Gilbert & Sullivan Set Me Free

by Kathleen Karr

Book Overview

Libby Dodge is in a place she's never been before: prison. Frightened, lonely, surrounded by a wild crew of tough, hard-minded women, Libby finds unexpected support in big, bluff Ma McCreary. When the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786819162
• ISBN13: 9780786819164
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Based on a true story

Why is Libby Dodge in prison? She is apparently educated, smart and only 16 years old. What could she have done to land in the Sherborn Women's Prison in Boston. Some of the other women there have committed heinous crimes while others are victims of the brutality and poverty of the early 1900s. With names like Second-Story Sal and Kid Glove Rosie, the women's stories are interwoven in the plot. An older woman, Ma McCreary, is part mother figure and part best friend to Libby. The conditions in the prison are harsh but the arrival of Mrs. Wilkinson, the new chaplain, transforms their lives. Now a widow. her husband was a member of the D'Oyle Carte Opera Company and she is determined to bring music into the lives of the women of Sherborn. Ma and Libby are the first to join the new choir and the Easter performance of Handel's "Messiah" is so uplifting that the whole prison community is eager to support their next project, Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." This is Libby's story though and as she confronts her past, she learns to look toward the future and the places her beautiful singing voice might take her. I was pleased with Libby's happy ending. The whole story has a feel of the fantastic but it is a true story. This NY Times article from 1914 must have been part of Katherine Karr's inspiration for this book. The Full Cast Audio performance is very well acted and rich with Gilbert and Sullivan's music which made this G & S fan very happy.

*(:Go Kathleen Karr:)*

It is a great book. It makes me realize how lucky I am to not be in prison, or do bad things. I am 12 years old, and I love the book.