Myers

Myers, W. D. (1999). At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England. New York: Scholastic Press.

Not a widely read book, Walter Dean Myers’ At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England is the perfect “starter” to assist middle grade students in beginning to use primary resources to construct a narrative text. Myers’ presentation is spellbinding as he portrays the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who was born in Dahomey (now Benin), the daughter of a king, captured by slave traders and sentenced to death, only to be saved at the last moment and subsequently transported to England where she is introduced to Queen Victoria who becomes Sarah’s protector and the godmother of her daughter. This fictionalized biography could never have been written if Myers did not have a personal fascination with rummaging through old bookstores. During one such foray he discovered a set of about fifty letters and other printed material about Sarah. He even found that he already possessed a book written about her by Frederick Forbes who had originally saved her life. When Myers ultimately discovered a photo of Sarah, he noted, “I realized that somewhere between the Victorian dress she wore and the African tribal scars etched into her face was the girl I wanted to write about.” Hers is, for Myers, a life that exemplifies “the triumph of the human spirit and more than a touch of tragedy.”

Active Reading/Learning Strategies:

Character Map for Sarah Forbes Bonetta

Writing in Response to Reading:

At Her Majesty’s Request – Written Response Activity

In his Introduction, Walter Dean Myers explained how he came upon the information to write this story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. What was a special interest he had that led him to the information, and what kind of materials did he find that first caused him to want to write her biography?

The country in which Sarah was born was at the time called Dahomey. What is its name now, and where is it located?

How was it obvious to others that Sarah had been born a princess in Africa?

Myers also uses many authentic documents from the lives of other people to piece together the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. What are the sources for some of these many documents that he uses? For example, how do we know that Queen Victoria actually met Sarah when she was a young child?

Describe the various subjects that Sarah studied at the Church Missionary Female Institution. How are these similar or different from the subjects you study in school now?

What was Queen Victoria’s relationship to Sarah during her life? How did she assist Sarah?

What official documentation do we have of Sarah’s marriage to James Davies? If you were conducting your own research and needing such documentation, where would you go to find it?

What was Queen Victoria’s relationship to Sarah’s daughter?

When Sarah left England, where did she move? In what country is that city located today?

In his Epilogue, Myers summarizes the many tragedies, losses, and successes of Sarah’s life. Do you agree with his summation? If you were writing this Epilogue, how might you sum up her life differently? What special images remain in your mind as you finish the book?

Why do you think Sarah seemed to have forgotten much of her early years in Africa? Do you think she had really forgotten her African name? Why might this have been the case?

On-Line Resources:

Read an excerpt
http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/athermajestysrequest/

About the author –
http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Myers-Walter-Dean.html

Wikipedia on Sarah Forbes Bonetta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Forbes_Bonetta

Photo of Sarah Forbes Bonetta: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4294644.stm

Brighton and Hove Black History
http://www.black-history.org.uk/bonetta.asp