The Secret School

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-12

Chapters 13-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Further Reading & Resources

Further Reading: Literature

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990) by Avi

The author of The Secret School pens another historical novel about a young girl who must think for herself and solve difficult problems in the face of opposition from grown-ups. This time, though, failure could mean death. Charlotte Doyle, age 13, is an upper-class American girl who returns from England in 1832 as the only female on a sailing ship bound for mutiny. Charlotte experiences life below decks, learns quickly the arts of sailing, and helps save the crew from a tyrannical captain. The book won a Newbery Honor and other awards.

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Further Reading: Beyond Literature

“Portraits of the Past: Revisiting the days of one-room school houses.”

A presentation of the Morgan County Community History Writers, this article with photographs describes the history of schoolhouses in Morgan County and Routt County in early-1900s Colorado. (Routt County is where The Secret School takes place.) Rural life was hardscrabble, often impoverished, and bone-chillingly cold in winter. Teachers received minimal pay yet performed repair and janitorial work, doctored their student’s injuries, and dealt with recess fistfights. Students walked or rode for miles to attend; teachers often lived in the schoolhouse or boarded with a farm family.