The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee
| The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Anne Thompson
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| Summary: A jolly adventure starring a plucky orphan, dastardly villains, the likeable Marvel family and a travelling roadshow of Red Indians. There are family secrets, humour, friendship and a race against time in this enjoyable story with a traditional feel. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Oxford University Press | |
| ISBN: 9780192733672 | |
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Clemency Wrigglesworth is orphaned and penniless when she starts her long journey back to England from India. On board ship she is put in the care of a charming and kindly nanny, Mrs Potchard, who resolves to trace Clemency’s long lost relations on their arrival at Southampton. Whilst Mrs Potchard’s investigations continue Clemency is taken in by the Marvel family, an unusual and entertaining bunch, but very different from what Clemency has been used to. However, they are kind and Clemency gradually relaxes despite the worry that someone is following her. But then the sinister Miss Clawe arrives at the Marvels’ home and Clemency is taken away with only the clothes she is wearing leaving all her belongings behind. Concerned about their young charge Gully Potchard and Whitby Marvel set out to find and help her and with the help of a travelling theatre group of knife throwing Red Indians they set off. However, Clemency's problems are worse than they realise; can they find her in time?
Young readers often enjoy books where children triumph over nasty adults so this story should satisfy them. Clemency is described as looking as though she wouldn’t say boo to a goose but as she finds herself in difficult and scary situations she draws on her hidden resources, as described by Mrs Potchard, and by the end of the book has become rather braver. This was an aspect of the story that I particularly enjoyed. I also found Clemency’s friendship with Polly the scullery maid appealing as is the loyalty shown by Gully and Whitby. There are lots of characters introduced as the plot twists and turns and if one or two of these lack a little in depth this does not detract from an enjoyable story in which the pace keeps the reader’s attention right up to the last page. The Marvel family comprises some engaging characters who possibly deserve a story of their own.
This adventure is described on the cover as Eva Ibbotson meets Lemony Snicket with a dash of The Little Princess and I can understand why. The beginning of the book in particular has echoes of Sarah Crewe’s arrival in England and Clemency’s struggles with reduced circumstances are also similar so I suppose comparisons with A Little Princess are inevitable. However I think the writing style is very different from that of Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events books. With a debut children’s novel I imagine that these comparisons are made to help give potential readers an idea of the feel of a book but they can be a bit confusing. I think that this is a very enjoyable adventure with an appealing heroine, villains that are just scary enough and humour too. This would be an excellent read for young readers moving on to slightly longer books.
As already mentioned by the publishers readers may like to try the children's classic A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. If you would like to read a current book about an orphan battling against the odds with determination and humour I would suggest Operation Bunny - Wings & Co by Sally Gardner and this may suit slightly younger readers too.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee at Amazon.com.
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