True Confessions of Hannah Faith

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi

Posted on February 7th, 2007 by hanfaith.
Categories: General.

When I was in sixth grade, my class performed book reports in front of the class, pretending to be a character in the book. I chose one of my all-time favorite books (The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin). A fellow classmate chose to be Charlotte from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. After hearing her review, I quickly found the book in the library, and have loved it ever since.

I love adventure books set at sea. Give me Horatio Hornblower, Long John Silver, or Harvey Cheyne any day. I don’t think I’d ever like to go to sea myself, but I thoroughly enjoy the reading about storms at sea, ship hierarchy, and sailor lingo.

True Confessions (now you know where my blog title came from) is unusual in that it follows the story of a girl. And not just any girl, but a thirteen-year-old demure child who blossoms throughout the course of the story into a freethinking, capable young woman. Charlotte Doyle finds herself on a ship full of sailors seeking revenge on a nasty captain. Her fellow passengers are delayed, and she must make the journey alone to America to join her family. Before the voyage really even begins, Charlotte finds herself “courted’ by both Captain Jaggerty and the sailors (particularly the old, black cook Zachariah), each trying to win her over to their side. In her naivety, Charlotte initially trusts the captain, believing him to be much like her father. She becomes his eyes and ears on the ship, dutifully reporting to him all the crew’s grumbling.

Things come to a head when Charlotte stumbles upon the crew writing a round robin – a sign of mutiny. Feeling torn by duty to the captain, and not wanting to cause trouble, Charlotte finally tells Captain Jaggerty what she saw. The captain shuts down the uprising, but not before killing a stowaway in cold blood. Charlotte is shocked by the brutality, and stunned at the reality of dictatorship that the captain holds over the ship. Captain Jaggerty then proceeds to whip Zachariah, using him as an example to the others. Charlotte looses her temper and strikes the captain, trying to stop the whipping. Later on that day, Charlotte stumbles upon the sailors performing a brief ceremony before committing Zachariah’s body to the sea – yet another victim of the captain’s rage.

Horrified at the consequences her actions brought about, Charlotte presents herself to the crew, willing and able to do her best to fill in the place of a sailor. The crew agrees hestitantly, but only after making her climb the rigging to the top of the ship. Captain Jaggerty allows her to sign articles (as Mr. Doyle), and fully expects her to hold her own. Charlotte learns quickly from the others, and does her best to cause no trouble with the captain. Captain Jaggerty had not forgotten the way Charlotte attacked him, however, and constantly kept a watch on her waiting for a mistake to be made.

Without going into too much detail (I don’t want to ruin the ending!), after weathering a brutal hurricane that Captain Jaggerty makes the crew steer into, an officer is found dead by a knife in the back. Charlotte is accused of murder, and stands trial in front of her peers.

Themes of loyalty, trust, duty, and conscience are riddled throughout the book. If you like adventure stories, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is worth reading, especially with its unlikely heroine.

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