Eloise Lownsbery (1888–1967)

Published in 1931, and chosen as one of six Newbery Honor Books in 1932 - the other titles to be so distinguished that year were The Fairy Circus, Calico Bush, Boy of the South Seas, Jane's Island and The Truce Of The Wolf And Other Tales Of Old Italy - this work of historical fiction for younger readers follows the story of Pierre Bayard, a sixteenth-century youth who grows to adulthood in the court of King François I of France. Ever mindful that he is the nephew of the renowned Chevalier de Bayard, a knight famed for his skill in battle and his kind and noble nature, Pierre struggles to maintain the Bayard motto, Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche ("Knight without fear and above reproach"), while also staying true to his king and the royal princes. This is no easy task, as Prince Henri, imprisoned together with his elder brother Charles in a Spanish donjon for three years as a youth, is moody and vengeful, often going out of his way to make Pierre's life difficult. Will Pierre ever find a way to become the kind of knight he envisions? Can his master and his lady - the famed scholar, Master Fabri, and the king's sister, Lady Marguerite, Queen of Navarre - aid him in the process...?

An enjoyable work of historical fiction, one which manages to tell an engrossing story while also shedding some light on the historical period it depicts, Out of the Flame follows its young hero as he slowly struggles to free himself from the constraints put upon him by court ritual, and to discover who he truly is meant to be. His journey "out of the flame" - a clear reference to the court and influence of King François, whose emblem was the salamander, a symbol of fire, and of royal power - and into the cool knowledge of his true calling as a man of learning, is convincingly captured by Lownsbery, whose deft storytelling and believable characterization make for an engaging read. I was particularly interested to see the hints dropped about the coming religious conflict, due to the onset of the Reformation, and the effect this had on the search for and dissemination of knowledge. I was also interested to see the appearance of a number of Native American characters toward the end of the tale - they are brought back from the "New World" by the explorer Cartier, and make quite an impression on the French court - as I think the author captures that moment before Europe had really decided what to think of the native peoples of the Americas. There's plenty of the "noble savage" idea in her characterization, but also the notion of universal brotherhood, and little sense that these strange newcomers are inferior or unequal.

All in all, this was an engaging work of historical fiction for younger readers - I can easily see why it won a Newbery Honor.… (mehr)