Black Foxes

by Sonya Hartnett

In this epic tale of desire and devastation, of enemies and strong friendships, of bloody revenge and lasting love, Sonya Hartnett traces the extraordinary life of Lord Tyrone Sully – a man who voyages to the edges of the heart to find, at last, joy.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Friendship

495 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 1997

About the author

Sonya Hartnett (also works under the pseudonym Cameron S. Redfern) is, or was, something of an Australian child prodigy author. She wrote her first novel at the age of thirteen, and had it published at fifteen. Her books have also been published in Europe and North America. Her novels have been published traditionally as young adult fiction, but her writing often crosses the divide and is also enjoyed by adults.

"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."

The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."

In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."

Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.

Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this as a teenage girl and loved it the way only a teenage girl can love something that puts her through the emotional wringer. (Years later, I met Sonya Hartnett at a book launch and took the opportunity to tell her about my massive love for it. "Oh yes," she said, "I told my publishers that that book was for teenage girls.")

It didn't disappoint being revisited as an adult, unlike so many other favourite childhood reads. (I didn't think it would: Sonya Hartnett knows how to do this. She was the author who made me want to write in such a way as to draw blood.) Oh, it's a sort of strange and unfocused book, slipping into saga territory with its span of years, and its attention to detail. But it's also knit of viscerally important relationships, and vivid, magnificent characters, drawn so sharply that the wounds they leave in each other seem only natural.

Which is right and proper, because this book is about people. It's about the tremendous divides that separated them in Victorian England, and about how people will be people despite that. It's about actions and repercussions, about prejudices and the lies we tell ourselves, the hurts we do ourselves.

And it features the most epic bromance, yo. EPIC.

[Elizabeth Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on Kindle nearly a year ago and have been afraid to re-read it, in case it lost something in the intervening decade since I last picked it up. Not the case at all. I always thought of it as sprawling and not really going anywhere and I always enjoyed that immensely, but now I can see that it's not the love story I thought it was. It's the love story of Tyrone and Oscar.

And yes, I still cried, but in different places this time.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. Why hasn't this been made into a BBC tv series yet? Want to see Benedict Cumberbatch play Tyrone.

[Mazil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful writing and characters, melancholy and evocative. I can tell why it struck me as a teen. However it’s a bit slow and unfocused for me at the moment...

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this in the Kobo store. It wasn't one of Hartnett's books I'd heard of, so I pressed the button and bought it.

I'm not sure how I felt about it. It's about 20 years old now, so it makes sense that the writing is recognizably hers and yet it doesn't sing the way her more recent titles do. In a lot of ways this feels overlong, especially as compared to her other titles, most of which are half this length.

The book doesn't really have a plot,though it follows the friendship--from early adulthood into middle age--of two men, one a lord and the other. .. idk, rich enough to be the lord's neighbor? this is 1830-ish England, if that helps. Lord Tyrone Sully is a broody, sulky malcontent who doesn't want to need anyone; who pushes away his cousin; who denies himself love; who lashes out at his best and only friend (the genial Oscar); who is bent on his own destruction--even if it means destroying others along with him.

There's a Gothic romanticism here, and rich characters. The plot is a little thin, but I can forgive that. I can see this being a good match for fans of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle, or even maybe the Brontes.

[Bash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend found this in the school library back in 2008 when she was looking for a "big book to read". She subsequently read it and then gave it to me to read and we both loved it. For the time I was at high school, I was the one who filled most of the "return date" slots. After 5 years of searching, I learned that it is considered a "rare book" as it's no longer in print. Luckily my amazing mum managed to find me a copy.

While it's slow, doesn't tell a proper story from start to finish, it's one of my favourite books. The snippets of Tyrone Sully's life that Hartnett shows us are full of beautiful scenery and language with characters who are capable of having a lasting effect on you if you let them.

It's definitely worth a read but if you can't stand books that leave questions unanswered, be aware that this book does lack a certain amount of closure. But it's my favourite and I'll cherish it forever :)

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book a few times and for whatever reason I keep coming back to it. It's such a sad tale of loss and despair that the pain of a love that is lost and never allowed to bloom is the most positive aspect of the story. It's the characters and the overall attitude of the book that I adored, it's so dark and sickly, even selfishly depressing that it could almost be called a guilty pleasure. But a pleasure is definitely what I find in this book.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I'm extra sad. :( Has it really been this long that I haven't read/reviewed THIS masterpiece on Goodreads? Damn. I'm not going overboard on the review, because I WILL read this book again soon. I MUST! The universe cannot keep spinning if I do not!

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly bittersweet. One of the few books that I've read that can induce heart wrenching emotion. I did read this about 5 to 7 years ago, though, so my opinion of it may be a bit outdated. Still, a memorable read for me.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books of all time - read as a teenager and one of the few books I have re read over again. I wish I owned a copy as it's out of print, the ebook release will have to do for now. Sonya Hartnett writes beautifully.

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a very odd book,but i'm really interested what other people think of it,as i didn't quiete get the point of it,or maybe i do but can't explain myself...

[Laura Morrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I read this when I was a lot younger and really loved it. I only remember a few very vague bits about the plot now. I would like to read it again.

[Sharnee · Rating 3 out of 5]

its set back it time (early 1900's), so for it style and setting its not a bad read, though it is slow, i found it hard to get 'sucked in'