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The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine (view source)
Revision as of 08:10, 4 August 2015
, 08:10, 4 August 2015no edit summary
Writing of this calibre not only evokes Sophie's childhood memories but makes the reader long to experience the luxuriousness of somewhere like Sinclair's, an opportunity somewhat lost in the modern reality of recession and online shopping. Woodfine's portrait of a decadent, sumptuous retail emporium, at the heart of Piccadilly, is based on established names like Harrods, Fortnum & Masons and Liberty (although these were not founded in the Edwardian era) so she has primarily drawn inspiration from the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flashy, charismatic American entrepreneur who launched his cathedral to elegance in London in 1909. There are also shades of Emile Zola's ''Au Bonheur des Dames'', televised as ''The Paradise''.
Inspired by a multitude of sources including classic children's literature from the minds of [[:Category:E Nesbit|E. Nesbit]] and [[:Category:Francis Frances Hodgson Burnett|F.H. Burnett]], the detective fiction of [[:Category:Agatha Christie|Agatha Christie]] and Carolyn Keene, the Victorian mystery world of Wilkie Collins, the old fashioned adventure stories of [[:Category:Enid Blyton|Enid Blyton]] and Malcolm Saville's 1940's/1950's ''Lone Pine'' series where gangs of children investigate spies and criminals, Woodfine has performed alchemy. Her charming period setting is fuelled by a nail-biting, heroic adventure crossed with an enthralling classic detective mystery element which grips the reader's attention. Chicanery, robbery, subterfuge, espionage, secret codes and ''The Boy's Own Paper'' style antics abound. There's even a nod to Alfred Hitchcock's wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time scenario and Enid Blyton's locked room trick. Intertextuality is also evident in Billy's mention of secret codes in Conan Doyle's ''The Adventure of the Dancing Men'' and Verne's ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth''. I also revelled in the description of Sinclair's Book Department - a haven of tranquillity - ''It had thick oriental rugs on the floor, dark wooden panelling on the walls, plenty of comfortable armchairs, and most importantly, books everywhere''. All these ingredients may sound like a mad medley but it works wonderfully. It is a book which makes you delight in the magic of reading.
Engaging, rounded characters keep the story flying along. There is a shadowy villain, courageous heroines, plucky boys and duplicitous adults. Sophie Taylor is a resourceful, sparky orphan bullied by the other shop girls but determined to stop a dastardly criminal plot. Her best friend Lil is a vivacious, beautiful, chic chorus girl and model (who loves the theatre and longs to be an actress) turned investigator and code cracker. Sinclair's delivery boy Billy, whose head is never out of the pages of ''Boys of Empire'' (probably based on ''The Boy's Own Paper'', first published in 1879), dreams of emulating his favourite detective Montgomery Baxter. He is clever and kind and comes into contact with Joe, a desperate, scared, broken fugitive on the run from a ruthless, cut throat East End gang, run by a mysterious man known as ''The Baron''. Joe longs to be free from fear and is trying to regain his true moral compass. Mr Sinclair, feted as 'The Captain', is only interested in things of beauty describing his store as ''a monument to style - a museum'' while Cooper and Billy's Uncle Sid are there to enforce his law of perfection.