"The Cracks in the Kingdom"

Jaclyn Moriarty grew up in Sydney, Australia, with 4 sisters, 1 brother, 2 dogs, and 12 chickens. She studied law at the University of Sydney, Yale, and Cambridge, and worked as an entertainment lawyer before she wrote the Ashbury High novels, including The Year of Secret Assignments, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, and The Ghosts of Ashbury High.

Moriarty applied the Page 69 Test to The Cracks in the Kingdom, the second novel in The Colors of Madeleine series, and reported the following:

There are two key characters in The Cracks in the Kingdom: Elliot Baranski, who lives in the Kingdom of Cello, and Madeleine Tully, who lives in Cambridge, England, in our world.

On page 69 of the Australian edition, Elliot is attending a meeting of the Royal Youth Alliance, a group formed by a Princess of Cello to try to find her missing royal family. A security agent has just turned to Elliot:

‘As for you,’ she said. ‘We absolutely did not want you. You communicate with the World? You have a contact there? You know about a crack and you have not reported it? These are serious capital offences, and even the slightest hint that the Princess knew about this would be catastrophic for the Royals. So, Elliot Baranski, know this––’

She leaned forward––again with the dramatic pause. He thought about asking if he could go get a cup of coffee and come back when she was done with it.

But on page 69 of the American edition, Madeleine is lying on her couch in Cambridge. She’s thinking about the fact that, in the past, people thought that the Earth was flat, like a fried egg on a plate.

Madeleine had always had a sense that people used to be a daft. Whereas now, they were smart. Now we walk around going: Well, of course, the world’s not sitting there being an egg. It’s spinning and flying! It’s getting the shopping done and doing its homework and meeting up with its friends, it’s a kite of activity with its tail going mad, is what the world is, and aren’t I clever? For knowing that?

We’re not clever, though. We’re just stating the new obvious.

She sat up suddenly.

She was starving.

That’s why all the thoughts about eggs.

I think the book is partly about Elliot and partly about Madeleine; and it’s partly action-mystery and partly reflections on science. So, between them, page 69 of these two editions cover both, and I hope that taking from both wasn’t cheating.

Visit Jaclyn Moriarty's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue