Girl in a Cage- Sidney Kull

Girl in a Cage- Sidney Kull

For my book report I read the book, Girl in a Cage, written by Jane Yolen. The story is about the eleven year old Princess of Scotland, Marjorie Bruce, who is captured by her royal father’s enemy, Edward Longshanks, the unmerciful King of England.

After her imprisonment, Marjorie is held captive in a wooden cage in the middle of town. In her cage, she is unsheltered from the unpleasant weather, the insults from the townspeople, and the garbage they often throw at her. Marjorie prays, “Dear Lord, if it is not too much to ask, could you please send less wind and fewer turnips” (1). Marjorie’s appearance and health begins to change with the conditions she lives under. Her dress that was once tight has become loose with the little amounts of distasteful food she receives, her hair is full of tangles, and she carries a stench from lack of hygiene. Marjorie endures loneliness from inside her cage, as Longshanks has forbidden his people to have any form of communication with his prisoner. Longshanks often visits Marjorie’s cage and scorns her with his words, he tells her stories of how some of her relatives have been killed and how some are being held captive just as she is. At one of their encounters, Marjorie expresses to Longshanks, “If they do kill me, it will be a blessing.. For then I would be free in God’s kingdom! Not a prisoner in yours” (64). Marjorie likes to think of their meetings as a battle and a chance to defeat the already ill and sickened, Longshanks. She uses her useful knack for stealth that her father and stepmother always told her she had and her great amount of courage to stand up to Longshanks from inside her miserable cage.

After twenty days of captivity, Princess Marjorie is released from her cage and brought to a nunnery in England. She hears of the news that Longshanks is dead. Inside the nunnery, Marjorie is fed well, has a proper sleeping area, and is even free to walk in the orchard and gardens. Marjorie thinks of her father after seeing a spider in her room and believes that she will one day be reunited with him if she stays true to herself, she says, “Hope may be as thin as the spider’s thread, but it’s also as strong as the heart that clings to it. And that makes it stronger, much stronger, than kings or armies or stone walls--or even an iron cage” (230).

I believe Jane Yolen had the qualifications to write this book. She is an educated woman who attended University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received her master’s degree in education and her bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She has been credited with being the author or editor of more than 280 books! Girl in a Cage won the ALA 2003 Best Books for Young Adults award. Without Yolen’s qualifications, I do not think this book would have received this accomplishment.

Although the book, Girl in a Cage is historical fiction, there is some true historical information displayed throughout the novel. King Edward Longshanks really was the King of England, who showed his hatred towards Scotland’s people and their king, Robert the Bruce (Marjorie’s father). He was called Longshanks because he was very tall for this time period. Longshanks actually had ordered three women to be imprisoned in cages, which were Isabel of Buchan, Robert Bruce’s sister Mary, and his daughter, Marjorie. I read about all of these women in the novel. I find it unbelievably cruel that a man who is the leader of his country and supposed to be an example to his people would do such an act.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The author did an astounding job of making this story seem so realistic, several times I felt like I was in the story, experiencing it for my own self. I believe this was a successful historical novel and I deeply recommend everyone to read it!