I've finished The Mystery of the Vanished Prince. II think it's quite different to the other FO books in that how the crime is done is revealed much earlier than the last chapter or so, and also that rather than working it out, Fatty basically gets conveniently told everything. I found Mr Goon especially annoying in this book, I could almost feel the exasperation the children would feel at him trailing them to the fair and the baby show, especially when he guessed why they were there ! For once there was no alternative reason for them to be there for him to be bothered about, what is suspect about children going to a fair and the girls especially wanting to see the baby show? Mr Goon however isn't half as aggravatingly frustrating as Ern's brother Sid who does nothing but chew toffee. I'm not overly fond of Ern on his own but his brothers sound dreadful - Enid was very good at making extremely irritating side characters that are both convenient and inconvenient at the same time . Last observation, why despite only having 25 chapters is this book far thicker than any of the others?
Society Member
I'm just an old fashioned girl with an old fashioned mind
Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind
I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence
And A̶n̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶h̶i̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶a̶i̶r̶e̶
Vanished Prince is one of my least favourite Find Outer books - yet ironically it has one of my favourite dust wrappers! I agree about the story and its major weakness is that Fatty is pretty much told everything - they don't really do any 'find-outing' at all. Quite a weak book in my opinion.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
Yes it's not a particularly strong book, it's a bit contrived how Rollo tells Fatty (who disguised or not is still a stranger) practically everything. It's also a little contrived that the children could get so brown in the sunshine they could be mistaken for foreign royalty! How much sunbathing would you have to do to get like that?! . Overall, whilst I don't dislike this book, but I will say that on re-reading it I have even less understanding why Banshee Towers is considered the weakest .
Society Member
I'm just an old fashioned girl with an old fashioned mind
Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind
I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence
And A̶n̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶h̶i̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶a̶i̶r̶e̶
I would really only put Banshee Towers as weaker because it is so short compared to the others, and also has less humour than the others. The plot isn't too bad, but the characters have changed and the whole thing seems a bit forced, in my opinion.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
My granddaughter is coming to stay in July and she wants me to read either a 'Famous Five' or an 'Adventure series' book to her every night. I am wondering which one to choose and want to choose an exciting book to grab her interest. Any ideas?
Funnily enough, my choices would be similar to Rob's - The Valley of Adventure, The Sea of Adventure, Five Go to Smuggler's Top or Five Fall Into Adventure. They all have a great deal of excitement, danger and atmosphere and I'd have loved to have them read to me as a child. You could bring out a few titles that you feel would be suitable, Francis, and let your granddaughter pick one of them. I'm sure she'll love it and it's something she'll remember all her life.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Thank you Rob and Anita. I like the idea of 'The Sea of Adventure' and 'The Valley of Adventure' - they are really exciting right from the start and maintain the pace throughout.
Also 'Five go to Smugglers Top' is one of the most exciting of all the Famous Five books and has the bonus of lots of secret ways and passages and having to hide Timmy (she loves dogs).
I agree that 'Five go off to Camp' and 'Five fall into Adventure' are exciting books too.
I like Anita's idea of letting her choose from these books - I will let you know which one she chooses.
I agree about Smuggler's Top - hiding the dog, a sinister old house, secret passages, lights that flash in the night, and Block pretending to be deaf! Lots of good stuff there! I think that's why Smuggler's Top is always amongst most people's favourite Famous Five books.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
Rob Houghton wrote:I would really only put Banshee Towers as weaker because it is so short compared to the others, and also has less humour than the others. The plot isn't too bad, but the characters have changed and the whole thing seems a bit forced, in my opinion.
Have the characters really changed by BT? Admittedly I've not read it for a while but I can't say I noticed when I did. I'm working my way through the FO and am on the tenth book so I'll see if I notice any difference this time when their all very fresh in my mind.
Francis wrote:Thank you Rob and Anita. I like the idea of 'The Sea of Adventure' and 'The Valley of Adventure' - they are really exciting right from the start and maintain the pace throughout.
Also 'Five go to Smugglers Top' is one of the most exciting of all the Famous Five books and has the bonus of lots of secret ways and passages and having to hide Timmy (she loves dogs).
I agree that 'Five go off to Camp' and 'Five fall into Adventure' are exciting books too.
I like Anita's idea of letting her choose from these books - I will let you know which one she chooses.
I pretty much feel the same as Rob and Anita. Valley and Sea for the Adventure series although I find Island very exciting too along with the added bonus of getting to know the characters. My Famous Five choices would be Smuggler's Top, Treasure Island, Caravan and my all time favourite, Hike. In all honesty though it is my utmost belief that you can't possibly go wrong with a FF book, any of them .
Society Member
I'm just an old fashioned girl with an old fashioned mind
Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind
I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence
And A̶n̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶h̶i̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶a̶i̶r̶e̶
Thanks for the extra titles! I guess there are quite a few we could choose and I quite understand that the first of a series makes sense but I want to entice her to read them and so I want to choose from the very best. I too like 'Island' and also 'Castle', 'Mountain' , 'Circus' and 'Ship' and 'River' are not too far behind.
Yes - I was very near to suggesting 'Hike' - which is also my number 1 FF book - but I thought maybe the start was a little slower than Smuggler's Top - the same with Caravan.
Smuggler's Top starts off excitingly with the terrible storm and the tree smashing through the roof!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
That's wonderful, Francis! Has your granddaughter read any of the Famous Five or Adventure books before? If she's not familiar with either series, my first choice would be either of the first books in them — Five on a Treasure Island or The Island of Adventure, both of which are brilliant openers to their respective series and of course are best for introducing the characters. But I've always been a stickler for reading a series in order as far as possible, so that's just me. Hope you have a lovely time together!
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
! For once there was no alternative reason for them to be there for him to be bothered about, what is suspect about children going to a fair and the girls especially wanting to see the baby show? Mr Goon however isn't half as aggravatingly frustrating as Ern's brother Sid who does nothing but chew toffee. I'm not overly fond of Ern on his own but his brothers sound dreadful - Enid was very good at making extremely irritating side characters that are both convenient and inconvenient at the same time 
. Last observation, why despite only having 25 chapters is this book far thicker than any of the others? 
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