Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780224607056
ISBN: 0224607057
Label: Jonathan Cape Children's Books
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape Children's Books
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: 1965-04
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Children's Books
Studio: Jonathan Cape Children's Books
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Average Rating:
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A highly entertaining adventure of missing persons, mistaken identities and Hanoverian conspiracies, set in the contrasting dark and nefarious streets of London and the gloomy splendour of Battersea Castle and its environs. The plot is well paced, Simon is a believable protagonist and the scallywag antics of Dido Twite provide an excellent foil for his almost effortless honesty. A slightly annoying drawback is Sophie, absurdly raised by an otter for much of her childhood! She is a little too perfect ...
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I read Black Hearts to my wife every night, and we both roll about laughing. Such rich, Dickensian characters, with Dido Twite standing out as one of the great figures of English fiction. The use of slang along with some very solid writing brings Dido and her manic family to life with great skill. It's a kid's book, but I'm 57, a professional novelist, with a background in English literature, and I think it's terrific. I can't imagine a child who wouldn't be entranced by ...
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Black hearts in Battersea is a fantastic sequel to Joan Aiken's first inher James III series.
The story follows the character Simon, who firstappeared in the Wolves of Willoughby Chase, on his stay in London and hisstumbling across a Hanoverian plot to kill the legitimate Englishking.
A great read for readers of all ages!
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Simon, the resourceful goose-boy who saves the girl in The WOlves of Willouhghby Chase, travels to London to learn the advancement of his natural taltent for art. But his friend and patron has mysteriously disappeared from the house of the Twites, a Cockney family whose only remotely applealing member is Dido, a gutter-snipe. Simon meets Sophie, an old friend from the orphanage who is now maid to the Duchess of Battersea - an eccentric woman who lost her twin babies. Wolves, Hanoverian, bombs and treachery ...
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This is a wonderfully whimsical book. I love the mixture of historical detail and fantasy. This series of books are what I would class as magic realism and I loved them. There is just enough menace and grimness in them to keep the bloodthirsty adventure seekers happy, but coupled with that is a real sense of charm and some great characters. A great read.
