Listening for Lions
Encyclopedia
Listening for Lions is a children's novel by Gloria Whelan
, first published in 2005. Set in 1919, it concerns an orphaned girl who becomes involved in an inheritance swindle.
). They work on a hospital in addition to church-work and teaching. Life goes haywire as influenza strikes when Rachel is 13, in 1919. The sickness is the cause of many deaths, and soon after her own mother dies, the dreaded Pritchards, planters in the area come with their daughter Valerie, who looks very much like Rachel. Valerie dies within hours, and later Rachel's father. Left an orphan, she is lured to the Pritchards' home and forced to impersonate their daughter, who was going to visit her dying grandfather in England, being told it would "save his life". Rachel considers telling people of the Pritchards' lies on the ship, but she soon arrives in England and begins to develop a close relationship with her "grandfather", who, like her, is very fond of birds. Just as things begin to get better, the Pritchards unveil their new plot, to take the grandfather's property when he dies. In scorn of his son, the Grandfather sends them away, but his trusty solicitor, Mr. Grumbloch, gives Rachel his address and tells her to come in an emergency. Rachel comes within the day, and he returns her to her grandfather, telling him the truth, which they have already suspected. There is an epilogue at the end of the novel, in which Rachel becomes his adopted daughter and attends school, later returning to her parent's hospital as a doctor.
Gloria Whelan
Gloria Whelan is a poet, short story writer, and novelist for children and adults. She has won the National Book Award for her novel Homeless Bird. Her books include many historical fiction novels, including a trilogy set on Mackinac Island and a quartet series set in communist Russia...
, first published in 2005. Set in 1919, it concerns an orphaned girl who becomes involved in an inheritance swindle.
Plot summary
Rachel Sheridan is the only child of British missionaries working among the Kikuyu and Maasai tribes of British East Africa (present-day KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
). They work on a hospital in addition to church-work and teaching. Life goes haywire as influenza strikes when Rachel is 13, in 1919. The sickness is the cause of many deaths, and soon after her own mother dies, the dreaded Pritchards, planters in the area come with their daughter Valerie, who looks very much like Rachel. Valerie dies within hours, and later Rachel's father. Left an orphan, she is lured to the Pritchards' home and forced to impersonate their daughter, who was going to visit her dying grandfather in England, being told it would "save his life". Rachel considers telling people of the Pritchards' lies on the ship, but she soon arrives in England and begins to develop a close relationship with her "grandfather", who, like her, is very fond of birds. Just as things begin to get better, the Pritchards unveil their new plot, to take the grandfather's property when he dies. In scorn of his son, the Grandfather sends them away, but his trusty solicitor, Mr. Grumbloch, gives Rachel his address and tells her to come in an emergency. Rachel comes within the day, and he returns her to her grandfather, telling him the truth, which they have already suspected. There is an epilogue at the end of the novel, in which Rachel becomes his adopted daughter and attends school, later returning to her parent's hospital as a doctor.