Leon Garfield (1921–1996)

If I had to give Smith one of those strange mash-up tags I would say it's "a YA version of Dickens with all the tragedy and redemption of Jane Eyre". What it really reminds me of is Charles Palliser's The Quincunx, which I loved but which also broke my heart along the way. The nice thing is that this is a book for younger readers and so it has a happy ending. The way it takes to that ending, though, is full of servants, highwaymen and dangerous figures hidden in dark alleys. I was so in love show more with it that I recently bought another of Garfield's books, Black Jack. Sadly, many of his books are out of print (this one was written in 1967) and so I'm going to have to do some work to find them. I think it will be well worth the effort.

http://webereading.com/2011/09/he-was-called-smith-and-was-twelve.html show less

How to introduce kids to Shakespeare—not just to the stories behind the plays but to the richness of his language and the depth of his characters. That’s the challenge that Leon Garfield, a wonderful children’s book writer, undertook to meet in his monumental and delightful Shakespeare Stories. Here are twenty-one of the Bard’s plays, presented in what is not a series of dry retellings, but rather a refashioning of the dramas as stories, in a way that remains true to the essential show more spirit of the original versions. Garfield has captured all the richness of character, plot, mood, and setting in Shakespeare’s works without resorting to simplification. Indeed, he deliberately retains much of Shakespeare’s language, skillfully weaving it into his own prose so that the reader is introduced to the flavor of the verse, as well as to the incidents of plot and the spectacle of the drama. Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories is an essential distillation—a celebration and a reminder of Shakespeare’s genius as a poet and dramatist. show less

Quite interesting, and lovely. Reads almost like a fantasy, but there's no magic except that of the human spirit. I really appreciated that it wasn't quite as bleak as Dickens. And also that it was set a century earlier. This was before the Industrial Age, when fortunate young people had a chance to learn a trade and, sometimes, inherit the business or save up to set up their own shop. Some were even lucky enough to be considered almost a member of the family. I wish I knew more about those show more old customs, beliefs, songs, traditions, that were mentioned.

All chapters charmed me. Perhaps the one about a pharmacist/scientist is the most haunting. And the one about a bookseller who feebly tries to defend the work of a self-published schoolteacher against charges of blasphemy is still relevant.

I absolutely highly recommend this to all of you.

Most evidence of the graceful writing is too long to quote, but consider this: "[H]e tried so hard to rub her out of his mind that almost wore a hole in it."

I do have to admit that when I was the direct audience, age 10-13, I would *not* have enjoyed or appreciated this, and I certainly don't know any modern children who would be interested. If you do, please comment. show less

Murder, betrayal and daring...Garfield is as always, a special treat!

Leon Garfield has long been one of my favourite children's authors, so I lept at the chance to reread Smith. This is pure Dicksonian melodrama for a younger audience. A gift of talent indeed.
The depths of Eighteenth century London slums, where 'the houses reared and clustered as if to shut out the sky,' are no place for the soft or uninitiated. The very atmosphere weeds the weak from the strong, if not through illness and show more malnourishment, then by the preying on the unknowing. Surrounded by this miasma of complacent intent is Smith, a rapscallion street pickpocket who breezes through the most atrocious situations with an acceptance of life that amazes. Smith lives in the cellar of the Red Lion Inn with his two sisters who eke out a living makeover the gallows clothes of the condemned. They refer to Smith as 'dear Smut' and 'felonious child!' Half will-o-the-wisp, half trickster and with heart of gold, others might be downcast and resentful at their lot but not so young 'glass-half-full' Smith.
Garfield's language draws you in. I was grabbed from the first with utterances like, 'Smith's speed was remarkable...a rat was like a snail beside Smith.'
His descriptive use of phrase, the twists and turns and metaphors are a delight and are as twisty as the narrow streets and alleyways Smith inhabits.
12-year-old Smith's daily haunts, the atmosphere of the crowded, narrow, putrid streets come alive with brilliant imagery. Colourful images that contain a whiff of the overpowering smells and sounds. Language that gives sight and sound.
Smith's troubles begin when in a narrow lane he picks an elderly gentleman's pocket.
Hearing footsteps he blends back into the shadows and witnesses his mark being stabbed. Murdered! Escaping the scene he discovers that he has, not the valuables he was expecting but some sort of document. And therein lay the rub. Smith cannot read!
Ah, the mystery of the fatal,document leads Smith across the dark streets to new acquaintances, the depths of Newgate Prison, and onto Finchley Common with Lord Tom the highwayman. It's all mad dash and adventure, the tension seesawing from despair and anxiety to determination and hope, underlined by daring and courage.
I must say I had my heart in my mouth and the occasional tear in my eye!
The reread only strengthened my admiration.

A NetGalley ARC show less