor of Norfolk Island. For Alice, it is a chance to start afresh after a traumatic experience. Alice finds fitting in with the local kids difficult at first and even more so when she begins to see ghosts. At least she has made one friend, Noah O'Brien. Then Alice makes the mistake of mentioning her family history at school. Her ancestor, it turns out, were considered to be the most brutal ruler on the island and responsible for the death of one of Noah's direct ancestors, who was a political prisoner and sent to the island as a convict. And then Alice discovers a diary, which tells her real family history ...

I found A Ring Through Time to be a fascinating young adult novel and an interesting account of how sometimes we don't always interpret history right. Both the Bennett's and O'Briens have their family legends, all of which paint their side as heroic and the other as the aggressor. The subplot about Allie and her relationship with her friends back in Sydney was a little distracting and there were a few other minor irritations (I find it surprising that a sixteen-year-old only child with no real interest in children would be asked to babysit an infant,) but overall this was an interesting read.

Review Copy: Publisher/Netgalley

This review previously appeared on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox http://kathrynwhiteauthor.blogspot.com

[Tien · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions on Goodreads and Netgalley are identical and practically told the story! Nevertheless, it was a hauntingly good read and I loved it.

The story is told from the perspective of Alice Bennett (she is called Allie). She with her family have moved to Norfolk Island for a sea change. Her family, however, has had some historical presence in the island but as Allie found out, it wasn’t like she’s always been led to believe by her father.

Allie is then determined to find out for herself the truth. As to how she’ll do this, she’s not quite sure until an encounter with the past brought her the exact perspective she needed to be convinced her of what the past was truly like…

As always, any penal colony stories are just tragic and this one is not an exception. There were a couple of instances which niggles my belief that such a thing would happen but let’s just say that if I were to face the same sort of thing, I’d run away as far and as fast as possible. So, full points to both Alices for their strength, courage, and boldness. Bonus points for Noah and Cormac for being just lovely boys *sighs dreamily*

One of my best reads in 2012 proven by the fact that I stayed up reading despite being so very tired and was kept up even after I’ve finished reading it. A rare story which haunted me for the night and the next few days, at the least.

Thank you, HarperCollins Australian & NetGalley for the opportunity to read & review

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love historical fiction, and this one was based in Australia, so I was very excited to read it. So why only three stars I hear you ask? The writing was terrible! All of the important history and back story was made into one huge chunk of information dumped in the middle of the book.

But lets put that aside and concentrate on what this book did really well. As an Australian, and with a mother who's work involves convict history, I was curious about how accurate the history in this book was. Its turns out that it was a fairly accurate depiction of what life was like for convicts on Norfolk Island. If you know anything about the convict history of Australia you know that bad people were sent to Tasmania, and really bad people were sent to Norfolk Island. This book used several characters who were real people, and based the story around events that actually occurred. The major difference being that the Bennett family, and in particular John Bennett, who this story is based around are fictional characters. However, it is quite clear that John Bennett is based on John Price, the commandant of Norfolk Island from 1846-53, and is well known as a bloody tyrant who was eventually stoned to death by his own prisoners. I was very happy with how close this book kept to the history of the place.

[Melissa Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have decided I love learning history (especially Australian history) through fictional stories. It was nice to watch Allie develop through the story. I thought the story of Alice written in a diary form was the stronger and more enjoyable story to read. In fact when it switched to Allie and the present day I kept hoping it would switch back so I could learn more about Alice! I love how the research was married into the storyline so convincingly.

[Edwina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Ring Through Time by Felicity Pulman was a superb read! It interweaves the historical past and the present day with the titular character, Allie, who finds out the truth about her ancestors during their time o Norfolk Island - all the while forming a connection and becoming infatuated with Noah, who's ancestor Cormac was also involved with Alice (Allie's ancestor). The novel is elegant, a light read and creates the idea that the truth must be found in order to move on from the past. Definitely recommend this novel!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really appreciated the historical context of this book and learnt so much about the penal colony at Norfolk Island back in the day. The use of alternating perspectives added dimension to this book and gave great insight into the difficulties of living in an isolated place; especially during convict times with its dangers.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! Based on real characters and historical facts.

This book fits into several genres that I enjoy: mystery, romance, historical fiction

Although apparently written for teens or young adults, I had a hard time putting it down and I'm definitely not in either of those categories! LOL

[Glenna L]

My round-the-world tour stop #7 (Norfolk Island)

YA, outside my comfort zone, but I enjoyed learning the history and a bit about an otherwise completely new-to-me place. More at
https://thecasualbookblog.wordpress.c...

[Sarah Cignarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Stacy Sabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review- A Ring Through Time by Felicity Pulman

Alice, or Allie as she likes to be called, and her parents just moved to Norfolk from Sydney. The small island has proven difficult for Allie. She is the outsider and no one is really happy to invite her in except maybe Noah. However that changes when he learns her ancestor is John Bennett, the well-known cruel commandant of the penal settlement. She tries to defend John Bennett’s actions, saying he was just doing his job, but is faced with anger and opposition. Allie is determined to prove them wrong. She is now on a mission to find any information she can.
She feels the presence of ghosts at the gaol and in the house where commandant once lived long ago. She sees a young woman dressed in blue. She follows the ghost through the house where she finds an important discovery. She is shocked to learn more of the story of John Bennett and his family. The heartbreaking truth of the past will hopefully free up the present and the future.
This was a fascinating YA story. It was full of ghosts, prisoners, cruel guards and true love. The author provided a great mystery in the sense that Allie set upon the search for the truth about her family. She definitely was not prepared to find what she found. She learned everything through Alice’s diary. So the reader was not only a part of Allie’s story but also apart of Alice’s story too. It was fascinating to learn how the penal settlements in Australia were from the viewpoint of the Commandant’s daughter. Then to see how it affected the descendants generations later. I loved how the past and the present were brought together and literally intertwined with Allie and Noah. Great story and I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read the blurb of this book, I thought it might be a time slip novel, but that is not the case. The story is told in two parts. One story is told in present day, that of Allie Bennett who has just moved to Norfolk Island with her family and Alice Bennett who lived on Norfolk in the 1840s.

Allie Bennett moves to Norfolk Island knowing that she is the ancestor of an extremely well known commandant who lorded over the island in the 1840s. It doesn't take too long for her to realise that the ancestors of the convicts still living on the island don't think too highly of John Bennett. In fact they hate him and therefore they don't think much of Allie either. Allie plans to find out the truth about John Bennett, and in doing so she finds out about his daughter, who according to recorded history, didn't even exist!

It is Romeo and Juliet, Australian style set in 1847. This book falls into the genre of 'Fact-ion'. The facts relating to the general history of Norfolk Island are accurate, but the characters in this story are fictional as are the events that take place relating to these characters.

There is the modern day romance between Allie and Noah O'Brien , which doesn't start well and when reading the diary we learn of Alice's romance with a convict... which doesn't end well.

What I really got from this book was a look at a part of Australia's history that I knew nothing about. As often happens to me when I read historical fiction, I found that I wanted to find out more, so here's a few links that you may find interesting.


http://www.discovernorfolkisland.com/...

http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/Hist...

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Ring through Time is a story set in history. The idea of taking a modern day family and using the diary of an historical family to weave two lives together works very well. The story in the diary is hard to put down. Alice's friendship and love with a convict on Norfolk Island back when convicts were treated so harshly gives a great insight into this historical time. The characters were all very believable and the voices given to each of them was genuine. The characters of the present day were there as background to the real story, and as such were not as real.
This is a great YA read. It is engaging, fun and captures the spirit of youth, teenage love and risk beautifully. The prose and dialogue are well balanced and images captured by the reader are vivid.

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice 'Allie' Bennett Has moved to Norfolk Island with her family, where her ancestors had also lived. Finding herself an 'outsider,' Allie is determined to find out the truth about her ancestors involvement in the islands past.

A Ring Through Time is haunting tale of love, betrayal and sacrifice. It illustrates perfectly how easily the secrets of the past can be lost. Well worth reading.

Thanks to Harper Collins Australia and Netgalley for the ARC

[Laetitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 This book was tragic yet achingly romantic, Tristan and Isolde-y. I was bored for some parts and at times the main character really annoyed me but Felicity Pulman made up for this with a romance that will stay in my heart. I had already read her Janna Mysteries books and I really liked those, but towards the middle of the book I just thought this didnt measure up. However I was extremely sucked in towards the end and I love the romance!

[Christian West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allie moves to Norfolk Island with her parents. They are descendants of the brutal commandant John Bennett who oversaw the island and its convicts in the 1840s. She finds the diary of John Bennett's daughter and begins to unravel a story of injustice and love.
The narrative alternates between the story of Allie and pages in the daughter's diary.
Although extremely well researched, i found the ending weak and the story, although interesting, didn't resonate with me.

[prk]

My review will be posted after the Aurealis Awards have been announced.

prk.

Disclaimer: Whilst I read this as a judge for the 2013 Aurealis Awards, this review is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging co-ordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this young adult novel set on Norfolk Island. A contemporary story interwoven with a historical twist in the form of a diary written by the daughter of a sadistic penal colony Commandant.

And of forbidden love.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this so much! I found Alice's diary - back when Norfolk Island was a penal colony - absolutely engrossing, more so than the present day storyline, which I was already loving. Just perfect! I'd love to read more books set in very early Australia.

[Fiona Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. I would recommend to anyone. I laughed and I cried and the only reason I picked it up was that I have been to Norfolk Island.

[Lauren Coad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really really really really good!!!!!

[Siobhann Wynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was like reading a year 7 History/ English essay.

[Sally906 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow....

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer)]

*Review to come*