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The Ravenmaster’s Secret: Escape from the Tower of London Audiobook
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(3.04) - 776 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In London in 1735, eleven-year-old Forrest Harper is living with his family in the Tower of London. There he helps his father tend the ravens and guard the prisoners. Still, life is lonely. When vicious Scottish Rebels are captured, Forrest is delighted. Perhaps now he can prove his courage and impress the local bullies who torment him. His happiness is short-lived, though, when the Harpers are only given custody of Maddy, a Scottish Rebel’s daughter, for a rebel in a dress will surely make Forrest a laughingstock.
As the days pass, Maddy’s beauty and warmth and her touching stories of life in Scotland seal a friendship between them. But when she is slated for execution, Forrest is faced with a horrifying choice: commit treason and help her escape, or obey the law and allow his innocent friend to be executed.
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"this book was so cool and historically wonderful. i loved the plot and read it through several times in the same year. the ravens are so fun and i really liked the maps and such in the front of the book, not to mention that the book is not only historically wonderful but presently wonderful as well because the british are a bit superstitious and still keep ravens ar the tower of london."
— Dianna (5 out of 5 stars)
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“An absorbing historical adventure with a unique and colorful setting…The novel can be read for its exciting plot and sympathetic characters, but readers will also sense its underlying theme of courage.”
— Booklist -
“Vance’s characterizations are amazingly realistic. The story provides wonderful facts about the era, surroundings, and daily lives of characters from various economical strata. The action is fast-paced with surprises around every corner.”
— Kliatt -
“Suspense, excitement, and interesting characters…[The] message of judging people on their own merits and not on the basis of stereotypes comes across strongly.”
— School Library Journal -
“Historical fiction with all of the danger, excitement, heroism, and adventure that attracts young boys—and many young girls—and helps make them life-long lovers of literature.”
— Faith & Family
The Ravenmaster’s Secret Listener Reviews
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" Woodruff does a great job of creating the atmosphere of 18th century London and in particular the area of the Tower of London. The main characters Forrest, Rat and Maddy are very well portrayed. The action moved along quickly, but the ending was rather abrupt. "
— Tory, 2/13/2014 -
" Great historical fiction. Accurate portrayal of life in the Tower of London. Great book for both boys and girls! "
— Debbie, 2/8/2014 -
" Set in London in the 1700s, Forrest is the Ravenmaster's son. His father's job is to care for the protected ravens, and some of the prisoners, in the infamous Tower of London. Forrest and his friend Ned, the rat catcher, want nothing more than to escape their lives in the Tower. Then one day a young girl, the daughter of a Scottish rebel, is confined to the Tower. Forrest must decide whether saving Maddy is worth the risk of discovery and the danger to himself and his family. A wonderful piece of historical fiction that discusses the cost of courage and the importance of friendship. "
— Dayna, 2/4/2014 -
" creepy. reccomended for people who like gross stuff like cutting heads off "
— Daniel, 2/1/2014 -
" (Mom's note: This book is a little more violent that I would probably recommend. Aaron seemed to do okay with it but there is a pretty gruesome hanging in it that's not really recommended. I meant to read that part aloud to him so I could skim over the details but he read it before I remembered.) "
— Aaron, 1/29/2014 -
" Fun kids book, it was a nutmeg book last year and Kathryn wouldn't read it because of the execution in the second chapter. I enjoyed it though. I think she would have too, if she had gotten past the hanging. "
— Bonnie, 1/22/2014 -
" A simple book, but it is still very well written. It shows a clear message of friendship and how it can live a lifetime. "
— Samantha, 1/20/2014 -
" in the beginning it was boring but whaen you got deeper and deeper in to the book it is a very good book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
— Veena, 1/9/2014 -
" Absolutely amazing. I want to read it again. "
— Rachel, 12/24/2013 -
" I tried not to cry at the end, but I did. Every tear was earned by Ms. Woodruff. "
— Sarah, 12/21/2013 -
" I never thought I would like this book, but I assigned it as a literature circle book so I began to read it. Well, I literally could not put it down! It was so suspenseful! Read it! "
— Karen, 12/18/2013 -
" A good little story. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but nothing seemed implausible about it. I really enjoyed the three main characters, Forrest, Ned and Maddy, and liked that the readers got an epilogue to find out what happened to them afterwards. "
— Ami_Ven, 12/17/2013 -
" touhing book "
— Vivek, 9/21/2013 -
" This book was one of the worst books I have ever had to read. The author's writing was very poor and was not descriptive. Forest's character was unoriginal and Rat/Ned was just annoying. The book built you up and then let you down ( Rick roll ;P).Don't waste your time or money. "
— Cecilia, 9/13/2013 -
" It was a little boaring but turned out to be a good book "
— Melanie, 6/5/2013 -
" A compelling story about choosing between friendship and duty, obeying the law completely or civil disobedience. But framed in a very appropriate way for children. Takes place in 1735 at the Tower of London. A book Jeremiah (14) will be reading this school year. "
— Katherine, 11/12/2012 -
" LOVE IT EVEN THOUGH I'M BARLEY HALF-WAY THROUGH!!!!!!! "
— Madison, 10/27/2012 -
" Although this is a children's book, it looked very interesting, so I picked it up. It was a quick read (obviously), and it was actually really good. It was fast-paced, and even had me in suspense at the end. I learned a lot about the Tower of London, and it's definitely one to come back to :) "
— Gloriana, 7/14/2012 -
" I loved learning about the history of the Tower of London. It is a fascinating place with an amazing history. I now long to visit it. The author was successful in bringing history alive for youth with this story. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though it is probably realistic enough. "
— Holly, 7/6/2012 -
" Page turner. Good explanation of the history of the Tower of London, but not exactly light reading (includes detailed descriptions of execution). "
— Holly, 12/20/2011 -
" This book was AMAZING. It really took you back to the time period it took place in. It's not a very well-known book, but I recommend reading it NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
— Mae, 11/24/2011 -
" thrilling, dark, victorian era struggles and intrigue make this a compelling chiller. "
— Blake, 9/14/2011 -
" This is a must read for ALL upper elementary and middle school kids!!!! Definitely a must!!!! "
— Kelli, 8/27/2011 -
" I hated it, it had a bad plot. Without any suspense or action. "
— Raihan, 6/23/2011 -
" (Mom's note: This book is a little more violent that I would probably recommend. Aaron seemed to do okay with it but there is a pretty gruesome hanging in it that's not really recommended. I meant to read that part aloud to him so I could skim over the details but he read it before I remembered.) "
— Aaron, 4/7/2011 -
" It was so good! It also had a Scottish character named Maddy! "
— Maddy, 3/26/2011 -
" A great book about adventure and dreaming "
— Val, 3/8/2011 -
" This was a great book! I listened to the audio and the reader was fantastic. Forrest is the son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London. There are some really interesting facts about the time period and the story was easy for me to become involved in. "
— Kandyce, 2/27/2011 -
" This book was AMAZING. It really took you back to the time period it took place in. It's not a very well-known book, but I recommend reading it NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
— Mae, 2/16/2011 -
" Page turner. Good explanation of the history of the Tower of London, but not exactly light reading (includes detailed descriptions of execution). "
— Holly, 7/18/2010 -
" This is another of my son's books that I quite enjoyed - an enjoyable rainy day read. "
— Jan, 7/13/2010 -
" Nice book about the middle ages in Europe <br/>Recommend to people who like to read about history and other types of fiction <br/> <br/>This was the first book that i acutually liked which was historic fiction "
— Neel, 6/20/2010 -
" This book does a good job of showing us what life would be like at the Bloody Tower of London in 1735.(very gross. English history is quite appalling). Perhaps the ending was a little unrealistic,and the villian un-nuanced. The characters of Forrest and Ned are nicely developed. A good read. "
— Cheryl, 6/7/2010 -
" Absolutely amazing. I want to read it again. "
— Rachel, 5/24/2010 -
" I hated it, it had a bad plot. Without any suspense or action. "
— Raihan, 2/11/2010 -
" LOVE IT EVEN THOUGH I'M BARLEY HALF-WAY THROUGH!!!!!!! "
— Madison, 1/29/2010 -
" I loved learning about the history of the Tower of London. It is a fascinating place with an amazing history. I now long to visit it. The author was successful in bringing history alive for youth with this story. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though it is probably realistic enough. "
— Holly, 1/14/2010 -
" It was a good book, but the characters spent a lot more time building their friendship than escaping (the plot of the story). "
— Maya, 12/29/2009
About Elvira Woodruff
Elvira Woodruff is the author of many popular novels. Her books have won numerous awards and honors. The hundreds of letters from children that she receives each year keep her excited about writing. She lives in Martin’s Creek, Pennsylvania, where she keeps a garden that is filled with morning glories.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.