Black Hearts in Battersea

This is a tremendously entertaining story beginning with Simon and his donkey arriving in London to look up his old friend. Everything starts to go confusingly awry and then just as they start to settle down the fantastic mystery and adventure takes off. I loved the language that appears to be a combination of historic dialect and possibly made up words, that even if not understood can be hilarious. The lavishly drawn characters are a reminder of Dickens' and just as entertaining. I look forward to the next book in the series to find out what happened to the loveable brat Dido Twite. Although it's a book for any age group, I just wish Aiken's books had been part of my childhood reading when I would have devoured them.

This second volume in the Wolves Chronicles follows the adventures of Simon the goose-boy, who journeys to London from the Willoughby estate, intent on studying art and becoming a great painter. Nothing is quite as he expected however, and as he makes friends in places high and low, Simon soon finds himself at the center of a dastardly Hanoverian plot...

A humorously convoluted Victorian melodrama, complete with plots, assassination attempts, kidnappings, shipwrecks, hidden identities, secret societies, and hot-air balloon escapes, Black Heart in Battersea also has the distinction of introducing into the pages of children's literature one of its most distinctive heroines. The incomparable Dido Twite, with her awful language, defiant show more manner, and appearance like a "molting sparrow," cannot boast a very auspicious debut, but she carries within her the seeds of all those qualities that most matter in Aiken's world: bravery, loyalty and love. In a word, she has heart...

It is my good fortune to own a copy of the original (American) edition of this book, which is illustrated by Robin Jacques, whose work is perhaps best known from Ruth Manning-Sanders' folktale collections. It seems a real shame to me that these illustrations have been omitted from later editions. show less

Simon, the foundling from "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase", arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

Late summer, 1833. The second in Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles opens with Simon, the orphan who helped cousins Sylvia and Bonnie Green to regain Willoughby Chase, looking for his friend Gabriel Field in London: Dr Field has offered him space in his Southwark lodgings so that Simon can attend an art academy in Chelsea. But Simon is encountering difficulty finding Rose Alley, having been misdirected a few times. When he does eventually find No 8 it is to discover no sign of the good doctor, only a streetwise little urchin called Dido and her rather strange family.

The mystery of Gabriel Field's disappearance is only one of several puzzles that Simon meets during the course of this inventive novel, a good example of a sequel that is not show more only the equal of the first novel but in some ways almost surpasses it.

It combines the twin thrills of pantomime and melodrama by means of a series of extraordinary coincidences: typically, every character Simon meets somehow has a connection with him, and every individual turns out to be either his friend or his foe. Only rarely is there a hint of ambiguity, and with two potential adversaries -- Dido and her nefarious Pa -- we soon realise that their personalities are more nuanced than expected. In fact with Dido, who almost literally drops out of the story, her peccadilloes have so endeared herself to us that we are cheered when somebody at the end declares, "I feel in my bones that we shall hear of her again. So do not grieve too much."

I've been wracking my brain to figure out what it is that strikes me about what might otherwise be regarded as a very slight adventure story for youngsters, and I think I've finally twigged: the year that Black Hearts in Battersea was published -- 1964 -- was the year in which we celebrated the fourth century of Shakespeare's birth, and I wonder if, consciously or subconsciously, Aiken drew inspiration for her plot from his plays. For a start, Rose Alley (just a narrow service street now) commemorates The Rose which, erected in 1587, was the fifth purpose-built London theatre as well as the first on Bankside. Bankside is where The Swan was erected in 1595 and The Globe transferred in 1599 from another part of London, sited close to where its modern counterpart is. Bear Gardens, which runs parallel to Rose Alley, reminds us that here too stood an arena dedicated to the cruel sport of bear-baiting.

But even if Aiken deliberately sited the Twites in this area that doesn't necessarily prove a Shakespearean inspiration, but there are other clues. First, let's remember this is an alternate history and that Hanoverian rulers are plotting to overthrow the rightful Stuart king James III (who, oddly, still retains his Scots accent). There is a sequence which strongly suggests to me the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which Guy Fawkes and his associates planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament, due to be opened by the Scottish-born king James VI of Scotland, by now also James I of England.

Next, it's often proposed that Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in the aftermath of the Plot, in 1606, and the dastardly deeds of the usurping thane of Glamis may find an echo in Aiken's subplot of a rightful heir to a duke's title.

Another related subplot is about twins, both missing and unsuspected, and some Shakespeare comedies are full of this universal theme, as we know from The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night. Add to that the Shakespearean commonplace of a shipwreck following a storm (The Tempest, of course, and Twelfth Night) which Aiken also cunningly includes in Black Hearts in Battersea and it's hard to avoid the impression that Joan may well have been cock-a-hoop with delight at how many references she could include. To include more here would be to spoil the story for anyone yet to enjoy this tale of derring-do, but she may still have been surprised that it might have taken till the fourth centenary of Shakespeare's death to pick this Gordian knot apart.

The title of Black Hearts utilises a phrase associated with the moral depravity of villains, but I also suspect that Joan used it to substitute for blackguard, commonly pronounced to rhyme with laggard and meaning a rogue, scoundrel, rascal or, indeed, anyone who acts in a dishonourable or contemptible way. In a just world such people would get their deserts, but you will have to read the novel itself to discover if in fact this holds true here. But one can hope! show less

Just as much fun, and in the same vein, as Wolves of Willoughby Chase; melodrama on all sorts of levels. Here the alternate history does come into play - the villains are Hanoverians, who want to put Prince George on the throne instead of King James (the reverse of our history). But that's just a side-story (though it drives the rest) - there are mysterious disappearances, eccentric nobles, a long-lost heir or two (plus a pretender), multiple attempted assassinations, on and on. Not to mention fighting off wolves in Hyde and Battersea Parks in London, a shipwreck, and a long trip by balloon. I'm a little surprised the kitten never got a name. And I'm very glad that I know the series goes on with Dido - her loss is a hard blow for Simon. show more Great story - next, please! show less

This was one of my absolute favorite books growing up. Rereading it as an adult was an interesting experience. The writing style is still lovely, the characters engaging (especially Sophie, the extremely self-possessed lady's maid who keeps saving the day through the creative deployment of a tapestry she's embroidering; and Dido Twite, the bratty, neglected little girl who becomes the protagonist in later books), and there's plenty of excitement and humor.

Otoh, the number of coincidences in this book--both plot-propelling and otherwise--is completely ridiculous. They seemed unremarkable to me as a child, but I confess I rolled my eyes more than once rereading the book now. And the classism, which also went over my head as a child, is show more similarly blatant. As one illustrative example: There's a scene where two teenaged boys and Dido are on a sinking ship. Teenaged boy #1, the protagonist, gets the second boy secured to a barrel and gives him an oar and lowers him into the water first, since, as he says, "you're a Duke's nevvy." And then the protagonist and little Dido--the latter of whom can't swim--make do with a broken spar that they both cling to, as that's all that's left!

Not-so-minor quibbles aside, however, I did enjoy rereading the book, though I don't know how appealing it would be if it weren't so colored by nostalgia for me.

Final note: I recommend reading an edition illustrated by Robin Jacques, if you can find one. I was surprised when googling his name just how many of his illustrations--from this series and from numerous other books--had made a deep and lasting impression on me, and I think his art really enhances the story. show less