I know it is hard for you to learn English at such a fast pace, and you are having trouble reading the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, but I am here to help you. I will help you learn what is happening to Charlotte chapter by chapter.

Chapter One:

Charlotte is introduced to the ship, the Seahawk. Mr. Grummage brought her to the Seahawk. Mr. Grummage paid a shilling to a man to carry Charlotte's luggage. Charlotte wanted to pay the man two, but Mr. Grummage held her back. Being a girl of her word, Charlotte paid the man two.

Chapter Two:

Charlotte boards the ship and meets a kind man named Zacariah, who offered her tea. The tea made her feel at home. He then gave Charlotte a dirk and told her that it may become useful in some situations. So Charlotte uneasily accepted the dirk.

Chapter Three:

Charlotte finds herself adrift at sea. She supposed that she was not supposed to be there, but Captain Jaggery said that time was precious, and there was no turning back. Captain Jaggery promised Charlotte that she would not be harmed because she was a girl. Charlotte then slept for quite a while until her illness passed. While she was ill, Zacariah took care of her.

Chapter Four:

Another day, another sorrow. Charlotte was invited once again to have tea with Zacariah. She insisted to return the dirk, but Zacariah kept refusing. Zacariah soon told Charlotte about the story involving Captain Jaggery and Mr. Cranick. It is said that Captain Jaggery took Mr. Cranick's arm from beating him too much. Soon after, Charlotte was invited to the captain's cabin for a discussion.

Chapter Five:

When Charlotte went to Captain Jaggery's cabin, she was happy because he looked like a gentleman. Captain Jaggery first talked about how the Seahawk was not designed for comfort, but he tries the best he can. Charlotte then shows Captain Jaggery the dirk after he coaxes her to show her secrets. Captain Jaggery lets her keep the dirk for safety reasons.

Chapter Six:

Charlotte is led to her trunk, and she thinks she sees people. Soon after, Mr. Barlow comes and shocks her. Then, she thinks she sees a person staring at her…

Chapter Seven:

Charlotte is still alone, trying to find her trunk and she thinks she finds someone. A skull carved in a large brown nut was staring right at her. She then climbed the ladder to get back up. She thought that one of the crew made the skull carving to scare her.

Chapter Eight:

The Captain says that they will make it to their destination on time. Soon, Captain Jaggery tells how lazy the crew is, and Charlotte suggests that they are tired. Captain Jaggery says that they will all be wide awake when the storm comes.

Chapter Nine:

She went to run an errand for Mr. Ewing to get a needle from his chest. When she found his chest, the first things she saw were a pistol and a round robin. She supposed that the crew were planning a rebellion against Captain Jaggery. She soon goes to Captain Jaggery's cabin and tells him everything. Captain Jaggery says that he will find out whoever is the stowaway.

Chapter Ten:

When everyone answered Captain Jaggery's call, Charlotte recognized the face of Mr. Cranick. He was the stowaway! Cranick soon had a debate with Captain Jaggery about justice. Captain Jaggery soon shot him with a musket. He soon ordered others to throw him overboard. Later, Captain Jaggery said that one more man must share the punishment, and since no one answered, asked Charlotte to pick. She said nothing, so Captain Jaggery chose Zacariah.

Chapter Eleven:

Zacariah stepped forward and criticized Captain Jaggery for being the worst commander he has ever had. Captain Jaggery then said that Zacariah was to have 50 lashes, and Charlotte was needed as a witness. Charlotte soon took the whip from Captain Jaggery's hand after Zacariah had been hit once. Not aware of what she was doing, she whipped Captain Jaggery on the cheek. After a moment of silence, Captain Jaggery started going mad and whipped Zachariah's body like crazy. They then carried Zachariah's body and he was to be thrown overboard. Everyone left, and Charlotte was alone.

Chapter Twelve:

She wept for Zacariah, Mr. Cranick, and even for Captain Jaggery. She wept most for herself, though. She tried to talk to Captain Jaggery, but he was furious at her, and he threw a tantrum at her. She ran out of his cabin, and started to talk to Fisk. Charlotte said that she had come to be part of the crew.

Chapter Thirteen:

The rest of the crew didn't believe that Charlotte could withstand all the work you had to do to be part of the crew, but they said that they would only let Charlotte in if she could climb to the crows nest and back. As nervous as ever, she decided to climb the ratline up to the top. Luckily, she survived, but then Captain Jaggery soon came.

Chapter Fourteen:

Captain Jaggery approved of Charlotte to be part of the crew, but he changed her name from Mrs. Doyle to Mr. Doyle. Soon, Mr. Foley told her to be careful because Captain Jaggery was waiting for Mr. Doyle to make a mistake. When Captain Jaggery ordered Mr. Doyle to fix the bowsprit, Charlotte obeyed. When she fixed it, Captain Jaggery accused Charlotte of making them lose time. Uncontrollably, Charlotte called Captain Jaggery a coward and a fraud. Captain Jaggery whirled around, with murder in his eyes. Soon after, he gained control of himself once again, and walked away. They then saw a robin fly to the ship. Mr. Barlow said that there was going to be a hurricane.

Chapter Fifteen:

The storm arrived with more rage than even Captain Jaggery. It tore on the sails, while everyone was working for dear life. Charlotte was assigned to cut the sails loose. When she saw someone else already doing it, she shimmied back down. After the storm ceased, Mr. Hollybrass was found with Charlotte's dirk in his back and her hankerchief in his hand.

Chapter Sixteen:

The next day, no one called Charlotte up. When she awoke, she wondered why. Keetch said that Captain Jaggery said that it was her who murdered Mr. Hollybrass. When she was left alone once again, she saw the face of Zacariah.

Chapter Seventeen:

Charlotte was locked in the brig for treason for killing Mr. Hollybrass. Soon, Zacariah came and told her the story of how he was not killed. He brought her some food and water, and then they escaped the brig for awhile. When they saw Captain Jaggery, Charlotte quickly ran back to the brig. Captain Jaggery accused Charlotte and said that there was going to be a trial.

Chapter Eighteen:

The trial started with a debate between the word “unnatural” and “unusual”. Captain Jaggery tried to use every piece of evidence he has found out since he met with Charlotte to prove her guilty. Eventually in the end, Captain Jaggery found the truth, and Charlotte was to be hung until dead.

Chapter Nineteen:

When Charlotte returns to the brig, Zacariah asks what happened. Charlotte believes that Zacariah murdered Mr. Hollybrass and tells him some evidence. Zacariah says that he didn't kill Mr. Hollybrass, and tells him that Captain Jaggery saw him during the hurricane. Charlotte and Zacariah both come to a conclusion that Captain Jaggery murdered Mr. Hollybrass. Charlotte then says she knows where Captain Jaggery keeps his key to the muskets.

Chapter Twenty:

Zacariah tells the other ship members that neither Charlotte nor himself murdered Mr. Hollybrass. They came up with a plan to steal Captain Jaggery's muskets. When Charlotte went into Captain Jaggery's cabin, he was waiting for her.

Chapter Twenty One:

When Captain Jaggery saw Charlotte, he told her the whole truth. After that, he came out with a pistol to Charlotte. He started to say how he would have died if he hadn't held the pistol up. Soon after, he started to chase Charlotte, trying to shoot her with the pistol. Captain Jaggery then lost his balance, and fell backwards into the sea. The rest of the crew, not including Keetch, decided that Charlotte should become the new captain.

Chapter Twenty Two:

Charlotte returned to her house. Her parents read the journal that Charlotte wrote it and burned it. They said that the grammar and spelling was horrendous. A few days later, Charlotte decided to return to the Seahawk to make her living as a sailor.

I hope you learned more about summarizing and the English language, Moon Shadow. If you have any more problems about your will to lean English, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Kevin Jan

P.S. How can you be reading this book if it was published in the 1990's?