In Wildwing, fifteen year old Addy lives in early 20th century England with her mother, a seamstress. She’s never known her father, who abandoned her unmarried mother when she was pregnant. Addy takes a lot of scorn from her classmates, who mock her cruelly for being the daughter of a low-class seamstress and the product of unmarried parents.

After a brawl with one of these classmates, Addy’s mother withdraws her from school and sets her up as a maid with Mr. Greenwood, an old man whose son disappeared many years ago and has been driven a little mad as a result. Mr. Greenwood turns out to be a kind, intelligent man – despite the slight battiness – who lets Addy borrow his books, talks with her over tea, and has a number of interesting inventions laying about the house.

One day, while Mr. Greenwood is out, Addy ventures into a room she’s never been in before and discovers one of Mr. Greenwood’s hidden inventions – a time machine.  It takes her back to the early 13th century, where she’s conveniently mistaken for Lady Matilda, a noble lady who’s traveled to Berringstoke to take up residence in its castle.  

Addy, seeing her chance to escape the life of drudgery she feels trapped in, decides to become the Lady Matilda.  Now she’s rich, wears fancy dresses, and gets to look down on everyone else instead of the other way around.  Oh, and there’s the little matter of the reason the Lady Matilda traveled to Berringstoke was to marry its Lord, a middle-aged, arrogant man into warfare and hunting.  This would send most fifteen year old girls running back to the 20th century, and it’s a credit to Whitman that she makes the reader believe Addy’s indecision about whether to stay or go.  Plus there’s the falconer’s son, William, who is very handsome and just may be falling in love with her.

Though Addy is frequently selfish, she’s always a likable character, even when her new life involves assuming the identity of a dead woman – the real Lady Matilda, who died in a shipwreck that Addy stumbles upon by chance.  Addy is a bit of a whiner at the beginning of the book – there are frequent utterances of how terrible her life is and how much she wishes she were born into status like her classmates – but this is such a common refrain among teens (and adults!) that it’s easy to sympathize with her.  And as she grows through the course of the novel, we root for her to make the right decisions, especially when they’re so tough.

The plot is more than a little outlandish, but it’s always fun.  Seeing Addy struggle to adapt to the medieval customs – particularly the dining customs – is very funny, and her clumsy attempts to mimic the dialect are equally amusing.  The little historical details Whitman sprinkles throughout add a great deal of interest to the story.  Addy’s maidservant at the castle, Beatrix, comments upon Addy’s “flimsy” undergarments from the 20th century, and the Lord’s steward, Eustace, explain in a letter to his Lord that Addy’s supposed head injury (sustained in the shipwreck) must be the reason she was eating the plates.

The author’s note clears up some of the historical inaccuracies, of which there are many.  (One of the most glaring is that people in Addy’s position would have spoken French, not English.)  But historical accuracy isn’t really what Whitman is going for.  She’s giving the reader an opportunity to escape, just like Addy does, into another time and place where adventure, mystery, romance, and a little danger await.

As I read Wildwing, I could tell that I wasn’t reading a literary masterpiece, but I was having so much fun I didn’t care (and who wants to read Great Works of Literature all the time anyway?).  I would have gobbled this book up as a fifteen year old.  It’s pure wish fulfillment.  Don’t like your current life?  Escape to a new one, where you’re beautiful, rich, and titled.  But wait, there are a few complications… fun, smoothly written, and a little silly.  Just what I needed.