Hide and Seek

A sequel to I Spy, which was set in Bletchley Park at the beginning of the Second World War, this story takes us further into wartime, 1942, and features apprentice gardener Ned Letton, who was involved as a friend of Robyn’s in the first book.  Robyn and Mary do make an appearance, but it could quite easily be read as a standalone book. Ned and his mother are glad to get away from their unhappy home in Bletchley- Ned’s Dad tries to control them both, and Mum has started to stand up to him. Art teacher Mum’s new war work is with the paintings that were sent from the National Gallery to be hidden in a disused mine in Manod, Wales, and it is true that paintings were so hidden during the war. Ned and his Mum are billeted with a family in the schoolhouse: Headteacher Mrs Thomas is going blind, and has a lovely guide dog, Kip, who plays a big part in the adventure. Her son Harri is initially antagonistic towards Ned and refuses to let him share his bedroom, but Austrian Jewish refugee, nine-year-old Anni, who has a disconcerting habit of dropping into German occasionally, is more friendly. The locals are suspicious of the strangers, more so because the incomers have signed the Official Secrets Act and cannot say what they are doing in the old mine.

When a report appears in a Liverpool newspaper about ‘paintings hidden in a cave’ everyone is under suspicion for having leaked secret information, and Ned vows to keep his eyes open, but that part of the mystery is never solved. It must have been very difficult in those troubled times to know who to trust, and Ned‘s subsequent adventures find him making right and wrong decisions, but he and Harri become friends. Eventually the local people accept him, even grumpy Mrs-Davies-in-the-shop, and his initiative for a Picture of the Month to be shown in the local chapel proves a great success, and makes the local people feel included in keeping the secret.

Some real people appear in this story: concert pianist Myra Hess did give free concerts, Mum’s friend Miriam Rothschild really was an influential and important person, and the National Gallery’s Picture of the Month was created by Kenneth Clark, later the presenter of the hugely successful TV series ‘Civilisation’: he appears in the mine as K, until his full name is revealed.  There really was a train crash during a blackout at Bletchley Station, and information about these real aspects of the story are given at the back of the book.

David Dean’s cover and chapter head illustrations give just the right period flavour to the book, and this is an exciting historical story for young secondary readers.