Chains (novel)
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| Author | Laurie Halse Anderson |
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| Cover artist |
Christopher Silas Neal (illustrator) Lizzy Bromley & Jessica Handelman (design) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Seeds of America |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Published | October 2008 Simon & Schuster, Atheneum |
| Media type | Hardcover & Paperback |
| Pages | 316 |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | Forge (2010) |
Chains is the first novel in the Seeds of America trilogy, a series of historical novels that follows the story of eleven- year- old Isabel, an African-American slave fighting for her and her and her younger sister's (Ruth) freedom while the Revolutionary War is occurring. The story sets in New York in the years 1776 to 1777, when slavery was something that was legal and common in the colonies.
Though the novel is fictional, the events in the story are actual events that occurred back then in the colonies. Some examples of these events are the failed plan of George Washington's assassination followed by the hanging of one of the conspirators, the capture of Fort Washington, and the popular pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
The novel contains 45 chapters with the chapter numbers in Roman Numerals and the dates of the events in the chapter written right under the chapter number. Under the dates, Anderson has put in quotes from important documents at the time such as private letters, newspapers, the Common Sense pamphlet, the Declaration of Independence of the United States, and even spoken opinions from various country leaders. This opening of each chapter gives a perspective of what Isabel might face in the chapter or something relating to the events of the chapter.
Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth were supposed to be released from slavery as promised by their owner, Miss Mary Finch's will when she dies but unfortunately they landed in the hands of Miss Mary's nephew, Robert Finch, who claimed them as his property with the reason that there was no actual will in physical form. He then sold them to a Loyalist couple who brings them to New York away from their previous hometown, Newport, Rhode Island. Isabel, determined to gain her and her sister's liberty, follows the advice of a servant boy named Curzon, who tells her to spy on her master and other Loyalists for any suspicious plans that could be reported back to the Patriots to use against the Loyalists.
Protagonist and narrator of the novel, she is always striving her best to do anything she can to get her and her sister out of slavery and back to Rhode Island, where they belong. Though at a very young age—thirteen-years-old—she has a very tough character and is devoted to anything she does. Her cleverness helps her in her various tasks on spying the Loyalists and planning her escape. She is very nurturing towards her younger sister Ruth, knowing that she is the only person who can take care of her. She befriends a slave boy named Curzon who works for a Patriot,who she is a good friend you can always trust , which is shown when she desperately tried to deliver leftover food to Curzon, who is in prison; considering she knows the consequences of helping a Patriot when she herself is working for a Loyalist. She also shows a brave spirit when she stands up to Mrs. Lockton and demand the information on the whereabouts of Ruth, who Lockton said has sold but in truth kept Ruth in hiding away from Isabel to weaken her. This action results in her being branded with I for insolence on her right cheek as a punishment for standing up to her master, but towards the end of the novel she sees this mark standing for her name Isabel. On the night of the Queens Ball she makes her move on her way to freedom.
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