Hester Hitchins and the falling stars by Catherine Norton

Hester Hitchins is an unusual girl for her time, she is strong-willed, courageous, resourceful, clever and loves mathematics.  She is growing up in 1860’s England where schooling for girls is not always valued. She and her siblings are forced to go and live with her unmarried Uncle when her father goes missing at sea and her mother dies giving birth to twins.  Her Uncle Henry sees the children as unpaid labour for his rope making business so takes them all out of school.

But Hester is convinced that her father, being only presumed dead, could be found. Her father always told her he only needed a compass, a telescope and knowledge of the movements of the stars to find his way home to them.   Having already acquired a simple compass (a lodestone) she decides to sit the test to gain entry into the prestigious Nautical Navigation Academy so she can learn to navigate with the stars.  But although she is very successful and gains a scholarship to the Academy she finds herself being employed as a scullery maid at the manor nearby because girls are not welcome at the school.  Being a very observant and persistant girl Hester finds a way to get where she wants to be, but she constantly finds that other people’s actions and choices are impacting on her dream and the hopes of other girls around her.

Scientific thinking of this era is woven through the story and makes interesting reading along with the facts about astronomy that refer to the “Falling stars” in the title.  The characters are varied and true to the era and enlighten readers to the plight of girls in this period. Some of the characters are based loosely on real people of the time whose stories are outlined at the back of the book in the author notes.  This will be an interesting way to bring more interest about early female astronomers and scientists to classrooms.

Themes: Stars, Fathers, Missing persons, Navigation, Sex role, London (England) History.

Gabrielle Anderson