The Clock

February 3, 1992
In 1802, factories are being built across America, and 15-year-old Annie must go to spin at the local mill so that her improvident father can pay for a clock. However, the mill's corrupt overseer, aptly named Hoggart, makes improper advances toward her. With neighbor and potential sweetheart Robert, Annie gathers evidence against Hoggart, but Robert dies in a suspicious accident and Annie must struggle on with little help. Her eventual triumph over Hoggart has a bitter taste: Robert is dead, and she cannot yet follow her dream of becoming a schoolteacher. As in My Brother Sam Is Dead , the Colliers dramatize abstract historical issues in a realistic, small-town setting; they show changes in women's roles, in material goods and even in ways of seeing time (differences between sun time and clock time), as these topics affect the townsfolk's everyday lives. The novel thus succeeds not only as historical fiction, but also as a riveting story of the tragic romance and hard-won victory of one teenaged girl. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 10-14.

July 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-Annie Steele, 15, is forced to give up her dream of becoming a teacher when her father sends her to work in the town's wool mill in order to pay off his debts. At first, with two of her friends also working there, her life seems bearable, until the day she oversleeps. Knowing how angry her father will be if her pay is docked, she decides to approach Mr. Hoggart, the overseer, to explain the situation and assure him that it will never happen again. She finds him drunk and all too willing to overlook her late arrival if she will be "friendly" with him. He grabs her, attempting a kiss, but is interrupted by Annie's boyfriend and mill tally boy, Robert. Hoggart realizes that Robert sees the bag that he had been filling with wool before Annie's arrival. Fearing that Robert and Annie are now aware that he is stealing from the mill, Hoggart proceeds to make their lives miserable. Annie is subjected to repeated sexual harassment. Her father, anxious for the money she brings in, refuses to believe her, so Annie is determined to expose Hoggart as a thief and get him fired. Set in a rural village at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the story is rich in historical detail that girls, especially, will find compelling. Unfortunately, Rachel Dulude's narration lacks expression and fails to do the story justice.-Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

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