At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England

by Walter Dean Myers

A Newbery Honor author traces the biography of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the African princess saved from execution and taken to England where Queen Victoria oversaw her upbringing and where she lived for a time before marrying an African missionary.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Africa, Biography Memoir, Historical, Childrens

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Petra X on the Silk Road to Samarkand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very unusual and relatively unknown but important piece of history that takes place just after the ending of slavery. A girl in an African country, Dahomey (now Benin), about to be sacrificed in a ceremony is seen by the English army officer, Captain Frederick Forbes who is attending the event. When the King points out that the girl in the cage is actually a princess, the Captain is horrified and said he didn't think that Queen Victoria would approve of that at all. The King then gives the princess to the Queen, "This Black King gives your White Queen this African Princess".

On return to England, the Captain takes her to Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria gave her the name of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, placed her with a middle-class family and took a close interest in her for the rest of her life, including inviting her to the palace regularly to play with her children and later becoming godmother to her child, Vicky.

The author, Walter Dean Myers who primarily specialises in African-American Young Adult literature - and has won every major prize in this category - also writes in the genre of biography, history and poetry was in an antiques shop in London when he discovered a letter and the photographs with which this book is illustrated and followed up on the story. It is fascinating from many points of view, not least the fact that no one seems to be racist. As its written by a black man, I presume that he isn't putting a contemporary gloss on the non-racist attitudes of all the people she met and grew up with but that in the UK at that time, racism was not a common sentiment.

For more about Africans in the UK before and during Victorian times, see http://www.blackhistorymonthuk.co.uk/...

Edit: 19 Jan 2013 because I had a factual error pointed out.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first learned of this book from Duane who is currently reading it. Thank You Duane.

This is a true story about a a young African girl which dates back to the 1850's. It's a Young Adult book.....a fascinating part of history I knew nothing about.

This young African girl's village is attacked - her parents are murdered right in front of her. So horrific - I actually don't know how any child recovers from that.
I also don't understand African markings on bodies - but the warriors who were attacking the village saw markings on this little girls face which were markings of "a princess".
They capture her--but with plans to kill her. Did they want to kill her because she was a princess? And if so... why didn't they just kill her on the spot when they killed her parents. These were questions that were unclear to me in the beginning of the book.

However....a British navel officer intercedes - rescues her and brings her to Royal Queen Victoria in England. The young orphan is christened with the name Sarah Forbes Bonetta.....and is provided with a life completely different in every way from where she came from. Living with the royal family - under the care of Queen Victoria -she guided her to be a young princess.
Sarah has to adjust not only to a different culture but the socioeconomic difference is huge.

Speaking of huge.....HUGE acknowledgments needs to go the the author: Walter Dean Myers. We can be thankful the author loves old bookstores. Whenever he is in a new city, he immediately looks for a USED and RARE book store.
He bought a group of LETTERS concerning A young girl who lived in England and the 19th century. "An African Princess".
Once he had her letters...his work was cut out for him. He already had her rescue book called "Dahomey and the Dahomans", by Frederick E. Forbes. Forbes was the British officer, who saved Sarah's life from being killed.

I have the hardcopy book - the design is lovely. I especially liked the diaries. Some are from Forbes. Some from Queen Victoria.. and many by Sarah.

When Sarah was still a child - her relationship with the other royal children were good. She called the Prince of Whales "Bertie".
When she was grown - in 1862 she married a man she never fully loved - she had a child - she taught school..... but there is still so much we ever learn about woman. The photos in the book of her are gorgeous.

As author Walter Dean Myers says:
"It is difficult to sum up her life. She was both unfortunate and her losses, and fortunate that those losses were not greater. She lost so many chances for fulfillment, and yet received so many different opportunities. She seemed to find a measure of comfort whatever she was, but was destined to be apart from the world in which she lived. Throughout all her turmoil and triumphs, she was always forgiving and her outlook, and gracious and manner. She remained, always, a princess.

[ij · Rating 5 out of 5]

I added this book to my “to read” list after reading a review by my Goodreads Friend, Petra.

This biography is the story of a young African girl (seven (7) years old) who was rescued from certain death by Commander Frederick Forbes, the English captain of the HMS Bonetta. The HMS Bonetta and its crew were on a mission to try to persuade King Gezo of the Dahomans, an African whose tribe dealt with providing slaves for trade.

King Gezo invited the commander to a ceremony called “the “watering of the graves.”” The girl and others were to be sacrificed in order that their blood could be sprinkled on to the graves of Dahoman ancestors. After observing some of the beheading the commander protested. He saw the young girl, who had been identified as a princess from a tribe that had been captured by King Gezo. The commander told the king that “Queen Victoria would never kill and innocent child and would not respect him if he did so.” King Gezo who had a treaty of friendship with England wanted to have Queen Victoria’s respect. He decided to give the girl to the queen as a gift. The commander accepted the offer even though England had abolished slavery and was trying to discourage purveyors of the trade. Forbes did not know how to handle this gift to the queen but thought he would take her to England in order to save her life.

The girl’s given name was not known. She was given the name Sarah Bonetta. Forbes notified his superiors and they sent a letter to Queen Victoria. The queen was excited to meet the young girl who was already learning English. Queen Victoria arranged for Sarah who she called Sally to live with a family and agreed to cover all the expenses for her well being.

The biography covers Sarah’s life from her rescue until her death. She was well educated learning several languages and studied music. She visited the queen often and was friends with the royal family.

Sarah had an interesting life. The book was well researched and I learned some facts about England’s abolition of slavery and about Queen Victoria and her family.

This is a book recommended for children ages 11 and older.

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A royal African child, a princess, is captured by a rival village and is about to be sacrificed when a British sea captain intervenes in the name of the Queen. The rival chief then makes a present of the young princess to Victoria, Queen of England. Thus begins the tale of Sarah Forbes Bonetta and her unlikely life in London, with her welfare and education under the watchful eye of Queen Victoria.

Myers reconstructs her life through letters, diaries, and public accounts and does a remarkable job. My one disappointment was that he couldn't capture the personality of this amazing girl. Maybe that's up to someone else to do. I'm happy to discover Myers writing; he is quite accomplished and I will be adding a few of his other books to my TBR list.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved exploring old bookshops. I never mind the musty smell, or those shops where you have to navigate on tiptoe round piles of books on the floor. It’s increasingly dangerous with my poor eyesight, but I can’t resist it! Not for me the huge pristine bookshop chains, with their antiseptic smell and carefully constructed displays of the latest best-seller. What is the point, I wonder, of having dozens of the same book on show? Even Art galleries now do this. Instead of having a variety of Art books, the substantial exhibition catalogue—in both hard and softback—will be duplicated over and over, comprising their sole stock. (Just a couple of weeks ago I flounced indignantly out of a major London Art gallery on discovering this.) Commercialism seems to be the sole concern.

Not for me. I like the antiquarian bookshops where you have no idea what treasures you might find. It matters not that you need to mount steps to see the top shelves, nor that they might be dusty. Perhaps there are old postcards too, or maps, or bits of antique costume jewellery, or sheet music. One favourite has occasional theatrical props, or instruments or extraordinary Victorian toys dotted around, inviting you to fall over them as you round a particularly interesting over-stuffed bookish alcove.

In just such a shop as this, probably in a tiny street just off the Charing Cross Road where such shops used to proliferate, I like to imagine that Walter Dean Myers found a treasure trove. It won’t have looked to be much; just a packet of original 19th‑century letters. Sometimes they would have been collected together for the postage stamps—Penny Blacks and Penny Reds perhaps—or rare frankings, or even the beautiful calligraphy of the address. But not these ones.

Walter Dean Myers was himself African-American, and primarily wrote Young Adult literature; not only fiction and poetry (sometimes under pseudonyms) but history and biographies too. Those centred around Black lives seem to be his main passion (and poking around in old bookshops, clearly!) Walter Dean Myers recognised the name, and must have immediately known what he had in his hand. Letters which, if organised, would document the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta: a formerly overlooked part of Black history. The discovery of these documents would give him a rare opportunity to tell the true story of a Black girl in Victorian Britain. We can see that the Victorians were fascinated with her story, from the multiple photographic portraits. However although she was much celebrated in her day, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s life had largely been forgotten.

Reading this book, it is evident that Myers was drawn to the authenticity of the material and the chance to reconstruct a biography which was grounded in original documents. The primary-source detective work he did is something he emphasises throughout the book.

The letters proved to be by different people. Some were written by Sarah herself, and others by those who had looked after her. Some were copies of Queen Victoria’s private journal which she famously wrote in every day. Walter Dean Myers included facsimiles of these, as well as many photographs from the time, either of official portraits, or postcard scenes of relevant places. All are credited at the end, and quite a few come from his own collection.

Walter Dean Myers spent years meticulously researching his project, piecing together the known facts and what was revealed through the letters. When he had assembled as much information as he could, he then wrote this book.

At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England is the biography of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. It is a 1999 nonfiction book by Walter Dean Myers which tells the true story of the West African girl who became Queen Victoria’s protégée. The situation which led to this extraordinary event was deeply troubling.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was born Omoba Aina, and was a Yewa Yoruba princess. But the Egbado village of Okeadan was invaded in the middle of the night by ferocious Dahomey warriors. They set alight the houses, and killed many of the villagers, including the village chief and his wife: Aina’s family. Hundreds were slaughtered, with the survivors being sold into the Atlantic slave trade, and the entire village was destroyed. Aina witnessed it all, but was herself captured, to be a slave for the king and kept for a special sacrifice later.

This had all been ordered by the nearby Kingdom of Dahomey’s cruel new king, Ghezo. Dahomey was under subjugation by Oyo (a West African Empire), and historically it was an enemy of the Yoruba people. But in 1823 Ghezo, the new King of Dahomey, refused to pay annual tributes to Oyo. Dahomey’s army subsequently began to expand eastwards into Oyo’s former Yewa territory, invading the villages and capturing slaves in the process. Dahomey is now called Benin, and is bordered by Togo to the west, and Nigeria to the east. Its shore includes what used to be known as the Slave Coast.

However Britain had abolished the slave trade, and in July 1850, Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy arrived in West Africa on a British diplomatic mission. His brief was to try to bring about an end to all the remaining slave trading within Africa. He thus attempted to negotiate with King Ghezo to end Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade.

King Ghezo invited the commander to a ceremony called “the watering of the graves”. It may sound innocuous enough, but involved captured prisoners, tied up in ropes, being brought to him held aloft in baskets. They had been captured by the Dahomian army and were destined for ritual execution. These prisoners would be sacrificed, in order that their blood could be sprinkled on to the graves of Dahoman ancestors. Commander Forbes watched in silence as the ceremony started. Observing the beheading the commander was horrified and tried to intervene. But Ghezo informed the commander that it was a solemn tradition, and his people would be insulted if he stopped it.

When Commander Forbes saw the young girl, just 7 years old, in a cage, destined for the same process, he asked about her. King Ghezo told him that she was a princess from a tribe that he had captured. The markings on her face identified her.

The commander saw his chance, and told the king that Queen Victoria would certainly not approve of that, and would not respect him if he did so. King Ghezo had a treaty of friendship with England and wanted to have Queen Victoria’s respect. He decided to give the girl to the queen as a gift, saying:

“This Black King gives your White Queen this African Princess.”

Commander Forbes knew that no person could belong to another, and his job was specifically to discourage purveyors of the slave trade in West Africa. However this was a way to save the life of one little girl, and he accepted the offer, even though he did not know how to handle this “gift to the queen”. He would try his best to convey the truth, that she was a diplomatic “gift” within imperial politics.

Commander Forbes did not know her name. He brought her to England, where she was baptised Sarah Forbes Bonetta; her middle name being his own, and “Bonetta” after his ship. He introduced the young African Princess to the Queen. Frederick E. Forbes also wrote a book detailing his life there, called “Dahomey and the Dahomans”.

What follows is a fascinating account. Here are the chapter titles:

1848 — Capture
1850 — England for the First Time
1851 — Back to Africa
1855 — England Once Again
1860 — The Decision
1862 — Sarah’s Marriage
1880 — Madeira: Final Days

Queen Victoria took a strong personal interest in Sarah’s education and welfare all her life, becoming her patron, guardian and godmother. She arranged for her to be cared for and educated, ensuring that she lived in respectable, comfortable households. These were not aristocratic or public figures, so the evidence for this comes from the letters that Walter Dean Myers includes. Each of the ones he has chosen reveals how Sarah felt at the time, or those between the ones caring for her show how seriously they took their responsibilities.

Although Sarah was not one of the Queen’s children, she was a princess. She had been educated in the English way, and had English ideas. She was briefly sent back to Africa as the doctors thought it would be better for her health, but she hated it there and evidently pleaded with the Queen to be sent “home” to England, as the next letter we read reports that Queen Victoria had commanded her guardians to bring her back to England immediately.

These passages are very revealing of the mindset of Victorians. I have read some American reviewers’ surprise at finding no racism, and it is true that there would not be racism of the same order as in America. But the English missionaries were very patronising to the African children in their care. They insisted on English dress, for instance, viewing the tribal dresses as indecent. Many also routinely set themselves above the native teachers, wrongly assuming that they were far better educated as a matter of course. In Sarah’s case this was far from the truth. Even before her education in England, when she was rescued by Commander Forbes, she could already speak English (Queen Victoria records this in her journal.) Sarah’s life embodied Victorian imperial paternalism, and she knew that she would never be accepted on the same level as the English missionary teachers. Interestingly though, the Queen herself never assumed this idea of needing to “civilise” the African elites.

So Sarah was accompanied back to England and settled with a family whom she grew to love. In fact Queen Victoria was concerned that she was almost too comfortable there; she needed to marry. Sarah was very close to Princess Alice, whose marriage had been arranged, as customary in royal families. Princess Alice accepted this as her duty, but Sarah wanted to marry for love, and she did not love the man chosen for her.

He was Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, a wealthy merchant from Bathurst in Sierra Leone (today part of Freetown, on the West coast of Africa. It is bordered by Guinea and Liberia.) Now he was based in Lagos, a major coastal city in south‑western Nigeria, on the Gulf of Guinea,
James Davies had Yoruba ancestry, had been educated by the Church Missionary Society Grammar School in Freetown, and was now an officer in the British Navy. Queen Victoria thought he would be perfect for Sarah, and eventually in 1862 Sarah capitulated.

But James Davies felt called to be a missionary, and as we read Sarah’s letters we see that all his businesses failed, as he did not have the competitive instinct. The couple moved between Britain and West Africa, and had three children, including Victoria Davies, who was named after Queen Victoria. However Sarah was filled with worry, and continued to be in bad health. One has to wonder if this was a lasting effect from her early years, kept in a cage and fed meagre subsistence food for several months, while waiting to be sacrificed by King Ghezo.

Queen Victoria helped as much as she could, and when in England Sarah visited her regularly. Knowing of her frail condition, arrangements were made for Sarah to live in a warmer climate. Sarah’s health had been fragile for years, and the climate of Madeira Island, Portugal was commonly recommended for respiratory illnesses in the 19th century. So she was sent there in the hope that the milder weather would improve her condition.

Nevertheless, she died of “consumption” (tuberculosis) on 15th August 1880 in Funchal, Madeira Island. Sarah Forbes Bonetta was just 37 years old when she died. Queen Victoria, so much her elder, was to die in 1901.

This is a fascinating history of a royal ward who despite being African, was educated in Britain. She was treated with affection by the Queen, but was also shaped by missionary expectations.

When I began reading the sections about Commander Forbes bringing a tiny African girl back to England, and her life with selected wealthy families, it began to sound familiar. Yet I was fairly sure I had never heard of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. Then I remembered a film titled “Belle”. But surely that was a Georgian family, wasn’t it? I investigated …

Dido Elizabeth Belle and Sarah Forbes Bonetta were two Black women who lived in elite British households, but their lives unfolded in different centuries, under different social conditions, and with very different outcomes. Dido lived in the late 18th century—the era of the Zong massacre case and early abolitionist agitation—whereas as we see, Sarah lived in the mid‑19th century at the height of the British Empire, missionary expansion, and Victorian racial ideology. Britain’s attitudes toward race, empire, and slavery changed dramatically between their lifetimes. Dido’s life intersected with legal debates on slavery, but Sarah’s was shaped by imperial politics and ideologies of “civilisation”, missionary education and royal patronage. It’s an interesting comparison.

I would like to give this 5 stars, but a couple of things prevent me. Walter Dean Myers was a prolific and respected author, who won many awards, including 2 Newbery medals. However sometimes there are slight slips in his understanding of English terminology. For instance he writes:

“In England in the mid-nineteenth century, there was no public school system. Most education was private, and few people could afford it.”

This made me laugh, because actually there was nothing but public schools at this time! An English public school is a type of elite, fee-charging private school originally for older boys. What the author means is that there were no state-funded schools for the general public. Similarly, he refers to Brighton “boardwalk”. But we do not use that word in England: a seafront path is called a “prom” (from the French “promenade”, to walk). Neither do we use the word “railroad” (We call it a railway.) We also don’t talk about the “Channel”. Curiously perhaps, we call it “the English Channel”.

The second criticism is the production values of this paperback. All the photographs are very murky. For instance here is a caption:

“In Brighton with its charming houses overlooking the seaside, with its gay scenes of vacationers frolicking on the clean beaches, Sarah felt a crushing isolation.”

The accompanying photograph purports to show the view from Clifton Hill as it looks today. However the photo shows a silhouetted row of houses with no discernable details, presumably merging into their bases, but any road, cliffs or sea are obscured. The sky looms—a dark grey with a streak of white cloud and a thin bright strip of white on the horizon. And that’s it! Because the photographs vary between portraits and landscapes, and are from various sources, I found this suspicious so did my own bit of research.

Apparently the paperbacks and hardbacks by Scholastic press at this time were vastly different. The hardbacks were limited runs, on better quality paper and with better reproduction, before the plates became worn. The paperbacks however, were mass-produced for school use, and far inferior.

I have as a consequence, searched the antiquarian bookshops for a hardback. However, just as Walter Dean Myers actually bought his bundle of letters from an antiquarian bookshop’s catalogue, I have purchased mine through the internet.

I assume though, that we both still enjoy our trawls through the musty annals, whenever we are able.

**

“Brighton had been a small fishing village called Brighthelmstone for most of its existence. In 1784, the construction of the famous Royal Pavilion was begin there. The Pavilion was begun as a resort home for the Prince of Wales. With the coming of the Prince and the pavilion, the fishing village became a popular place for holidays. Situated on the English Channel in southern England, it lent itself to the sport of sailing and pleasure boating as it had once done for fishing. By 1841, Brighthelmstone had become Brighton, and was accessible by railroad.

Along the waterfront there are small shops designed for the tourist trade. The town itself rises steeply above the Channel, affording a fine view from the homes facing eastward towards France.”

[Lisa Reads & Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is commendable about this work is that Walter Dean Myers has unearthed an amazing story that otherwise would have been lost forever in a decaying package of letters and diary entries in the British Royal archives. Myers hired professional researchers to ensure accuracy in his telling of Sarah Forbes Bonetta's life journey and I had the feeling he never wanted to overstep the bounds of a faithful historian. I applaud the effort and am thankful to Myers for his insight and dedication to bring Sarah's story to light.

The sketchiness of detail and human interaction left me wanting more. I'd love Sarah's biography to be written again by someone willing to step into her shoes and write as she might have experienced a life as an 8 year old African princess saved from death at the hands of brutal King Ghezo of Dahomey and then given to Queen Victoria, who became her patron and the god-mother of her daughter. But, I've read the story of Ghengis Khan by Conn Iggulden, for example, and watched the Khans live and breathe, so I know what can be done.

To write Sarah's novel would require bravery. Myers alluded to what may have been flaws in Sarah's character. Given the privileges she enjoyed, a tendency to become haughty or spoiled is likely. However, I believe her married life had a turning point that would be amazing to explore. But I'm off track. Sorry. In short, this was a fascinating story about a fascinating time in history--it was just a little too short.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a footnote to history that probably most people know noting about. I certainly didn’t. Queen Victoria, it seems, took an interest in other cultures and befriended people from other countries enough to have them come to England to live. Sarah (also known as Sally) was such a person from West Africa. She was actually given to Queen Victoria by an African tribal king when Sarah was very young. Queen Victoria took her responsibility seriously and provided for Sarah, took an interest in her education throughout Sarah’s life. It could be said Sarah was privileged, but I think in reading about her life, she had a difficult and at times lonely life. This is a juvenile book, and so goes into detail about various aspect of British culture in the Victorian era. My criticism of the book is the formatting (paper and ink color—beige with dark brown) makes it come across depressing. The pictures are very dark and many difficult to make out. I don’t think the book would appeal to many children, which is too bad. I appreciated learning about this obscure event.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Myers didn't have a lot of source material, so this is scant. That is to say, he couldn't make informed guesses about dialogue, past-times, relationships with schoolmates in Freetown..., and so he didn't write a narrative. And still he manages to create an engaging history. I just want more. I think he could have filled in more details of the time & context... he did do some, but more would have been good. Maybe he could have mentioned other Blacks or Indians (East or West) who were brought to the British court. But I also respect the tight focus of the book as it stands, which makes it more accessible to the schoolchildren who are the intended audience.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Dean Myers in the introduction explains beautifully why I love old books and ephemera. I don't have the time or budget for the dedication that Myers. Therefore I am grateful that he was able to buy Sarah Forbes Bonetta's letters and bring her to life again in this short but fascinating biography, At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was the daughter of the slain Egbabo leader as far as accounts go though there is no mention of Sarah's recollection of the first few years of her life. She was slated for ritual execution by her Dahomian raiders but saved as a "gift" for Queen Victoria by some quick thinking on Frederick Forbes's part. He was there attempting to stop the slave trade driven raids.

Frederick Forbes renamed the girl he had rescued to Sarah Forbes (his last name) Bonetta (his ship). The letters and other ephemera that track Sarah's life from her rescue show that she became friends with Queen Victoria. Her friendship though ended up being a major controlling factor in the events of her life.

Myers interjects his own thoughts and feelings on the events of Sarah's life as he understands them. Given how spotty her timeline is, Myers's text helps to segue between the facts. He also includes many of the photographs in the collection that he bought. The photographs though didn't print all that clearly on the paperback I have. They often times aren't much clearer than a black and white photocopy. I would have liked to see more detail on them.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little known historical story written as a children's book that totally fascinated me, held my interest and told me something I didn't know before - which is one of the reasons I read, especially non-fiction. For history buffs this is a must.

[Charles Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An African princess is saved from sacrifice by a British man and given to Queen Victoria as a gift by the ruthless King Gezo who murdered her entire family and village. The girl, named Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies, lived a life of privilege but as an outsider, struggling to find her place amongst the royalty with whom she consorted. This is an interesting story about the changing perceptions of race and women during Queen Victoria's reign, though the writing leaves a bit to be desired. Young girls, especially African American girls, would enjoy learning about a princess that broke down boundaries and truly lived a fairy tale; however, they might also be frustrated to discover the limited information about her life. Myers' research has a great many holes, about which I would ask students to ponder and hypothesize. I would pair this writing with a historical fiction text or maybe the "Titanic" movie to give students a model of filling in holes with fictional information. I would then ask the students to develop some of the gaps in research about Sarah, providing students the opportunity to hypothesize and use logic and empathy to develop a deeper, broader story.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books merits 4.5 stars, but doesn't quite reach the 5 level, and I'll explain why in a moment. It sheds light on a fascinating chapter of the Victorian era, drawing on letters from and about Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an African princess who was rescued from death at the hands of slavers to become a ward of Queen Victoria herself. Walter Dean Myers vividly brings to life the young woman, her charted life path and her surroundings. However, there isn't a lot of material for him to draw on, and her untimely death makes for a far shorter, less rich book than one would truly want. He does share a generous amount of source material and illustrates the text with photos and renderings that make for greater insight to the times. I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in Victoriana.

[Treasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating story! This is a biography of an African princess whose life was saved by an English gentleman and who was "given" to Queen Victoria by the African king who had enslaved her. This young girl, given the name Sarah (Sally) Forbes Bonetta, is brought to England where she frequently meets with the queen. After a year in England, she is sent back to Africa for school, but returns to England a few years later. There she lives a life very different from anyone around her - she is set apart from those around her by her association with the queen, by her African heritage, and by her lack of a family. She finds a "substitute family" in the people she lives with (the Schoen family), who accept and love Sally as much as she loves them. In time Sally must make a difficult decision: should she marry a man she doesn't love just to please the queen?

This is such an interesting story. Sally is a fascinating person, and it is too bad that more is not known about her. But I am very impressed with how much information Myers was able to pull together on her. She was obviously a well-known person when she was living in England, so it is sort of surprising that her story is not better known. I am very glad that Myers uncovered and wrote this story.

My only complaint about the book is the fact that the text and pictures are all printed in brown ink. I guess this was to give it an old-fashioned appearance. The brown text mostly didn't bother me, but I found many of the photographs very difficult to decipher. Perhaps this was due to the poor quality of the photos and not the brown ink, but the brown ink didn't help. I feel as if something could have been done to make the pictures clearer. It is so great that there were all these photos of the places and people that Myers mentions in the biography; I wish I could see what they looked like.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

My nine-year-old daughter and I read this together and very much enjoyed this story of a young girl orphaned in tribal violence and then, essentially, gifted to England's Queen Victoria. I think we were both drawn to the narrative of a child traveling without family to a foreign land and then trying to find a home there.

I appreciated that Myers included excerpts from the primary sources that he used, not only because they help my daughter see how to weave material from primary documents into a narrative but also because I enjoy hearing the story in the words of those who lived it. As Myers mentions in the epilogue, there are many questions left unanswered about Sarah Forbes Bonetta's life, particularly how she felt and what she thought about her circumstances. We can make guesses from her letters to loved ones, but throughout the book, I wondered about the woman behind those words.

Reading about Sarah Forbes Bonetta reminded me of how I felt when I learned about Native Americans who had been taken to England in the 17th century, either as captives or as curiosities. Much as I wonder what it was like in England for Squanto or Pocahontas, I wonder how Sarah Forbes Bonetta experienced England. She lived her life among the English and made her home primarily in England, but did she feel accepted in English society? Did she feel at home? Her choices seemed limited, but were they more limited than the choices any woman in Victorian England would have had?

This book exposed my daughter and me to a different side of England in the 19th century, and we enjoyed it despite (or maybe because of) the unanswered questions. It prompted discussion not only about the historical and cultural context of Bonetta's life, but also about what makes a family and what makes a place "home."

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interesting true life story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. Born in West Africa, she was adopted by Queen Victoria and her first child became the Queen's Goddaughter. Included are not only photographs but also extracts from a number of letters and correspondence. Yet another tale from Britain's hidden history!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when someone’s story is discovered. This was an interesting slice of history that I never knew about. Super quick read!

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read since it is for young readers but well told and very interesting. I had never heard about this young woman or her relationship with Queen Victoria. I enjoyed it.

[Kayla Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book documents the true story of unfortunate events that happen in the life of a young African princess that result in her becoming and orphan and under the care of the royal Queen of England. I think this particular book exemplifies accuracy and with that, presents details genuinely. I appreciated the candid and detailed presentation of facts throughout the book. The book continually presented very detailed facts including things like dates, names, ages, and the specific names of the different people groups when necessary. The book also has a good balance of fact and theory. While the book includes a lot of factual information about the life of Sarah and supports it with pieces like diary entries, it also includes appropriate theoretical content. The design of the book succeeds in the areas of being attractive, readable, and appropriate, and the illustrations complement the historical text nicely. I enjoyed that the book formatted diary entries into the text when appropriate and that the book not only featured illustrations, but also actual photographs, drawings, and documents and charts that were relevant. The validity of these pieces not only elevated the design, but also brought the history of the book to life. It was neat as the reader to be able to view things like actual photographs and artist renderings of Sarah and Queen Victoria and to see a copy of Sarah’s actual marriage certificate! The diary entries that were included made the book more appealing to read as well! Overall, I thought the book highlighted a very interesting and not well-known story that readers will be richer in knowledge for the knowing - a great addition to the world of children's literature! The book's main themes are adjusting to a new culture and that friendship can crosses cultures and socioeconomic status in a big way. This would be a great book to use in the classroom to teach! It is essentially like a missing chapter in history. Slavery and the discrimination of blacks in America often times does get taught in classrooms, but the stories that represent exceptions rarely if ever get mentioned. Using this book to teach would give students a broader scope and understanding of history as a whole. I would recommend this book for 4th-8th grade students. I would warn that the beginning of the book is very graphic in its details about the destruction of Sarah's village and the killings and sacrifices of the villagers.

Myers, W. D. (1999). At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, At Her Majesty’s Request can be classified as a biography, it has won one award NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book (2000), and it is intended for ages eight and up. This story is about and African princess Sara, who is both rescued by an English navel captain and given as a gift from an African Chief to Queen Victoria of England; and her journey of self-discovery. I gave this book five stars. It is reminiscent in many ways of the story A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett and I love that book. The narrator is at times unreliable because the book is mostly based on Queen Victoria’s journal entries and only a few letters from Sara. There is no clear evidence as to why Sara made some of the decisions she made on receipts and letters; in which the reader must come up with their own conclusion. I gave this book five stars because it kept me interested, I read it in one sitting. I like the photography the author used, it gave me a clear picture of what Sara looked like. I also like the artifacts, her receipts for the purchases Queen Victoria made for her as well as her report card from school. These interested me greatly, as I love historical artifacts. I identified with Sara, growing up in one world and having been from another culture it is sometimes had to fit in. Sara is a protagonist and her struggle is with herself, in finding out if she is who she wants to be or what they made her. When Sara is on the verge of adulthood, it seems the antagonist becomes Queen Victoria, as she already has a set plan for Sara’s life, one in which Sara hesitates to fulfill. I think this book will be appealing to young readers because it is something they can all relate to; coming of age and it is almost fantasy at the same time. Can you imagine being basically adopted by the Queen of England? I would keep this book on my library shelf in the classroom; for a historical read or to inspire my students. This book would show them that just because you come from dire circumstances, it doesn’t mean you have to remain there; take what opportunities you are given and make something better for yourself and the others around you.

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reconstructed, possibly true story of an African princess who was kidnapped by a rival clan, rescued by a British abolitionist, and raised in the upper circles of British society under the protection of Queen Victoria herself. Author Walter Dean Myers of Fallen Angels and Monster fame was inspired to write the book after locating a packet of Sarah Forbes Bonetta's personal letters in an antique bookstore, and he fills in some of the biographical holes in these letters with academic research and common sense speculation. Sarah is a difficult character to relate to because we know so little about her and Myers makes a conscious effort to avoid transforming her into an anachronistic, Disneyesque heroine. Still, the book paints a brief and fascinating portrait of Victorian life that illuminates customs and aspects of the Queen's character that I had never considered before.

One thing that strikes me about At Her Majesty's Request is how different it is from the other Myers narratives I know. It has a female protagonist, it is set in the distant past (the mid nineteenth century), and it is mostly nonfiction. With books like Monster, Myers demonstrated that he was able to anticipate the needs of teachers and the interests of their young, millennial readers. Here, he proves himself no less innovative, turning a handful of letters into a work of kid-friendly history that would probably be printed in color on glossy paper if it were released in the current era of award-baiting YA nonfiction. Really, I think Scholastic could/should release a deluxified edition, one that doesn't make the reader squint at small, blurry black and white images and that sits nicer on the bookstore shelf. But my complaints about the presentation aside, this is a good read -- quick, timely, and informative. Easy to admire and recommend.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend and I watched the Victoria series on PBS. In one of the episodes, they present Sarah to the Queen. Sarah was an African princess whose entire family was murdered during a raid by another tribe. Sarah was saved to be a human sacrifice during a festival. She is saved by Captain Forbes, who persuades the war Chief to present her as a gift to the Queen. Sarah, who is roughly five, is then taken to England.

My friend then managed to find this book. Walter Dean Myers stumbled across letters in a bookstore in England. Using these and research, he uncovers the story of Sarah. It's a short book, I was able to read it in one setting, but it's great.

Sarah is moved around a lot. Basically Queen Victoria wanted Sarah to have the best life possible, but kept changing her mind on what that was. Sarah stays with the Forbes family for a few years and then is taken back to Sierra Leone to live in an English Mission around "her people". While her feelings are unknown, the author suspects that she was pretty miserable because after some letter writing with the Queen (! - you know, like you do), she is allowed to return to England.

Sarah was black in late 1800's England, so she was exotic and did not quite fit in. She had the protection of the queen so she wasn't considered lower class. She was educated like a lady which caused her to stand out when she returned to Africa.

However, all the letters speak about her cheerful and sweet nature. She never spoke about the slaughter of her village, either because she couldn't remember it or chose not to. Her life seems very happy.

I think this is a great book to show a little history. There are pictures and it's written in a very easy to understand way for children.

[CH _Kenya Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers--piecing together the story of this African Princess from letters he found in a rare book and ephemera shop in London. He paints a hauntingly detached portrait of the small African princess whom the heroic captain named Sarah Forbes Bonetta. We follow her charmed but unlucky life as the Queen's protégée through a succession of British middle-class households, beginning with the Forbes home. Because of her celebrated association and frequent visits with the Queen, Sarah grows up in an unusual position of privilege, education, and celebrity. On the flip side, she is keenly aware that her decisions are not her own, and as a rescued orphan under the Queen's protection, her life's path is dictated by those acting in what they perceive to be her best interests. It is hard not to feel that it was cruel of her protectors to wrench her (more than once in her life) from the adopted family she adores, and eventually to encourage her to marry a West African businessman whom she clearly stated she could never love, and who would take her away from her adopted country. This story is rich with historic prints, photographs, newspaper clippings, excerpts from Queen Victoria's diary, and Sarah's letters. It is both fascinating and tragic. We have Myers to thank for rescuing this fine woman again--this time from the forgotten shelf of a London bookstore. I would recommend this text for middle school students or older.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

About the book:

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was an African princess whose parents were murdered by enemy warriors. A British naval officer rescued her and brought her to Eng...more Sarah Forbes Bonetta was an African princess whose parents were murdered by enemy warriors. A British naval officer rescued her and brought her to England, where she became the protege of Queen Victoria herself.

My review:

This book reads almost like a real life fairy tale! A young girl is forced to watch her parents murdered and is then kidnapped for sacrifice by the enemy tribe. By fortune, a British Captain is there on the day of her scheduled demise and rescues. She's whisked off to England where she becomes a prodigy, almost like a goddaughter to the Queen! The book follows Sarah from the time of her rescue to the time of her death. Even so, the book is real and it's believable. The excerpts from the letters add credence to this book. The characters are well thought out and I felt like I knew them.

I really enjoy biographies that are well written and this was no exception. It's written for Young Adults but even a middle school
student will be able read this and understand. the beginning where her parents are murdered is the scariest part. I plan to have my 9 year old read it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and learning about this "adopted" princess.

[Chanel Mcgowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

At Her Majesty’s Request is about a young girl named Sarah who was rescued from being a human sacrifice. She was given to Queen Victoria as a gift and she watched over her for her entire life. She never remained in one place throughout her life because she was constantly moved from house to house and England to Africa and back multiple times. She got married to James Davies and they had a child they named Victoria, after Queen Victoria. It can be used as a resource for students because each chapter is a well written summary on the topic of that chapter. Teachers could also take a chapter and dissect the main points and have students do a project, activity, or report. This is also a good book for illustrations, a lot of photographs are within the text and they are good resources as well as insight on what life for the people of this time was really like. This is quite a long book to use for a lesson but I would want to have it on my shelf for things like a book report or poster project. IWish that there was a shorter version that I could use in the class but it does best as a reference as to what life was like in those times.

[Diane Quist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book. I found it in the teen readers section of the library, but adults should not steer away from it.

It was interesting to read about an African Princess, who at the age of 7 escaped the hands of a savage death and given to Queen Victoria as a gift .... Keep in mind, England did not look at slavery favorably. None the less, we are talking about a female in the Victorian time period, so regardless, she was still enslaved to a degree due to her gender .... The story is a happy/sad type, but worth the read especially for those interested in History, and having a love for this time period.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back on Mr. Walter Dean Myers—sigh the man has an awesome literary cannon and our library is full of his work! This one a Non-Fiction read from the 941 section I stumbled on as I was looking for reading books to highlight around the library..Learned this libraryism well: People especially kids are very visual and if the SEE the book they are more likely to pick it up versus if its buried quietly on a shelf of others..I change my library shelves often and as a result I get all of us exposed to the most random gems…
Anyway this story is of an African princess rescued and brought to England to be adopted as goddaughter of Queen Victoria…The story starts describing Africa and I was into it..you meet the people of Dahomey and their violent fearsome King Gezo who enthusiastically engaged in tribal wars and the selling of his enemies to slavery with the Europeans. One of those perverse stories of people selling their own people to the worst evil imaginable and it is said all for a lucrative trade of weapons and guns…even when presented with a less violent way to make money by exporting the resources of Africa’s palm oil instead of human lives; King Gezo was not interested as dealing palm oil may have money but not the power..During a ritual where people were sacrificed so their blood could wash the graves of important Dahomans one of the British officers Commander Forbes there to promote palm oil trading and end slave trades notices a young girl in a basket on her way to death. He finds out the girl is from an enemy tribe and bears the marks of royalty and he begs for her life. King Gezo is against this and then Commander Forbes appeals to his pride by saying the Queen would never respect him killing a young girl. King Gezo craved respect and relented in freeing the girl and offering her as a present to the Queen. Her name becomes Sarah Forbes Bonetta and she is brought to England and treated as a celebrity..While there were free black people in England there were also those brought from Africa in chains—Sarah was educated and even allowed visits with the Queen herself. Sarah’s life was good, until she kept getting sick and had to be visited by doctors very often; it was determined that the weather was affecting her and the Queen ordered her moved back to Africa to a dependence owned in Sierra Leone. As Sarah is preparing to go Commander Forbes returns to Africa intent on stopping the slave trade however he falls ill and dies…Sarah now has to deal with the loss of the man she now considers her father and another journey back to Africa where her fate is uncertain. Her time in Sierra Leone is pleasant but primitive-a far cry from her life of royalty and she keeps in touch with the Queen until one day she is summoned back to England. On her return life resumes for her with visits to the Queen and education though she is moved in with a new family and eventually offered a marriage proposal…Approved by the Queen though not the match Sarah wanted she marries a successful businessman and begins a life teaching until her history of being ill comes back to her and she dies after no more than thirty-eight years of life..I loved this story Walter Dean Myers—thanks for finding this story and telling about a real African princess born royalty and adopted into royalty after a narrow escape from death..This story will work for Black History Month and Women’s History Month..oh yeah! A 140 page read worth the time..

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At Her Majesty's Requestt tells the amazing, sad, true story of an African princess, rescued at the point of her certain death in a gigantic & horrific display of brutality by the notorious "King of Dahomey" Gezo, when a Commander in Her Majesty's Royal Navy begs for her life. Gezo gives him the child, to give to Queen Victoria. Given the name Sarah Forbes Bonetta by Commander Forbes, her last name being the name of the ship he commanded, she went to England for a year and was the queen's special interest.

A four year old girl who sees her parents and siblings slaughtered, is held in solitary confinement for two years, and is then about to be part of a huge human sacrifice and is rescued only minutes before her sure death....one wonders, given our predilection for labeling outrageous behavior as being caused by past trauma, especially childhood traumas...how did she overcome these things, and be a kind, interested, educated, and basically happy person?

Walter Dean Myers carefully lays out as much of Sarah's story as he can without overwhelming his audience, but at the risk of being quite dry in his tone as he seldom elaborates in detail, for this extremely dramatic story.

In some ways, Sarah Forbes Bonetta's story reminds me of Squanto's, in that all her loved ones & her entire village was wiped out, yet she comes to England, learns English, becomes a Christian, and is highly educated for the times. (Squanto, kidnapped and sold into slavery in Spain, is freed, becomes a Catholic and comes to England and eventually back to the New World where he providentially is there to aid the pilgrims in that first terrible year in Plymouth.)

This is an incredible story. Myers writes in a dry, uninteresting way but the story itself is so unusual and memorable - and formerly unknown - that I feel indebted to him for telling it. The illustrations, photographs of Sarah, documents, etc. are dark and often hard to make much of, unfortunately.

I recommend this book to people interested in the anti-slavery movement, mid-19th-Century England, West Africa, Dahomey, King Gezo, Missionary Societies, Queen Victoria.

[Jared Shilts · Rating 2 out of 5]

personal response: I found myself picking a book at random to save time in class and I got this book. At Her Majesty’s Request was a book that I did not expect to be as interesting as it was.

plot: In 1848, A small African tribe known as the Egbado were assaulted by the larger Kingdom of Dahomey. The warriors of Dahomey killed the men and kidnapped the women. The slaves of the Dahomey were then brought to the kingdom for execution. Dahomey’s leader, King Gezo, was expecting to negotiate with British Commander Forbes during the “ceremonial sacrifice”. What Forbes noticed was horrible and urged Gezo to stop. The African King denied his request, saying that the sacrifice was a tradition. Forbes then noticed a young girl that was about to be slaughtered. He insisted harder, saying that Britain would not ally with any slave selling countries. Gezo made an exception and allowed Forbes to take the girl back to Great Britain.


characterization: The girl was named Sarah Forbes and before her capture, she was in line to become a princess of the Egbado. When Commander Forbes rescued her, she was worried that he would kill her. However, on her voyage to England she learned some English words and realizes that Forbes was trying to protect her.

setting: The story starts in West Africa in 1848. It is an important time because slavery had been banned in England and the country would not ally themselves with a slave selling country. There were two major tribes in west Africa, the Egbado tribe and the Kingdom of Dahomey.

recommendation: I would say this book works for girls more because its main character is female; however, I had no problem reading the book. People between the ages of 14 and 18 could understand what is going on better because of expanded history knowledge.

rating: I give At Her Majesty’s Request a 2 out of 5 stars

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect Walter Dean Myers to write this kind of book. I guess I'm so used to his gritty realistic fiction.

I liked how he got the idea to write. Just a happenstance which made him curious.

I wish we knew more about Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies, perhaps through her own diary. At 5, she was old enough to know her family and name. Did she? What did she think of England and English ways?

It's a good read which left me with a lot of questions and wondering how I'd have adapted were I Sarah.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

an incredible story about queen victoria's african god-daughter, who just happened to be a princess in her own right. myers found a great non-fiction story and chose to research it and tell it. it could easily have only been a great story damaged by a lesser writer.
fortunately NOT a book for african-american month because there are no americans in it -gasp! teachers can read this aloud through out the year.