Les Malheurs De Millie Plume (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Dans ce premier tome des Malheurs de Millie Plume, Jacqueline Wilson donne vie à une héroïne flamboyante, drôle et enjouée qui n'est pas sans rappeler une certaine Fifi Brindacier dont j'ai lu, plus jeune, les aventures extraordinaires ! Même crinière rousse, mêmes bêtises, j'ai retrouvé, attendrie, la littérature jeunesse de mes 10 ans !Londres, 1876. Millie Plume est abandonnée à sa naissance à l'hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés, puis placée dans une famille d'accueil à la campagne. Turbulente et excessive, elle grandit heureuse entre des parents d'adoption généreux et une fratrie recomposée, dont Jem, un grand frère qu'elle adore. Un jour, elle pense avoir reconnu sa véritable mère en la personne de Madame Adeline, une dresseuse de chevaux rencontrée dans un cirque... Mais le bonheur et l'insouciance ne durent pas ! A l'âge de six ans, Millie doit réintégrer l'orphelinat pour y recevoir une éducation. Arrachée à ceux qu'elle aime, c'est l'incompréhension la plus totale, une véritable déchirure pour Millie qui, trop turbulente pour les règles strictes du pensionnat, n'arrive pas à trouver sa place parmi les autres. Elle se sent seule, abandonnée et n'arrive pas à se satisfaire de son existence toute tracée. Elle rêve de liberté, apprend à lire et à écrire et découvre qu'elle adore inventer des histoires, un don qui lui sera bien utile pour la suite de son histoire...Un peu de la Sophie de la comtesse de Ségur, un peu du Tom Sawyer de Mark Twain, un peu de La petite Princesse de Frances H. Burnett et un peu de Dickens dans l'excellente reconstitution du Londres de l'époque victorienne... Millie Plume, c'est un peu tout cela à la fois ! Un joyeux fourre-tout passionnant, pétillant, un conte de fée moderne à la fois merveilleux et instructif qui décrit fort bien les conditions de vie difficiles des orphelins et des enfants des rues de l'époque victorienne.Mais surtout, quel destin que celui de cette petite orpheline au cœur d'or ! Non seulement Millie Plume est une héroïne attachante et généreuse mais elle est, pour son âge, d'une lucidité et d'une intelligence étonnantes ! Courageuse, effrontée, elle est aussi prompte à déjouer les jalousies et les rancunes de ses compagnes d'infortune qu'à se tirer des situations dans lesquelles elle a le don de se fourrer ! Pauvre, incomprise, souvent rabrouée, Millie Plume n'en reste pas moins une petite fille fière et digne, qui saura tirer parti de ses talents de conteuse et de son imagination fertile pour aller de l'avant et poursuivre ses rêves ! Un pouvoir qui peut parfois, comme par miracle, réchauffer la plus froide cellule et le plus grand des malheurs...Une belle leçon de courage et d'espoir, un livre à conseiller aux petits lecteurs déjà bien aguerris, à partir de 10 ans. ***some spoilers***I can't help comparing this to The Lottie Project. It feels like a cross between that and Tracy Beaker but a brilliant book in it's own right. It's classic Wilson, our main character goes through struggles to come out the other end slightly unscathed and full of confidence and wisdom. Hetty is full of personality and although I wonder if I would find her quite so charming if she were in front of me she is witty and courageous in this book.The story starts off with Hetty Feather, our main character narrating her own story. She was given to the Foundling Hospital when she was a tiny baby because her own mother couldn't look after her. She ,luckily for us, has some very early memories of her time at the hospital, she then goes to a foster home where she has lots of siblings including her Foundling brother Gideon. Jem's tenderness makes him her favourite brother, though he's not truly her brother. He plays lots of games with Hetty, they have their own little house where they pretend to live and Jem tells her they'll be married one day when they're older. But when Hetty and Gideon turn 5 she realises she has to return to the Hospital, unlikely to see her family again. The Hospital is not nearly as comforting as it first was, the matrons are cruel, the food is measly, the clothes are itchy and there are far too many pointless rules. The story continues as Hetty secretly writes about her life there and how she longs to leave and be reunited with her sweet Jem. Her hopes are crushed though as her younger foster sister Eliza joins the hospital 5 years later and is telling Hetty how Jem told her they'll be married and live together when she leaves. Devastated Hetty forgets about Jem and focuses on being reunited with her real Mother.This story is beautifully written and surprisingly realistic for one set in Victorian times, well as realistic as one can imagine. There are a lot of relationships and different storylines covered in this and the plot turns in unexpected ways. Hetty is someone I really love, she's young but so courageous, refusing to let the Hospital and all other authority figures put her down. They want her to be a maid, well she's going to be a writer. I couldn't help but desperately want her and Jem to be together but as she's heartbroken over his lies you feel it too and discard him as a part of her future as she does, but perhaps not easily. You still feel a twinge of hope there, and considering there's a second book, perhaps all hope is not lost... But that's another story. If you're not a reader of Wilson's books I do recommend you give this one a go. Holly
What do You think about Les Malheurs De Millie Plume (2009)?
I love the Foundling Museum and, when I heard that Jacqueline Wilson had written this book during her writer's residency there, I really wanted to read it. Reading a lot of Victorian and Edwardian girls literature, I found Hetty to really be a 21st century girl living in a Victorian environment. Nonetheless, I really appreciated some of the nuances in the story. Hetty's mother gave her to the hospital so that she would get educated and get a sure position as a servant - only for Hetty to look down on that idea. I loved how Wilson was able to show that, for all the bad things about the hospital, compared to the real world - it was a vast improvement.Overall - not the best example of period writing, but a heartfelt and balanced portrayal of a orphanage in the Victorian era.
—nanoe
Somebody gave this book to me as a present and so I started reading it. I had also read a few other books from the author and i liked what she wrote.I really enjoyed it and I felt like I could relate to the character in some ways. From this book I learnt that if you get bullied tell someone and don't leave it. Also even if your parents give you up because they cant look after you, it doesn't mean they don't love you. I really liked the character Hetty because she is brave and she stands up for herself but she gets into trouble a lot because of her wild red hair and temper.
—Octavia
