The Demon Headmaster

Lloyd and Harry Harvey worry that their new foster-sister Dinah will become one of "them" - the oddly well-behaved children at their school. Children who act in a strangely robotic fashion, and who when asked, will invariably respond "He (the headmaster) is a marvellous man and this is the best school I've ever been to"(31). Their concern seems warranted at first, as Dinah appears to fall into step with the majority. But no one, not Lloyd and Harvey, not their small group of misfit friends, and certainly not the headmaster, counted on Dinah's stubborn streak, and it soon emerges that the headmaster is using hypnotism to control the students and teachers. But to what end?

This is an interesting exploration, in school-story format, of the show more conflict between order and freedom. The headmaster's motto: "The man who can keep order can rule the world," is as succinct an expression of this polar antagonism as the novel achieves. Despite its philosophical underpinnings however, I found that I didn't really enjoy The Demon Headmaster as a story. The characters felt a little flat, and I couldn't work up any sense of excitement or suspense. This may be one of those titles that doesn't translate well for adults. show less

I have loved this book since primary school, and still love it rereading it in my thirties. Mostly for really self indulgent reasons - a girl hero who is a genius at maths! A story of how a family adapts to having a foster kid turn up! A school where the headmaster can control you with hypnosis and punish you terribly if you misbehave! The bravery of doing the right thing even when you know you and those you love will be hurt for it! I also think it's really nicely crafted - tightly plotted, and really page turning. Obviously a book I adore because I read it at just the right time, but I did, and I do.

A middle grade adventure about a girl with above-average smarts moving into a foster home with two boys who can't seem to stay out of trouble at their school. She's skeptical at first at their seemingly wild stories about how wicked the headmaster is, but she soon discovers the truth of it. They finally work together to discover what the evil man is up to and then try to come up with a plan to stop his insane plans.
A fun story with equally fun characters and a plot that would keep even reluctant young readers engaged. I'd definitely recommend this one to all sorts of kiddos.

I read this in primary school and it's stuck with me ever since; I was delighted a couple of years back to discover there were sequels and even more delighted today to discover my friends' son head-deep reading the original. When he'd finished I got to re-read and was even more delighted to discover that it was just as good (though a much quicker read!) as I remembered.

It was also fascinating to read the "Headmaster is a marvellous man" line which I'd forgotten, and realise I'd written something very similar into a short story just a few years ago. Funny how the brain works!

Now, just as the first time I read it, I'm frustrated that Dinah couldn't have just... turned the tape player on and then taken her hand out of her pocket. But other show more than that the kid characters make a pretty good job of figuring out things to try, and their failures (and successes) are believable. show less

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I enjoyed this children's story of sinister headmaster with supernatural powers planning to Take Over The World, a blended family, commentary on children's TV game shows, and knowing winks to Nineteen Eighty-four.

i thought this book was afantastic read it kept me gripped for hours

Note - there is an error here. The book from which have read off ISBN 0141303697 is in fact "Goodnight Mr Tom, in an NFR promotional edition