Title – Oscar of the Bismarck
Author – Frances Y. Evan
Genre – Historical fiction, Young adult

Oscar of the Bismarck is a fictional account of true events surrounding a ship’s mascot during WWII. A stray cat named Oscar by the crew of the German battleship Bismarck, found itself on board the warship in 1941. While the legendary feline made it to the annals of history as a survivor and prisoner of war when Bismarck was sunk, the book adopts an interesting approach to this historical retelling – by narrating the course of events from the perspective of the cat. As the mighty Bismarck was built, launched and commissioned, Oscar witnessed the making of the great wartime ship. We hear the cats story of interacting with the crew, officers, sailors and cooks, and his adventures in hunting mice and rats on board.
An intriguing tale told from a very different point of view. The author has researched the maritime events well, and the epilogue and list of ships involved in the Bismarck attack are well presented. Oscar of the Bismarck is an uplifting historical novel for young readers, and the end notes provide an additional history lesson for those interested in the subject.
My rating – 3/5
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 neighborhood 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 her at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frances.evan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frany51/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrancesEvan7
Thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours for having me on board the blog tour, and for sharing a copy of the book.
