The Root Cellar
The Root Cellar is a children's historical novel by Janet Lunn that is set in the 1980s, although much of the action takes place in the 1860s. It follows Rose Larkin, an orphan, who travels temporally back and forth between Ontario, Canada, of the 1980s and various settings of U.S. Civil War in the 1860s. This time travel is done through the root cellar of the title.
Plot
Twelve-year-old Rose Larkin is an orphan whose parents died when she was only three years old. Following their death, Rose lived with her grandmother. Following the death of her grandmother, Rose is sent to live with relatives in Ontario, Canada. After much misunderstanding between herself and her cousins, she flees and there finds a root cellar. After descending into the root cellar, she is then shifted to the 1860s.Rose meets Susan and Will, who lived on the farm at that time. Susan works for the Morrissay family but is very close to Will. Rose soon discovers that every time she goes back to the past, Will and Susan age more rapidly than herself. Eventually, Rose goes back and learns that Will has run off to join the Union Army. Rose convinces Susan they must find Will, who by then missing in action. The girls travel from Ontario to New York and Washington, D.C. to find him. At the end on their adventure, Rose is faced with the destruction of the root cellar by a storm in the 1980s, which keeps her from returning to Will and Susan’s time.
Setting
The novel takes place in three major locations. It starts on a farm located in Ontario, Canada in 80s. After Rose enters the root cellar, she ends up in Canada during the 1860s. Rose and Susan soon travel to New York City and Washington D.C to find their friend, Will.Characters
- Rose Larkin
- Susan Anderson
- '''Will Morrissay'''
Reception
"Melds past and present neatly...suspenseful." -- ''Publishers Weekly''