Read for the YA Reading Challenge.
Touchmark is a charming YA novel set in Revolutionary War-era Boston. Nabby Jonas is an orphan, and is taken in by the family of a pewterer, not as an apprentice, as she’d like, but as a companion to the crippled daughter Emily. Gradually, Nabby is able to learn the art of pewter making, as well as expand the world of the previously shut-in Emily. The girls are in the perfect position to watch the events of the Boston Tea Party and the Paul Revere’s ride.
This is an engaging, historical novel with an excellent flavor of Boston during a very important time in its history. While Nabby was perhaps a bit on the modernly spunky side, the book still fairly accurately portrayed how hard it would be for a female orphan. I also liked that while many a famous person was named, they did not directly appear in the story, which can sometimes derail a historical fiction tale.
The book was published in 1975. I received it by way of my mother, who found it at Goodwill. Based on a quick search on Amazon.com, the author was a fairly prolific writer in the 50s through 70s, but none of her work seems to be in print today, which is a shame, as I’d be curious to sample what else she’s written.