At the Sign of the Star

In seventeenth-century London, twelve-year-old Meg Moore is happy and content working with her widower father in his bookshop. An only child, she knows that she will one day inherit the shop and therefore have the financial stability to marry whomever she pleases. But Meg's dreams for her future are crushed when Mr. Moore announces he is to be married again: if her new stepmother, Susannah, has a son, the boy will replace Meg as her father's heir. To make matters worse, Susannah is determined to teach Meg how to be a proper lady, which takes Meg away from her beloved books, forcing her instead to do needlework and learn to cook. But it is through books and words that Meg finds another way to take control of her life-- a way that is not inherited but is a creation all her own.

In seventeenth-century London, twelve-year-old Meg Moore is happy and content working with her widower father in his bookshop. An only child, she knows that she will one day inherit the shop and therefore have the financial stability to marry whomever she pleases. But Meg's dreams for her future are crushed when Mr. Moore announces he is to be married again: if her new stepmother, Susannah, has a son, the boy will replace Meg as her father's heir. To make matters worse, Susannah is determined to teach Meg how to be a proper lady, which takes Meg away from her beloved books, forcing her instead to do needlework and learn to cook. But it is through books and words that Meg finds another way to take control of her life-- a way that is not inherited but is a creation all her own.