The Secret of the Ruby Ring

The Ruby Ring #1

by Yvonne MacGrory, Terry Myler (Illustrator)

Lucy, a rather spoiled almost-eleven-year-old, gets a very special birthday present from her grandmother. This gift, a star ruby ring, has been passed down for generations through Lucy's family. The evening before her birthday, Lucy accidently discovers the magical secret of the ring:The secret of this Ruby Ring is that two wishes it can bring

Twisting the ring and making her first wish, Lucy finds herself transported to a far away time, that of Ireland in 1885, a time of unrest, evictions, and boycotting. At first, Lucy is intrigued by Langley Castle and its inhabitants, but soon she misses her family and friends. When she decides to use her second wish to go home, Lucy discovers that the ring has disappeared.

Can Lucy convince young Robert that she is from another age? Will he help her to retrieve the ruby ring, or will Lucy be trapped forever in a bygone age?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Time Travel, Historical, Fiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Yvonne MacGrory was born and still lives in County Donegal, Ireland. She is the author of The Secret of the Ruby Ring, Emma and the Ruby Ring, Martha and the Ruby Ring, and The Ghost of Susannah Parry. She worked as a nurse in Dublin and London and now lives with her husband and three children. Her interests are reading, drawing, and gardening.

Reviews

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prize-winning space and time story written by an Irish author. A girl's wish on a magic ring sends her back in time to an Irish castle in 1885. In the course of the story I learned a lot about conditions in Ireland at that time (not pleasant) and about the life of servants and their masters in the great houses. An interesting, enjoyable read.

[Karyn Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my children. It was a fun story, but parts were difficult to read with them. There were some long political discussions that we did not like and skipped through. Since I know nothing of Irish politics in the 1809's, it was confusing & boring. Besides that, I loved the story and the lessons learned by the main character.

[Aubrey McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written story filled with vivid descriptions and lots of Irish history.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good 'upstairs-downstairs' book for younger readers. I appreciate that it shows how much harder work was for people 100+ years ago to the reader. The author really did her homework in writing about the daily grind of a servant in a country manor house.

I enjoyed the characters, especially after the 'brat' in the present time got transported back and changed her attitude towards people and things. The ending was bittersweet in that I got to know and enjoy the time with the people from the past, but when Lucy got back to the present, these people were all long gone. However, there was a bonus as I got to see what happened to the children in the house she befriended.

[Rachel Bergin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining way to learn about Irish history! This book reminded me of a fantasy novel written long ago. It had the feel of a Narnia or Edward Eager book. It was a great story that wove together tons of historical details.

[Meredith Henning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Violet's reading page: http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...

[Laura Kessel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very spoiled 11-year-old Lucy receives a "magic" ring from her grandmother and decides to wish for a bigger house. She gets one--if being transported to the past and having to find work as a nursery maid for a rich family in a mansion counts! While trying to figure out a way back to her own time, Lucy learns empathy.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love this book sooo much, i was so invested in it and i can still recall a clear picture in my brain and how easy it was for me to get sucked in the story and picture every detail so clearly. 4 years have passed and i still remember reading this book as if it was yesterday. it felt as if i lived there for a period of time.

[Sarah Vigorito · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite book from my childhood. It was wonderful to read it again!

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I just wanted to keep reading to find out how it would end. And I wasn't disappointed! 🥰

[Marissa L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love this book I love when books have lesson's in the end and this one did! If you enjoy mystery, suspense, and fun books this is the book for you!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Hollowspine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book one Christmas from my aunt along with a ruby ring of my own. Although it wasn't magical like Lucy's I did love wearing it.

Lucy starts out as a typical spoiled little girl, she begins the novel by betraying her best friends secret to the entire school, fighting with her brother and overall acting very selfishly. However, by the end of the novel everything has turned around for her.

Lucy is about to turn 11 so her grandmother hands down a ring she also got when she was nearing 11 years old. The ring is something that has been handed down through the women of the family and supposedly magical. That night when she goes to bed Lucy discovers the magic of the ring and makes a wish for a bigger house. Then she finds herself caught back in time as a servant in large manor house.

Many lessons are learned about hardship, patience and friendship. She learns a great deal from the daughter of the family whom she finds, at first, to be unbearably snobby and cruel to her younger brother. It was also interesting reading the historical elements of the story as well, though I don't think I cared too much about that as a kid.

In the end, she awakes in her bed the day after she made her wish as if nothing has happened. Except that her attitude has changed completely.

It was interesting returning to this book, I remembered a lot of the elements as they came up in the book and remembered really enjoying it as a child. I enjoyed it again now. I wonder if as a child this book made me desire tea and scones as much as it did this time as I was reading it.

[Ali]

In "The Secret of the Ruby Ring," the main character, Lucy is given a ring. However, this isn't just any old ring. This ring was given to her by her grandmother. While playing around with it, Lucy discovered that something was not right. She had discovered the magic in it. Just then she was transported back in time to the 1800s, where she would soon discover what it was like living as a maid...

One connection I can make is text-to-text. In the book "Copper Sun," the main character was taken from her home in Africa to become a slave in the United States. In Africa, she had lived a good life. She had friends and everything was great. When she is captured, she is made into a slave. She works day and night for no pay. While this is a more extreme case, Lucy's situation is similar. She was taken from her mansion to be a maid to a rich family. They didn't treat her like a human being. They treated her like a servant.

I gave this book two stars. I gave it this ranking because it wasn't very interesting. For most of the book, I felt that there was not much happening. Every day she would look for her ring and bring food to the family and clean. It wasn't the most exciting book i've ever read.

[Bebie Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love the story of The Secret of the Ruby Ring,it catches my interest, and my favorite part of this book is the part 13: "The Past Remembered". when Lucy already returned in her real world, and realized all her mistakes, because at the beginning of the story Lucy was a spoiled girl that gets anything she wanted, betraying her best friends secret and fighting with her brother.

..the only thing i don't like is the name "Spencer",i got to confused on it, because the name Spencer is masculine but it used to a name of the maid.

..through this book, I've learned the history of Ireland, the situation of the people living there and the the life the housemaid serving their master.


but over-all it is a good book. :) Good job Ms. Yvonne MacGrory .

[Christy Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. An adorable story that reminds us of how much we have to be grateful for. Lucy is a spoiled child who has a fit every time something doesn't go her way, and is never content with the things she does have. She is intrigued when her grandmother gives her a ruby ring said to be magical and able to grant two wishes. But the wonderful ability backfires when she not only finds herself in a time far from her own, but when she loses the ring. The story tells of her adventures in a time very different from her own, and her attempts to get the ring back. It's a very good story about being grateful for what we have. I'd recommend it for an easy read.

[AlixJamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a snippet about this book in the back of another book that I had read and had wanted to get it for a long time. I finally found it and was excited to find that it was true to what I had heard. Besides being a humorous page-turner, this book also provides an in depth lesson in Irish history and a very detailed and highly informative description of Victorian era life; from the lavish living of the wealthy to the destitution of the poor. A highly recommended and extrodinarily interesting read.

[Nova Gianfrancesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved that in this book it showed a lesson. The lesson is to not always be greedy and selfish . The main character of the book, was selfish and greedy and then her grandmother gave her a ruby ring for her birthday and she did not think it was anything other than a ring and tyhen it transported her back into time. I think this was a great book because it showed a lesson!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction about a young girl who mistakenly goes back in time and learns to appreciate her own life in the process. Good framing, well written young girl growing up story. I learned lots about Ireland and it's history, where the story is set. Fun reversal of roles.

[Greisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book.I had fun reading it. I discovered the secrets of the book along with its characters.I hope that everyone that reads it, enjoys it as much as i did.

I rate this book 5/5

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww.. My mom read this to me when I was little.. I didn't know that there was a sequil though I'll have to hunt those down and read them..

[Gillie · Rating 1 out of 5]

if there was a less than one star, i would have rated it that, not good at all, unless you were looking for historical fiction, but it's not exciting

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical Fiction/Fantasy.

[Heather Pehnec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irish, sweet and old-fashioned with a little history. Nice recommendation for parents looking for a book to read aloud.

[Joanne McClean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this as a kid and it always stuck with me. I just think I may have to have a wee re-read.

[Sara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for Christmas when I was 12 and it has really stuck with me. I would highly recommend it for young teenage girls!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, and I did a book club study on it (reading it for the second time). I love the history in it, and the plot, but it is not as deep as it could be (especially the characters.)

[Dmmontano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro perfecto para niñas

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing story that mixes fantasy and historical fiction; very interesting conceptually. The timeless theme of being thankful for what you have is explored.

[Corina]

It is a very good book