Perchè due libri? Ebbene, uno è il sequel dell’altro ed entrambi raccontano le vicende del piccolo Sam che a soli 9 anni sopravvive alla peste del 1665 e poi, l’anno successivo, al grande incendio di Londra. I libri sono rivolti ad un pubblico più giovane rispetto a quello di Mary Ann & Miss Mozart ma ciò non ha comportato una banalizzazione dei contenuti e alla fine ci si stupisce di come abbia fatto Ann Turnbull a delineare così bene personaggi e vicende in così poco spazio. In Plague incontriamo Sam a servizio da Master Kemp giusto all’inizio dello scoppio della peste: piano piano il flagello si avvicina, colpendo dapprima gli amici con cui giocava, poi le case nella strada in cui abita vengono via via chiuse ed una croce rossa compare sulle porte, fino a che anche il suo padrone si ammala e riceve la visita del dottore con l’abbigliamento usato per proteggersi dalla peste, “like a giant bird of prey”. Sam non ha nemmeno il tempo di rendersene conto e viene chiuso dentro la casa con il padrone malato e solo il suo cane a fargli compagnia: dopo la morte del padrone scopre di non poter uscire per quaranta giorni e decide così di scappare per avventurarsi nella città affrontando il rischio del contagio.
Si tratta di una sorta di versione per bambini del Diario dell’anno della peste (A Journal of the Plague Year) di Defoe con il quale ha in comune il carattere episodico ma, soprattutto, lo stile semplice e diretto e la familiarità con la città (vengono nominate, vie, strade, piazze e persone come se tutti abitassimo lì con lui e potessimo immediatamente riconoscere i luoghi raccontati).
Mi ricordo che mentre leggevo il Journal per un esame universitario decisi di appendere una mappa di Londra al muro della mia camera da letto per seguire l’avanzare della peste a Londra raccontato da Defoe e visualizzarlo: mano a mano che leggevo, quindi, attaccavo segnalini ed etichette alla mappa che, ora della fine, era diventata una testimonianza visiva degli eventi narrati.
Purtroppo all’epoca non avevo uno smartphone (ebbene sì… c’è stato un tempo in cui gli smartphone non esistevano!) e non c’era la mania dei selfie e di fotografare ogni singola cosa… così non mi è mai venuto in mente di fare una fotografia né, tanto meno, potevo conservare il risultato del mio lavoro, perchè era troppo ingombrante. Peccato!
Certo che oggi un prof di storia potrebbe riproporre una cosa simile utilizzando Google Maps con i suoi alunni e creare una mappa personalizzata della vicenda con gli spostamenti di Sam. (Eccone un esempio...)
Disgraziatamente, una volta sopravvissuto alla Morte Nera Sam se la dovrà vedere anche con il grande incendio di Londra, che prese le mosse nei pressi di un fornaio in Pudding Lane e che ridusse Londra a una ‘smoking wasteland’, come viene definito lo spettacolo che si presenta ai superstiti nelle ultime pagine del libro.
ANN TURNBULL’S PLAGUE AND THE GREAT FIRE: HOW TO SURVIVE.
Why two books this time? Well, one is the sequel of the other and both tell little Sam’s story, who survives the plague when he’s only 9 and then, the following year, the great fire of London. These books are written for a younger audience than Mary Ann & Miss Mozart but that does not mean banalized contents. In the end you are surprised by Ann Turnbull’s ability to give depth to her characters and their affairs.
In Plague the reader meets Sam when he is serving Master Kemp just before the outbreak of epidemics: as soon as the scourge approaches, friends are affected and their homes, and little by little red crosses appear on doors, until it’s time for Samìs master to get sick and receive the doctor with the usual clothing worn by plague doctors, “like a giant bird of prey”. Sam has not even time to realize what’s happening around him that he finds himself confined to the house with his sick master and a dog: as soon as he realizes that after his master’s death he can’t go out for 40 days he plots his escape and ventures out facing the risk of contagion. The book is some sort of children’s version of A Journal of the Plague Year by Defoe: the style is very similar, simple and direct, as well as the protagonist’s familiarity with the City (places and people are mentioned as if everybody knows them) and the series of incidents occurring the protagonist. I remember when I was reading Defoe’s Journal for an exam and I decided to hang a map of London on my bedroom wall in order to follow the plague in its progress and I could really visualize it because I used to stick labels and pins on the map.
Unfortunately at the time Smartphones didn’t even exist (can you believe there was a time when smartphones didn’t exist?) ...nor did the selfie mania. So, I never thought of taking a picture of the map. What a pity! It would be a great idea for today’s History Teachers to try something similar using Google Maps with the class: they could create a personalized map together (Defoe’s Journal with students and Turnbull’s stories with pupils).
After surviving the Black Death, Sam has to deal with the great fire of London, which started accidentally in a bakery in Pudding Lane and reduced the whole city to a ‘smoking wasteland’.
Leggi gli articoli relativi ad Ann Turnbull come eMagazine:
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Why two books this time? Well, one is the sequel of the other and both tell little Sam’s story, who survives the plague when he’s only 9 and then, the following year, the great fire of London. These books are written for a younger audience than Mary Ann & Miss Mozart but that does not mean banalized contents. In the end you are surprised by Ann Turnbull’s ability to give depth to her characters and their affairs.
In Plague the reader meets Sam when he is serving Master Kemp just before the outbreak of epidemics: as soon as the scourge approaches, friends are affected and their homes, and little by little red crosses appear on doors, until it’s time for Samìs master to get sick and receive the doctor with the usual clothing worn by plague doctors, “like a giant bird of prey”. Sam has not even time to realize what’s happening around him that he finds himself confined to the house with his sick master and a dog: as soon as he realizes that after his master’s death he can’t go out for 40 days he plots his escape and ventures out facing the risk of contagion. The book is some sort of children’s version of A Journal of the Plague Year by Defoe: the style is very similar, simple and direct, as well as the protagonist’s familiarity with the City (places and people are mentioned as if everybody knows them) and the series of incidents occurring the protagonist. I remember when I was reading Defoe’s Journal for an exam and I decided to hang a map of London on my bedroom wall in order to follow the plague in its progress and I could really visualize it because I used to stick labels and pins on the map.
Unfortunately at the time Smartphones didn’t even exist (can you believe there was a time when smartphones didn’t exist?) ...nor did the selfie mania. So, I never thought of taking a picture of the map. What a pity! It would be a great idea for today’s History Teachers to try something similar using Google Maps with the class: they could create a personalized map together (Defoe’s Journal with students and Turnbull’s stories with pupils).
After surviving the Black Death, Sam has to deal with the great fire of London, which started accidentally in a bakery in Pudding Lane and reduced the whole city to a ‘smoking wasteland’.
Leggi gli articoli relativi ad Ann Turnbull come eMagazine:
Download eMAGAZINE
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