It's my turn on the Blogtour Oscar of the Bismarck by Frances Y. Evan.
About the Author
England was Frances’s childhood home. She emigrated to the United States with her family as a teenager many years ago. Although she loves America, a part of her heart always remains in the country of her birth.
Frances has been a storyteller for as long as she can remember with her first audience consisting of neighbourhood playmates sitting on the curb listening to her tall tales. More recently, she has written and told or performed her nautical themed stories for school children visiting on field trips at a local seaport association where she worked.
She has visited numerous organizations, upon request, to speak about The Forgotten Flag, her first published work, and continues to visit classrooms at local schools to meet students who have read the book as part of their American History curriculum.
Frances worked for twelve years at Staples High School in Connecticut in the English and Social Studies Departments which provided the perfect environment to inspire her love of history and writing. She has self-published several books, The Brass Bell, The Curse of the Shark’s Tooth, and Oscar of the Bismarck which are young adult stories, as well as St. Katherine’s Dock: Target Tower Bridge adult historical fiction. While working at the school, she prepared presentations for teachers to enhance their curriculum and subject matter when it pertained to British history. These have included the Elizabethan Era to better understand the time of Shakespeare, the Victorian Era to portray the time of Charles Dickens, and World War II – the British Homefront.
When her mother passed away several years ago, she decided that her story must be told. Vera’s Story: Hidden Scars of War tells the tale of a not so ordinary, ordinary woman whose memories of war were never far below the surface. Follow @FrancesEvan7 on Twitter or @frany51/ on Instagram
Oscar the cat served on the German warship, Bismarck, as well as several British ships during World War II.
When the new battleship Bismarck is built, launched and commissioned, Oscar is there to witness it all. He is soon accepted by the crew and becomes the ship’s mascot as they embark on their mission.
Narrated from Oscar the cat’s point of view, he describes life at sea, the battles and the fate of his shipmates, as well as his own personal challenge to outwit, hunt and capture an elusive, sneaky, grey cat with little black ears! A wonderfully emotional and uplifting story, told from a very different perspective!
Oscar certainly enjoys the leisurely life, the odd snack, naps in the sunshine, and paying close attention to his surroundings - it's not really a hard life for this particular cat. He inadvertently becomes part of history, part of war, and part of battle.
This was the first time I had heard of this particular story. I would say it's somewhere between historical myth and a glimmer of hope that became a legend. It's also exactly the kind of thing a cat would do, which makes hearing it in his own words even more entertaining.
It's does have an amusing element to it, despite the fact the historical events should be regarded with the serious note it deserves. The story perhaps also serves as a reminder that the young men on all sides were caught up in a war not of their making, and many of them lost their lives. The survivors lived with the trauma.
It's a read for both younger and older readers, and will probably make readers curious about other stories that give the sense of some hope and small joys in the midst of such chaos and violence.
Buy Oscar of the Bismarck at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Blossom Spring Publishing, pub date 9 Dec. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.
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