The Pox Party
Front cover of first edition, later state with awards medals
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| Author | Matthew Tobin Anderson |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Publisher | Candlewick Press |
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Publication date
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September 12, 2006 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 368 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 64390636 |
| LC Class | PZ7.A54395 Ast 2006 |
| Followed by | Vol II: The Kingdom on the Waves |
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party is an American historical novel for young adults written by M.T. Anderson and published by Candlewick Press in 2006. It won the annual U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the American Library Association named it a Printz Honor Book, one of four runners up for the annual Michael L. Printz Award recognizing literary excellence in books for young adults.
The Astonishing Life is set in 18th-century Boston during the time of the American Revolutionary War. A sequel was published two years later, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves (Candlewick, 2008).
The greater part of the story is told by a boy named Octavian, who grew up with his mother Cassiopeia, an African princess, in a house full of philosophers and scientists in colonial Boston. Under the watchful eyes of Mr. Gitney, also known as 03-01, Octavian has received a classical education as well as a musical education which has made him into an extremely skilled violinist. Octavian eventually comes to understand the price of his powdered wigs and education: he is not only the "property" of Mr. Gitney, but he is also being used as an experiment to test whether the African race is inferior to the European race.
In time, Cassiopeia angers the scientists' benefactor and the Society loses its monetary support. The two are forced to go under the new watchful eye of Richard Sharpe, who cuts Octavian off from his books. It is later revealed that Richard Sharpe works for a group of colonial businessmen, who now fund the house where Octavian is held. These businessmen own slaves, and it is strongly implied that Sharpe is attempting to bias the experiment with Octavian in order to prove that Africans are inferior. He does this by stopping most of Octavian's education and making him work in the house.
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Wikipedia