The Rockingdown Mystery

A secret river threading sepulchral caverns under a ruined mansion house; a handsome young circus boy strolling the world with a monkey on his shoulder; a summer-long surfeit of icecream and fruit cake ... The skill with which the storyteller handles these powerful motifs is almost as striking as the sexism and the plastic plum dialogue of this intriguing adventure story. There is, of course, no need to recommend this book to anyone, except perhaps those teachers, librarians and parents who might otherwise disdain it. The mechanisms by which so many children are held in rapture are fascinating and well worth examining.