Being Magdalene by Fleur Beale

Being Magdalene is the third in a series by New Zealand author Fleur Beale.  The first two books are I am not Esther and I am Rebecca.  This book continues on the story of the lives of the Pilgram family in the Children of the Faith in Nelson.

Here is the front cover:

Here is the blurb on the back cover:

This book focuses on the second to youngest daughter in the Pilgrim family, Magdalene.  Now age 12, she is the eldest daughter at home.  The remaining siblings with her are Abraham (aged 18), Luke (aged 15) and Zillah who is seven going on eight.  Their sister Rachel lives nearby with her husband Saul and their three year old daughter Hope and pregnant again, living by The Rule.

Meanwhile, their older siblings and cousin are fearing well in the real world.  Daniel has become a doctor, and unknown to his family still in the Faith, is working at Nelson Hospital.  Miriam has become an artist who is exhibited.  Kirby/Esther and Rebecca are studying at tertiary level.  They have the support of their uncle and aunts, Jim, Nina and Ellen (Kirby's mother).

All is not well in the Pilgrim household.  Their mother, Sister Naomi, has not recovered from the shame of Rebecca running away and she is particularly hard on Magdalene and Zillah, demanding they live by The Rule, preaching scripture at them constantly and always believing the worst of Magdalene.  Abraham and Luke appear to live godly lives, but Abraham has no time for The Rule and Luke does not believe in a destructive God, but rather a kindly God.  Zillah does not believe in The Rule and hates Elder Stephen and longs to go to a real school.  Magdalene concentrates all her energy on ensuring Zillah does not become the target of Elder Stephen's displeasure, to her own detriment.

Elder Stephen has not forgiven the Pilgrim family for Rebecca running away and he and Elder Hosea will take any opportunity to cause the Pilgrims discomfort and punish the children for any perceived break of The Rule.  However, Elder Stephen's actions become even more erratic and when he denies Abraham the right to marry or study, Abraham takes matters into his own hands.  This leads to further actions by Elder Stephen putting Zillah's safety in peril, and Magdalene and Zillah have only one option left open to them.

Again this book would be rich fodder for the secondary English class, bringing up the thorny issues of freedom, religion, cults, wormen's rights, power, etc.   This book was, like several others of Fleur Beale's, nominated for the Children's Book Awards.  It was a powerful book that kept me engaged and is well worthy of awards in my opinion.

I am Rebecca by Fleur Beale

I am Rebecca is the sequel to I am not Esther by New Zealand author Fleur Beale.  A third book in the series, Being Magdalene, is next on my reading list.

Here is the front cover:

Here is the blurb on the back cover:

This book picks up a few months after Esther/Kirby has left the Pilgram family in Wanganui, as the twenty-three families of the Children of the Faith are leaving Wanganui to join other Children of the Faith families in Nelson, where a school is being set up for all the families so the children no longer have to attend state schools and be exposed to the world.

The book is written from the point of view of Rebecca, one of the twins who is thirteen years old.  It follows her through to the year after she turns 16.  Rebecca and Rachel had been left with the words from Esther/Kirby ringing in their ears: use your brain.  As they left Wanganui, their principal's parting words were: use your brain.

As they adjust to life in Nelson, the girls find that they do have to use their brain and balance it out with ensuring they follow The Rule of the Children of the Faith.  Their family is pitied by the other families due to Miriam, Daniel and Esther/Kirby leaving in the manner that they did.  But Rebecca and Rachel soon make new friends.

As their fourteenth birthdays approach, they know they will be betrothed to one of the eligible boys.  One young man, Brother Saul, who is charged with their supervision as they sell organic eggs and chickens from the Faith's organic farm at the Saturday market, is the one Rachel has her eye on.  Rebecca is happy with the choice made for her.... but then it all changes and Rebecca is forced to make a drastic choice for her own happiness and future.  You'll have to read the book to find out more.

Like I am Esther this book would be a valuable resource to use in a secondary class to discuss cults, religions, choice and freedom.  I found this a compelling read and polished it off fairly quickly.  I am now starting to read the last in the trilogy, Being Magdalene.

I am not Esther by Fleur Beale

I am not Esther by Fleur Beale was first published in 1998 and I am only just reading it now, despite purchasing it in early 2017.  The front cover has the line A bestselling New Zealand classic and I would agree and urge you to read it.

Here is the front cover:

Here is the back cover and blurb.

Now I've previously read a number of Fleur Beale's books, but I have a personal attachment.  Mrs Beale was a teacher at my high school when I was a student and she was a wonderful teacher who I have happy memories of, not because she was a teacher of a subject I liked as I never had her as a subject teacher, but because she took the time to talk to students and support them as they were transitioning from leaving school.  Mr Beale would also sometimes travel to school on the bus with us.  This is a link to Fleur Beale's Wikipedia page which has her biography and also contains a list of her books (I love Slide the Corner).

This book would resonate with many New Zealanders with the most famous cult in New Zealand, Gloriavale, receiving a lot of media attention and being the subject of several flattering documentaries over the last decade.

This would be a great book to read with Year 9 and 10s to encourage fabulous discussion for and against the lifestyle and beliefs and actions of the Children of the Faith and apply it to real life situations.

At 207 pages (in my copy anyway) it was a fast read and compelling as Kirby is abandoned by her mother into the care of her Uncle Caleb and his family, people Kirby knew nothing of, before supposedly going off to Africa to volunteer with refugees as a nurse.  Kirby is taken away from all she knows, her name is changed to Esther by her uncle and he refuses to give her access to her and her mother's possessions or let her read letters sent by her mother or give her her mother's address.

Kirby finds herself in a home with no radio, no television, no newspapers, no mirrors and no telephone.  There are six children (Daniel aged 17, the twins Rachel and Rebecca who are intermediate aged, Abraham and Luke who are primary school aged and Magdalene who has just turned five) and her Aunt Naomi is pregnant.  Kirby finds out that there is another sister, Miriam, the same age as her, fourteen, who has recently passed away.

Kirby fights against the situation she finds herself in, struggles to keep her identity as Kirby rather than becoming Esther.  She soon discovers that the situation with Miriam is not what it seems and that Daniel has no desire to stay in the faith.  Kirby finds help once she begins high school but it is with a heavy heart as she struggles with the thought of abandoning Magdalene.

To say anything else would be to give away too much about the story, but I am looking forward now to reading the sequels, I am Rebecca and Being Magdalene, which I purchased at the same time as I am not Esther.