Second Coming (by George Bachman)
Second Coming by George Bachman is a novella set in 1857 Victorian London. Seven-year-old Melissa Hawthorne is taken from her home in the English countryside and sent to a boarding school. Her father is a captain in the military and is headed to serve in India. From the beginning, Melissa is treated badly by the headmistress, Miss Grandine, the staff, and a few of her classmates. This is her first experience being shunned and mistreated by others for no rational reason. She is intelligent and quickly makes friends through tutoring her peers in French and arithmetic.
Melissa’s life takes a devastating turn when her father loses everything and is tragically killed in the line of duty. Left with no choice, she becomes a charity pupil and is treated as a servant. Her luxurious suite is replaced by a cramped room in the servants’ quarters, and she faces constant mistreatment and abuse from the staff and her peers. Feeling utterly alone and betrayed, Melissa’s young trust in others fades away. But there’s something more. A mysterious and unexplainable presence or phenomenon seems to occur periodically in the seminary, and only Melissa seems to be aware of it.
The story was really interesting and kept me engaged. I really liked Melissa and felt such compassion for her. She is an admirable child — she is gracious and very kind to her peers. Despite how others treated her, she was respectful. She’s also extremely independent. Amid the news of her father’s tragic death, she had the insight that she could turn a tragic situation into something positive that she can grow from. This story highlights the cruelty of class differentiation and how poorly people can treat others they view as less than or beneath them. This was a persistent theme throughout the story. The ending was sad, but also mind-bending. It forced me to contemplate the conclusion and what it meant.
I think the beginning could be more concise as it took me some time to get my bearings with the setting. I appreciate the author’s effort to be descriptive. Sometimes it was hard to get past the young age of the characters because they seemed too mature for ages six and seven. Especially the main character, Melissa, who seemed at least a few years older. I tried to rationalize the disconnect with the time period of the story. I think it would have been more realistic if all the girls at the seminary were a few years older.
I am grateful for George Bachman contacting me to read and review Second Coming. He provided me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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