The Olden Days Locket

Marie St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

This novel combines historical fact with fiction, giving the young
reader a vivid account of the lives of the rich and the poor in the late
19th century, as well as that of a modern-day 12-year-old girl, beset
with her own problems.

After a less than enjoyable school year, Jess, intrigued with the
history of Point Ellice House, a newly restored old Victorian mansion
that belonged to the O’Reilly family for more than a century, decides
to take a summer job there as a volunteer. While at the house, she is
drawn into the past by the ghost of Rose Laurie, back to the May 26,
1986, streetcar disaster at the Point Ellice Bridge to experience the
tragedy (the wooden bridge collapsed, and the streetcar plunged into the
water below). While still in the past, and in an effort to calm the
troubled spirit, Jess searches for Rose’s locket, but to no avail.
When she returns to the present, however, she finds it in a jewelry box.
The word “courage” engraved on the locket inspires Jess to begin the
new school year with confidence.

The Olden Days Locket, Chamberlain’s first novel, is a well-written
and spellbinding story of mystery, intrigue, compassion, serendipity,
great friendships, and even humour. Preteen girls will relate to
Jess’s problems and empathize with Rose’s difficult life.
Recommended.