Millicent of Rose Hall

Millicent of Rose Hall is a fantasy novel for children. It tells the story of twelve-year-old Millicent’s search for her mother, who disappeared from their home at Rose Hall a few months after Millicent’s birth, leaving her baby behind but taking her horse, a priceless white Arabian. When Millicent learns that her father, the Captain, is bent on finding the white horse and bringing it back to the Rose Hall stables, she determines to unravel the mystery and go in search of her mother. The novel introduces its readers to the complex social hierarchy of nineteenth century England and to the laws regarding gender property rights. In the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett and Charles Dickens, Millicent of Rose Hall explores the universal themes of identity, friendship and belonging. It is constructed in a three act, circular structure that defines the iconic quest motif as exemplified in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Though set in the nineteenth century in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, this thesis contributes to the emerging genre of postcolonial, postmodern middle grade literature in Canada by providing readers ages nine through twelve with a young female protagonist who deals with twenty-first century problems: a mother who has abandoned her and a father who is emotionally absent, both of whom come from opposite socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As Millicent wrestles with the choices her parents have made, she is faced with her own dilemma. By the end of the novel, she must choose between her parents and the opposing lifestyles that they represent. The novel grapples with the intersection of class, gender, wealth, violence, culture and power and emphasizes the importance of giving children a voice. This historical novel is built on a foundation of research in gypsy literature, Victorian domestic life and etiquette, gender roles and laws, colonial practices, equine history and horseracing, Victorian seafaring, midwifery, British geography and the architecture and organization of the nineteenth century British manor house. Arts, Faculty ofGraduat