The Devil and His Boy

Rating:
Summary: Elizabethan Skullduggery
Review: "The Devil and His Boy" is an entertaining adventure for readers who enjoy such works as "The Shakespeare Stealer." In fact, the basic plot is very similar: peasant boy from a small town finds himself in London due to mysterious or treacherous circumstances that lead him to the theater where he soon finds himself a player, pursued by a rogue who would do him harm. While "The Shakespeare Stealer" deals with the specifics of theft and deception in regard to playscripts in the Elizabethan theater, "The Devil and His Boy" deals with a broader plot involving the political doings of the time. The broader nature of the plot makes the book somewhat less successful since Horowitz doesn't provide the detail necessary for the reader to get any real sense of the struggle between England and Spain, or any overhanging threat to Elizabeth and England. What Horowitz does do is provide a very good picture of the Elizabethan underworld, including a particularly unsavory character who lends a whole new perspective to street beggars. Still, a fun yarn for anyone looking for more adventure in the world of the Wooden "O".

Rating:
Summary: Hey...Sub-Par...
Review: 1. Children's books represent some of the best literature in the world.

2. If you are above children's books, you had better go back to school to learn how to spell. Get a personal editor.

Rating:
Summary: Witty and thrilling, a superb historical novel from Horowitz
Review: After such great children's books as 'Granny', 'Groosham Grange' and 'The Switch', Anthony Horowitz has now turned to the Elizabethan age for his latest work. Packed full of wonderful description of the period, which he obviously researched superbly, this book will transform any child's perception of what they may have thought of as a boring period in history. It brings the time and the characters of the time (including Queen Elizabeth herself and Shakespeare!) to life and makes them seem fun and interesting in much the same way as 'Shakespeare in Love' did at the cinemas recently. The characters are brilliantly depicted and children will identify with both Tom and Moll as well as laugh at some of the great villains and revolting adults that Horowitz is so good at creating. I have recently read the story to my Year 6 class (11 year olds) and I could not get them to go home! They always wanted me to read on and adored every minute of it. Probably Horowitz's best book yet - many of the children certainly thought so. Extremely well written and reminiscent of Dickens at times. We successfully turned the story into a play, which we performed at school at the end of July 1999 - it made a wonderful play too! Someone should make a film of this book! Horowitz is truly the master of children's fiction today.

Also recommended: Other Horowitz classics - 'Granny' 'Groosham Grange' 'The Unholy Grail' 'The Switch' 'The Falcon's Malteser' 'South by SouthEast' 'Public Enemy Number Two'

Rating:
Summary: Sub-Par
Review: I found this book disapointing. [Of course, its pretty pathetic that I'm reading children's books to begin with, but thats another matter.] Anyway, I think that the author exploited the Elizabethan setting, exagerating some aspects to the point of caraciture, but presenting nothing truely horrifying. It seemed so unhistorical, I was suprised to find out how much of the story the author "based on fact." He treated the themes of morality and honesty very lightly; the character Molly was a thief out of necesity, but the real hero unrealisticly and sanctimoniously refused to turn to crime. And the ending was predictable.
Read Susan Cooper's King of Shadows instead.

Rating:
Summary: The Devil and His Boy
Review: The Devil and His Boy

This story begins in the small town of Framlingham, where young Tom Falconer is cruelly treated by Sebastion and Henrietta Slope, the owners of the Pigs Head Inn. Tom Falconer is an unhappy young man who isn't having any luck in life. However, this rapidly changes when a mysterious man arrives at the inn and demands that he take Tom back to London. After a short struggle they are both on horseback and on the path to London but trouble is not far off. They soon encounter a masked criminal, Gamaliel Ratsey, who promptly murders Tom's rescuer and would have murdered Tom if he hadn't quickly rode out of sight on the horse.
After the attack Tom finds himself on the streets of London starving and without money. He soon finds himself a home however, when he is recruited by Dr. Mobius to play a part in his play, The Devil and His Boy. He lives and rehearses on a weather-beaten boat with the troupe of actors who call themselves the Garden Players. He is sure he is being left in the dark, that there is something Dr. Mobius isn't telling him, and his suspicions are confirmed when an unknown man appears on the boat and makes some kind of deal with Dr. Mobius. Tom soon finds out that the play is to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth of England and he allows himself to dream of riches and glory. Unfortunately, Tom has no idea that the play he will perform is actually the beginning of a dark plot of destruction set by Dr. Mobius himself!
I believe that the two major themes in this book are those of morality and honesty. However, these two themes are touched on very lightly. Crime is a common thing on the streets of London and Tom is pressured several times into a life of thievery. His best friend while in London is Moll Cutpurse, who herself is a master pickpocket. While he stays with her they often go to places full of criminals who brag of the riches they have accumulated through treachery. This is a strong temptation for young Tom but he stays with what he knows is right in his heart and becomes an actor, one of the few things that makes him happy.
Honesty is also a theme that is present in this book. When Tom first decides to join the Garden Players he doesn't know if he should trust Dr. Mobius or the other actors. He is very suspicious especially when Dr. Mobius goes into several fits of anger. I think morality could tie into this too because his good sense of morality tells him that these people were not to be trusted.
Overall, I think this book does an excellent job of portraying a plot that keeps you on your toes and shows how a good sense of morality can do a lot for a person. Also, a large amount of information in this book is actual fact and many characters were real people. This puts a bit of English history into a fascinating plot, which showed that a little imagination can go a long way.

Rating:
Summary: The Devil and His Boy
Review: The Devil and His Boy

This story begins in the small town of Framlingham, where young Tom Falconer is cruelly treated by Sebastion and Henrietta Slope, the owners of the Pigs Head Inn. Tom Falconer is an unhappy young man who isn't having any luck in life. However, this rapidly changes when a mysterious man arrives at the inn and demands that he take Tom back to London. After a short struggle they are both on horseback and on the path to London but trouble is not far off. They soon encounter a masked criminal, Gamaliel Ratsey, who promptly murders Tom's rescuer and would have murdered Tom if he hadn't quickly rode out of sight on the horse.
After the attack Tom finds himself on the streets of London starving and without money. He soon finds himself a home however, when he is recruited by Dr. Mobius to play a part in his play, The Devil and His Boy. He lives and rehearses on a weather-beaten boat with the troupe of actors who call themselves the Garden Players. He is sure he is being left in the dark, that there is something Dr. Mobius isn't telling him, and his suspicions are confirmed when an unknown man appears on the boat and makes some kind of deal with Dr. Mobius. Tom soon finds out that the play is to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth of England and he allows himself to dream of riches and glory. Unfortunately, Tom has no idea that the play he will perform is actually the beginning of a dark plot of destruction set by Dr. Mobius himself!
I believe that the two major themes in this book are those of morality and honesty. However, these two themes are touched on very lightly. Crime is a common thing on the streets of London and Tom is pressured several times into a life of thievery. His best friend while in London is Moll Cutpurse, who herself is a master pickpocket. While he stays with her they often go to places full of criminals who brag of the riches they have accumulated through treachery. This is a strong temptation for young Tom but he stays with what he knows is right in his heart and becomes an actor, one of the few things that makes him happy.
Honesty is also a theme that is present in this book. When Tom first decides to join the Garden Players he doesn't know if he should trust Dr. Mobius or the other actors. He is very suspicious especially when Dr. Mobius goes into several fits of anger. I think morality could tie into this too because his good sense of morality tells him that these people were not to be trusted.
Overall, I think this book does an excellent job of portraying a plot that keeps you on your toes and shows how a good sense of morality can do a lot for a person. Also, a large amount of information in this book is actual fact and many characters were real people. This puts a bit of English history into a fascinating plot, which showed that a little imagination can go a long way.

Rating:
Summary: THe Devil and his boy
Review: This Book is terrific. It is a thrilling and advenurous story. I have never read a better book. It is about a boy who wants to be in a play but his parents are dreadfully mean and wont let him.His real parents are the King and Queen of england but noone but the queen knows. He sneaks away from his Guardians and gets tied up with the most sinister and pulverizing murders in all of London. This is deafinatly a great book and once you start reading this book you won't be able to stop reading. It will keep you asking for more. I really liked this book, and I hope u do to.