Title: Homing Bird
Author: Carpathia
Summary: “Do Good Be Good Feel Good”
The winter of 1902 is bitter for little Marjorie Cummings who awakes to find her American home very quiet. Little did she know that behind the scenes plans were being drawn not only to save her life but to change it in the most unimaginable way possible. In the flick of a wrist Marjorie goes from impoverished conditions to living in the home of the wealthiest man in the world Tsar Nicolas II of Russia. A dark child in Tsarskoe sparks humor among the aristocracy who are eager to know who this little girl is. A play mate to the Grand Duchesses OTMA and an admirer of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich or KR, Marjorie wins the hearts of all she meets. Will her heart turn to home or will she stay the Russian winter in the final chapters of the Tsars!-----
This story is a very unique Historical Fiction. Well, to begin with, it seems like all Historical Fictions are unique, since “HF isn’t really the thing” for 99% of people in here. Also, people seem not to know exactly what a Historical Fiction really is. To be clear, it’s a Historical Fiction “takes place in the past, deal with the lives and plots of characters who lived many years ago as the author imagines those times to be.” Wattpad’s words, not mine. It does NOT include time travelling, it does NOT include magical fairies and goblins or imaginary lands. One is Sci-Fi, the other is Fantasy.
But anyway, the story, I’m relieved to say, is indeed Historical Fiction. It’s set in the past and it’s about a time period that if you check your History Book, you will find it there. The author chose to talk about the Russian Revolution under the point of view of a fictional character, an American moor girl, orphaned at a young age, who is taken to Russia by her uncle, who worked at the palace, to live in the court of Tsar Nicholas II, and she becomes playmate of the Tsar’s children.
The story is told in first person. Usually it’s not well appreciated. BUT the author really tried. And only HF writers know how hard it is to do so with historical characters. The Historical facts are incredibly accurate, the girl did her research, I must say. She gives the exact amount of information for someone who DOES know history and is able to relate the speech to their knowledge, and for someone who DOESN’T know History, allowing them to imagine and have some idea of what they are reading about. The dialogs are not boring, at least for those who know History. I would just suggest that she edits it properly, some paragraphs marks are not actually pleasing to the eyes, and no one is very fond of long stuff, especially online.
Now, the author really deserves some recognition. Her work is good, well researched and well written, but the genre is very badly appreciated. It’s like some sort of bullying against poor HF genre, even the club is left to the spider webs. So, educate yourselves a bit, readers, go read something that is actually worth reading, and show the author she is really doing it right.
- F.i.T.
