The Golden Cage

Abigail, a spoiled little rich girl, has everything she wants except company, so she decides to assuage her loneliness by capturing a songthrush and demanding that it sing for her every morning. When it refuses to, she assumes that this is because of dissatisfaction with its quarters, so she ensconces it in ever more sumptuous prisons until its steadfast silence drives her into a tantrum. Nemesis arrives in the form of an Hitchcockian visitation from vengeful squadrons of songbirds.

This is a very straightforward and readable story with a clear moral. Brown’s realistic paintings emphasise the wistfulness of the opening, the terror of the climax and the resignation of the conclusion. There is a lot here for younger readers to talk about, anticipate and enjoy.