Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale

Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale is a 2007 young adult novel written by Donna Jo Napoli. The young adult novel depicts the world of slave trade around the year 900 in Ireland.

Summary

Setting

Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale takes place c. 900 in Ireland, where kinds are constantly fighting over land. The book then travels to the country side, where Melkorka, the main character, and her sister are kidnapped and thrown onto a slave ship. Then the story progresses across the seas to the Middle East and then Russia. Finally, we see the book's journey to Iceland.

Plot

Hush opens as fifteen-year-old Melkorka and her younger sister are shopping in Dublin with her family. A princess, Melkorka has lived a life of luxury made possible through slave labor. However, her younger brother, destined to be king, is injured by Norse men in Dublin, forcing Melkorka and her sister to go into hiding to protect themselves from the approaching battle.

While fleeing their kingdom, Melkorka and her sister Brigid—who subsequently escapes—are kidnapped by slave traders and transported throughout Europe. Refusing to speak to her captors, Melkorka gains power and well-being through her silence. However, it is not enough to protect her from being sold as a concubine to a wealthy Icelandic man named Hoskuld. Hush ends on a semi-positive note where Melkorka resolves to speak to her unborn son to teach him about her homeland.

Characters

Melkorka

The beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy Irish king, she has to go into hiding at the beginning of the story for various reasons. She is then captured by slave traders, along with her sister, and finds an important weapon within herself to use against the traders: Silence. She makes not one peep, although the traders go to great lengths to cause her to make a sound. Melkorka becomes an object of fascination to her captors, causing them to think that she might be an enchantress of sorts. Her silence protects her from being sold originally, and she is able to use it to keep one of her slave-friends from being sold as well. But when beautiful Melkorka catches the eye of a wealthy Icelandic chieftain, not even her silence can protect her from being sold as a concubine. The apparent muteness still makes her interesting though. Although Melkorka hates and fears him in the beginning, the Icelandic man is kind to her, and over the course of the story, Melkorka learns to love this barbarian. When Melkorka learns she is pregnant, she resolves to speak to her child, and decides to accept her fate in Iceland.

Hoskuld

A wealthy Icelandic chieftain with long red fiery hair, who is twice the age of Melkorka and is quite large. He has a wife and family at home, he buys a gorgeous slave, Melkorka(praelar) that is apparently mute, and takes her as a concubine. Hoskuld gives beautiful clothing to Melkorka, and acts lovingly toward her.

Brigid

Melkorka's sister, she is the smarter of the two of them. Brigid teaches Melkorka that for an animal to trust you, you must be silent. "Hush," she says. This is what gives Melkorka the idea to be silent towards her captors, for they are animals. Brigid is captured alongside Melkorka, although using her wits, she is able to escape at one point. After Brigid escapes, we hear no more of her.

Historical note

At the end of the novel, it is revealed in a note by the author that the story is based on the legend of Melkorka, the mother of the Icelandic gothi Olaf Hoskuldsson. According to myth and tradition, his mother was a slave assumed to be mute. One day the king overhears her speaking in Gaelic and she discloses that she was a kidnapped Irish princess.

Literary awards

• American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
• Young-Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association (TAYSHAS) selection
• Bank Street Best Books selection
• starred review KIRKUS
• starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
• starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• Miami Herald's Best Books of the Year List
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
• published in German (2011 Parmos Verlagshaus MERLORKAS SCHWEIGEN ISBN 978-3-7941-8085-1)^[1][2][3]

References