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"Leon Garfield is unmatched for sheer, exciting storytelling." --Lloyd Alexander
This brilliant, picaresque novel follows the adventures of an illiterate young ragamuffin known only as Smith. Smith picks the pocket of a stranger, only to witness immediately the strangers murder. Smiths booty from the theft is an Important Document, no doubt worth quite a lot to somebody, which is proved by the pursuit of Smith by two very shady characters. Smith artfully dodges them and winds up in the odd company of a wealthy blind man, who takes Smith into his home and provides him with an education. But this new comfort is lost when Smith himself is suspected of the very murder he witnessed. Smith was a Boston Globe--Horn Book Honor Book, winner of the Phoenix Award, and a Carnegie Honor Book.
This brilliant, picaresque novel follows the adventures of an illiterate young ragamuffin known only as Smith. Smith picks the pocket of a stranger, only to witness immediately the strangers murder. Smiths booty from the theft is an Important Document, no doubt worth quite a lot to somebody, which is proved by the pursuit of Smith by two very shady characters. Smith artfully dodges them and winds up in the odd company of a wealthy blind man, who takes Smith into his home and provides him with an education. But this new comfort is lost when Smith himself is suspected of the very murder he witnessed. Smith was a Boston Globe--Horn Book Honor Book, winner of the Phoenix Award, and a Carnegie Honor Book.
268 pages
First published January 1, 1967
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826 people want to read
About the author
Leon Garfield
120 books49 followersLeon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
October 23, 2013
Stand and deliver…
"A rat was like a snail beside Smith, and the most his thousand victims ever got of him was the powerful whiff of his passing and a cold draught in their dexterously emptied pockets."
Smith is a twelve-year old pickpocket surviving by his wits in the London of the 18th century. But one day Smith picks the pocket of an elderly man and as he runs away, he sees the man being attacked and killed. Running for fear that he will be caught and accused of this much worse crime, Smith has to wait to find out what he managed to steal – a document, clearly official, but that’s as much as he can tell since he can’t read. But Smith knows documents are worth money and he’s determined to find out what it says…
This book is always marketed as if for children and it certainly is suitable for any child from about ten or eleven, I’d say. But it is also entirely suitable for adult consumption and very enjoyable. Who wouldn’t enjoy a story about pickpockets, highwaymen, mysterious documents and murder? Like Treasure Island or the Quatermain books, this is complex and well written enough to satisfy even a demanding adult, while having enough excitement and adventure to appeal to a younger audience. And, because of its historical setting, it hasn’t suffered from age.
Garfield’s skill is in creating an entirely believable setting and filling it with interesting characters – sympathetic good guys, villainous bad guys and several that fall somewhere between the two. Smith himself is a mixture of hard-nosed thief who will do anything to survive and soft-hearted child who can’t stop himself from helping Mr Mansfield, a blind gentleman whom he meets by accident while on his quest to learn to read. Mr Mansfield is a man who believes in law and justice but who gradually learns the meaning of trust and pity, while his daughter devotes herself to protecting him from anyone who might wish to take advantage of his blindness or good-nature. Together with Smith’s sisters and Lord Tom, the highwayman, all the characters are slightly caricatured in the way Dickens’ characters are.
And the Dickens comparison extends to the setting – this London, its streets and jails, its dirt and poverty, and the heaths around it where the highwaymen ruled could have come straight from the pages of the master himself. But, unlike Dickens’ little pickpocket Oliver Twist, Smith is not sickeningly good – he’s more of an Artful Dodger, trained by the circumstances of his life to rely on his own wits to survive. The one concession Garfield makes to a younger readership is to keep the language simpler than Dickens, making this an easier and shorter read, but without ever condescending or patronising the reader. But the simpler language still allows room for some great writing and imagery…
"Even great ladies came and went – their huge skirts swinging and pealing down the doleful passages like so many brocaded bells, tolling:
What a pity. What a shame. Dick’s to die on Tuesday week. What a pity. What a shame. Poor Mr Mulrone."
I first read this book many years ago and am often reluctant to re-read a book that I remember with pleasure in case it doesn’t live up to my memories. In this case, I enjoyed it just as much again and look forward to reading more of Garfield’s work. Highly recommended to young and old alike.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, NYR Children’s Collection.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
"A rat was like a snail beside Smith, and the most his thousand victims ever got of him was the powerful whiff of his passing and a cold draught in their dexterously emptied pockets."
Smith is a twelve-year old pickpocket surviving by his wits in the London of the 18th century. But one day Smith picks the pocket of an elderly man and as he runs away, he sees the man being attacked and killed. Running for fear that he will be caught and accused of this much worse crime, Smith has to wait to find out what he managed to steal – a document, clearly official, but that’s as much as he can tell since he can’t read. But Smith knows documents are worth money and he’s determined to find out what it says…
This book is always marketed as if for children and it certainly is suitable for any child from about ten or eleven, I’d say. But it is also entirely suitable for adult consumption and very enjoyable. Who wouldn’t enjoy a story about pickpockets, highwaymen, mysterious documents and murder? Like Treasure Island or the Quatermain books, this is complex and well written enough to satisfy even a demanding adult, while having enough excitement and adventure to appeal to a younger audience. And, because of its historical setting, it hasn’t suffered from age.
Garfield’s skill is in creating an entirely believable setting and filling it with interesting characters – sympathetic good guys, villainous bad guys and several that fall somewhere between the two. Smith himself is a mixture of hard-nosed thief who will do anything to survive and soft-hearted child who can’t stop himself from helping Mr Mansfield, a blind gentleman whom he meets by accident while on his quest to learn to read. Mr Mansfield is a man who believes in law and justice but who gradually learns the meaning of trust and pity, while his daughter devotes herself to protecting him from anyone who might wish to take advantage of his blindness or good-nature. Together with Smith’s sisters and Lord Tom, the highwayman, all the characters are slightly caricatured in the way Dickens’ characters are.
And the Dickens comparison extends to the setting – this London, its streets and jails, its dirt and poverty, and the heaths around it where the highwaymen ruled could have come straight from the pages of the master himself. But, unlike Dickens’ little pickpocket Oliver Twist, Smith is not sickeningly good – he’s more of an Artful Dodger, trained by the circumstances of his life to rely on his own wits to survive. The one concession Garfield makes to a younger readership is to keep the language simpler than Dickens, making this an easier and shorter read, but without ever condescending or patronising the reader. But the simpler language still allows room for some great writing and imagery…
"Even great ladies came and went – their huge skirts swinging and pealing down the doleful passages like so many brocaded bells, tolling:
What a pity. What a shame. Dick’s to die on Tuesday week. What a pity. What a shame. Poor Mr Mulrone."
I first read this book many years ago and am often reluctant to re-read a book that I remember with pleasure in case it doesn’t live up to my memories. In this case, I enjoyed it just as much again and look forward to reading more of Garfield’s work. Highly recommended to young and old alike.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, NYR Children’s Collection.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
September 25, 2024
An incident-packed tale of Georgian London life told with all Leon Garfield’s Dickensian flair and vigour. Our titular hero, “Smith. ‘Unted, ‘ounded, ‘omeless, and part gin-sodden. Smith. Twelve years old. That’s me. Very small, but wiry, as they say. Dark ‘aired and lately residing in the Red Lion Tavern off Saffron ‘ill. Smith.” Witnessing the murder of an old gentleman whose pockets he had just relieved of their contents (“Smith was only twelve and, hangings apart, had seen no more than three men murdered in all his life”), Smith finds himself caught up in a series of escapades that take him to the comfortable household of a blind magistrate to Newgate prison, and a snowy chase across London to Finchley Common, the haunt of highwaymen and other ne’er-do-wells. Garfield is a master of plot and atmosphere (greatly assisted in the latter by the marvellous illustrations of Anthony Maitland), and reading the book is a totally immersive experience of the best kind. It’s also a window into another world in the way of the best historical fiction.
January 30, 2011
Loved it. Gripping mystery, lively history, likeable complicated young hero. Set in dreary old London, with lots of poverty and crime, and every word builds the scene and captures the mood. It's fun to read aloud - the words feel good on the tongue - but young readers might huddle over it quietly, whipping through the pages, eager to know what happens next. A modern classic.
May 21, 2015
It is too bad that I didn't know about this book when my son was young, I think he would have enjoyed it. Smith is a twelve year old London urchin obtains a mysterious document and witnesses a murder. He learns to read, finds out who his real friends are and discovers what the document says while teaching a blind judge something about justice.
February 17, 2016
Review Title: Small classic
Imagine a 12 year old boy who picks pockets for a living in Dickens's London of ill weather, low haunts, and upper class society all sharing the same crowded streets of the City. Seconds after picking the pocket of his latest victim, he ducks into a side alley and overhears the brutal murder of the man, by a pair of brown-suited thugs in search of something the man no longer has. Smith, the young pickpocket, realizes he has just stolen the thing which the grown men were willing to murder to obtain, and in short order deduces that this thing is of great value but also puts him at great risk if he was observed in the act of picking the man's pocket by such murderous men who would certainly stop at nothing to get the thing back. He returns to his humble dwelling which he shares with two older sisters intent on finding out what he has and figuring out a way to profit from it. Pulling out the prize he realizes it is a document--and neither Smith nor sisters can read!
With this gripping premise Leon Garfield takes off on a thrill ride from those low streets to high society to Newgate Jail and the shadow of the hanging tree. What would you do if it were you? Getting someone to read the document so you can figure out how to use it to better your low lot in life may mean disclosing the method by which you obtained it and expose you to discovery by the killers. Smith goes through a great range of options each of which seems promising and all of which seem to end in disaster. But Garfield keeps the reader guessing which direction each encounter will take, with a sharp eye for quick description, conversational dialogue, and immediate action.
As you might guess by the publisher, Garfield in 1967 when he originally wrote Smith was mining the same territory later worked by the Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter series: treat young readers with respect and engage their intellect and emotions. It is a powerful formula for success, and rewards even older readers who appreciate the quality of the story despite the lack of "adult" material. Mind you, Garfield describes dirty streets and unwholesome characters without flinching. While he doesn't describe graphic horror or use vulgar language, he still tells a tale where people do wrong, are treated wrongly, and pay for their faults (and virtues) without expecting a level of justice and fair play that doesn't exist in the real world.
At about 200 pages it can easily be read in a day or two, and indeed will interest you enough to pick it up and read ahead as fast as you can to find out what happens. Much does happen, and Garfield pulls the reader along with his crisp style. Obviously the reader embraces Smith and wants him to succeed (and survive when it seems likely he will not), and it is clear that Garfield wants us to like his characters despite or even because of their flaws. As a young reader coming to this book, you would realize that, like most everyone you know in real life, these characters, the good and the bad, have virtues and flaws sometimes in equal amounts and not always on the side of the ledger where you want them to be.
I was recommended and given this book by a neighbor while living and working in London who knew my love for reading, Dickens, history, and London, and I was not disappointed. Nor will you be. London is here in its historical presence, channeling the low haunts of Dickens's Oliver Twist, and results in a small boy who is a great character in a small classic.
Imagine a 12 year old boy who picks pockets for a living in Dickens's London of ill weather, low haunts, and upper class society all sharing the same crowded streets of the City. Seconds after picking the pocket of his latest victim, he ducks into a side alley and overhears the brutal murder of the man, by a pair of brown-suited thugs in search of something the man no longer has. Smith, the young pickpocket, realizes he has just stolen the thing which the grown men were willing to murder to obtain, and in short order deduces that this thing is of great value but also puts him at great risk if he was observed in the act of picking the man's pocket by such murderous men who would certainly stop at nothing to get the thing back. He returns to his humble dwelling which he shares with two older sisters intent on finding out what he has and figuring out a way to profit from it. Pulling out the prize he realizes it is a document--and neither Smith nor sisters can read!
With this gripping premise Leon Garfield takes off on a thrill ride from those low streets to high society to Newgate Jail and the shadow of the hanging tree. What would you do if it were you? Getting someone to read the document so you can figure out how to use it to better your low lot in life may mean disclosing the method by which you obtained it and expose you to discovery by the killers. Smith goes through a great range of options each of which seems promising and all of which seem to end in disaster. But Garfield keeps the reader guessing which direction each encounter will take, with a sharp eye for quick description, conversational dialogue, and immediate action.
As you might guess by the publisher, Garfield in 1967 when he originally wrote Smith was mining the same territory later worked by the Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter series: treat young readers with respect and engage their intellect and emotions. It is a powerful formula for success, and rewards even older readers who appreciate the quality of the story despite the lack of "adult" material. Mind you, Garfield describes dirty streets and unwholesome characters without flinching. While he doesn't describe graphic horror or use vulgar language, he still tells a tale where people do wrong, are treated wrongly, and pay for their faults (and virtues) without expecting a level of justice and fair play that doesn't exist in the real world.
At about 200 pages it can easily be read in a day or two, and indeed will interest you enough to pick it up and read ahead as fast as you can to find out what happens. Much does happen, and Garfield pulls the reader along with his crisp style. Obviously the reader embraces Smith and wants him to succeed (and survive when it seems likely he will not), and it is clear that Garfield wants us to like his characters despite or even because of their flaws. As a young reader coming to this book, you would realize that, like most everyone you know in real life, these characters, the good and the bad, have virtues and flaws sometimes in equal amounts and not always on the side of the ledger where you want them to be.
I was recommended and given this book by a neighbor while living and working in London who knew my love for reading, Dickens, history, and London, and I was not disappointed. Nor will you be. London is here in its historical presence, channeling the low haunts of Dickens's Oliver Twist, and results in a small boy who is a great character in a small classic.
May 8, 2017
Read this at school. It is a wonderful story, heart-warming and funny. Follow Smith, the pickpocket, as he scrapes along the edge of life.
May 28, 2017
A good story in Dickensian style. Highly recommend
June 30, 2022
A highly enjoyable airplane read. The little good-hearted thief boy I prefer in disposition and fate to Oliver Twist, and I prefer Garfield's style (more like advanced, mature Dickens) to Dickens's in that early book of his. There is scarcely an uninteresting sentence in the entire book (I'm thinking of one in which snow melts into grubby holes like an old sheet), but as important are the satisfactions of the plot: moral soundness rewarded and villainy punished, the mysterious document revealed, a treasure unearthed, friendship and romance gained.
June 17, 2023
It’s very enjoyable, but Garfield hasn’t quite stumbled onto the formula that would make him a great. The first half of the book is very slow moving, and there could be a lot more plot going on to avoid some quite stodgy longeurs. He always would write books inspired by authors of past centuries, but he wouldn’t be quite so heavy on the pastiche as he is here. There are some great moments and set pieces but they tend to make it more frustrating for the sequences which don’t really match up to your expectations
June 9, 2020
Picaresque. That word does fit this story. A little Dickens with a dash of Horatio Alger and even a splash of melodrama. This does not read like a story that was written in the 1960s. It's more like the high adventure books that boys used to read in secret to the dismay of their pious mothers.
In the end, 'right rules.'
In the end, 'right rules.'
July 29, 2022
There are two ways of looking at this: 1967, when the book was first published, and the 2020s.
In the late 1960s/early 70s Smith was greatly admired by many of the literati who occasionally turned to look at children's fiction. Yes, they pointed out that it was derivative. It has Charles Dickens stamped all over it despite its being set in Georgian London. Set against that is Garfield's use of English. There are few holds barred when it comes to tussling with a young reader's literacy. These may have been the days before the internet, with instant answers available to the curious, Garfield simply assumes that any young reader with more than half a brain would ask someone knowledgeable, a schoolteacher would be ideal in those days, to explain a word or elaborate passage. If the teacher was anything like my revered Mr Caldicot he would talk me through it and then demand an essay on the subject to prove I had been listening.
To choose a passage at random. This is at the beginning of the story when Smith has made his way home to the cellar of the Red Lion Tavern, having witnessed a murder and stolen the document that will change his life:
“'Hullo, Smith! Not nubbed yet?'
Deep in thought, he ignored the landlord's pleasantry and made for the cellar steps. From below the tallows gleamed yellowly and cast strange shadows on the wall. He began to descend, when -
'Stand and deliver!'
A voice like twelve o'clock of St Paul's roared from the heart of the cellar! Smith started, missed a step, and came down the rest any way but on his feet!
A dangerous, glittering, murdering adventurer of a gentleman in green stood before him, aiming a pistol the scope of a cannon directly at his head! It was his friend, Lord Tom, the high toby, come on a sociable visit.”
This is Garfield saying, 'This is the way I write. Stick with it or go back to Enid Blyton.' I stuck with it and reaped a reward of many more immensely enjoyable books.
The plot is a decoy. Garfield loved stories of lost inheritance but here it is a long time before Smith realises he won his own lottery while undergoing pursuit by two underworld thugs, imprisonment in Newgate, the loss of friends along the way and threats to his own life. Some episodes are a little theatrical, Smith's escape from gaol is quite an achievement for an undernourished twelve-year-old and Lord Tom is straight out of pantomime, but they fall into a swinging flow of the tale and it is a tale that carries the reader along through adventure, humour and pathos. It was only runner-up for the Carnegie Medal having the misfortune to come up again Alan Garner's The Owl Service. It's debatable which was the better.
In the 2020s styles have changed. Garfield's language is far too ornate and literary, simply from an earlier time. The cast of characters is strictly white. Despite being set in the eighteenth-century there is not even a black servant in one of wealthier households. Slavery and plantation agriculture were dominant forms of income for the well-heeled, yet it and Black people may as well not have existed in Smith's world. Sexuality, where it exists at all, is strictly conventional. There is not even a gay comedy character. In fact, the whole of the story is conventionally 1960s in terms of inclusion. There are Londoners divided into rich and poor, honest and dishonest, and that has to do.
The story is firmly a boy's adventure though there are some strongly drawn female characters. Smith's older sisters, Fanny and Bridget stand out. They could have been presented as prostitutes with hearts of gold, but they are not. Fanny and Bridget are honest, hard-working young women who earn a short living repairing and altering the clothes of recently hanged villains and then reselling them. They are two of very few people who really care for Smith and his well being. Mr Mansfield's daughter is a cleverly drawn character. On the face of it a typically Dickensian angel of mercy caring for her blind father while ready to emotionally exploit the situation knowing that all her father is aware of is the sound of her voice. Her expressions tell the rest of the world how she grudges her lot in life. As women they work well to bolster the story but only in the background and often providing light relief rather than anything of significance.
The moral of the story that theft can pay in the end if your lucky is certainly still true in 2022, however, I think we like to feel that such concepts belong in the past and should not be advertised. For a 2022 reader the story would probably be seen as too old-fashioned for its own good and is best left to gather dust. Well, the 2022 reader is missing out.
In the late 1960s/early 70s Smith was greatly admired by many of the literati who occasionally turned to look at children's fiction. Yes, they pointed out that it was derivative. It has Charles Dickens stamped all over it despite its being set in Georgian London. Set against that is Garfield's use of English. There are few holds barred when it comes to tussling with a young reader's literacy. These may have been the days before the internet, with instant answers available to the curious, Garfield simply assumes that any young reader with more than half a brain would ask someone knowledgeable, a schoolteacher would be ideal in those days, to explain a word or elaborate passage. If the teacher was anything like my revered Mr Caldicot he would talk me through it and then demand an essay on the subject to prove I had been listening.
To choose a passage at random. This is at the beginning of the story when Smith has made his way home to the cellar of the Red Lion Tavern, having witnessed a murder and stolen the document that will change his life:
“'Hullo, Smith! Not nubbed yet?'
Deep in thought, he ignored the landlord's pleasantry and made for the cellar steps. From below the tallows gleamed yellowly and cast strange shadows on the wall. He began to descend, when -
'Stand and deliver!'
A voice like twelve o'clock of St Paul's roared from the heart of the cellar! Smith started, missed a step, and came down the rest any way but on his feet!
A dangerous, glittering, murdering adventurer of a gentleman in green stood before him, aiming a pistol the scope of a cannon directly at his head! It was his friend, Lord Tom, the high toby, come on a sociable visit.”
This is Garfield saying, 'This is the way I write. Stick with it or go back to Enid Blyton.' I stuck with it and reaped a reward of many more immensely enjoyable books.
The plot is a decoy. Garfield loved stories of lost inheritance but here it is a long time before Smith realises he won his own lottery while undergoing pursuit by two underworld thugs, imprisonment in Newgate, the loss of friends along the way and threats to his own life. Some episodes are a little theatrical, Smith's escape from gaol is quite an achievement for an undernourished twelve-year-old and Lord Tom is straight out of pantomime, but they fall into a swinging flow of the tale and it is a tale that carries the reader along through adventure, humour and pathos. It was only runner-up for the Carnegie Medal having the misfortune to come up again Alan Garner's The Owl Service. It's debatable which was the better.
In the 2020s styles have changed. Garfield's language is far too ornate and literary, simply from an earlier time. The cast of characters is strictly white. Despite being set in the eighteenth-century there is not even a black servant in one of wealthier households. Slavery and plantation agriculture were dominant forms of income for the well-heeled, yet it and Black people may as well not have existed in Smith's world. Sexuality, where it exists at all, is strictly conventional. There is not even a gay comedy character. In fact, the whole of the story is conventionally 1960s in terms of inclusion. There are Londoners divided into rich and poor, honest and dishonest, and that has to do.
The story is firmly a boy's adventure though there are some strongly drawn female characters. Smith's older sisters, Fanny and Bridget stand out. They could have been presented as prostitutes with hearts of gold, but they are not. Fanny and Bridget are honest, hard-working young women who earn a short living repairing and altering the clothes of recently hanged villains and then reselling them. They are two of very few people who really care for Smith and his well being. Mr Mansfield's daughter is a cleverly drawn character. On the face of it a typically Dickensian angel of mercy caring for her blind father while ready to emotionally exploit the situation knowing that all her father is aware of is the sound of her voice. Her expressions tell the rest of the world how she grudges her lot in life. As women they work well to bolster the story but only in the background and often providing light relief rather than anything of significance.
The moral of the story that theft can pay in the end if your lucky is certainly still true in 2022, however, I think we like to feel that such concepts belong in the past and should not be advertised. For a 2022 reader the story would probably be seen as too old-fashioned for its own good and is best left to gather dust. Well, the 2022 reader is missing out.
Read
October 9, 2025dickens for kids? presence of religion & law is interesting... writing style pleasantly literary... other than that not a standout for me
October 15, 2013
Murder, betrayal and daring...Garfield is as always, a special treat!
Leon Garfield has long been one of my favourite children's authors, so I lept at the chance to reread Smith. This is pure Dicksonian melodrama for a younger audience. A gift of talent indeed.
The depths of Eighteenth century London slums, where 'the houses reared and clustered as if to shut out the sky,' are no place for the soft or uninitiated. The very atmosphere weeds the weak from the strong, if not through illness and malnourishment, then by the preying on the unknowing. Surrounded by this miasma of complacent intent is Smith, a rapscallion street pickpocket who breezes through the most atrocious situations with an acceptance of life that amazes. Smith lives in the cellar of the Red Lion Inn with his two sisters who eke out a living makeover the gallows clothes of the condemned. They refer to Smith as 'dear Smut' and 'felonious child!' Half will-o-the-wisp, half trickster and with heart of gold, others might be downcast and resentful at their lot but not so young 'glass-half-full' Smith.
Garfield's language draws you in. I was grabbed from the first with utterances like, 'Smith's speed was remarkable...a rat was like a snail beside Smith.'
His descriptive use of phrase, the twists and turns and metaphors are a delight and are as twisty as the narrow streets and alleyways Smith inhabits.
12-year-old Smith's daily haunts, the atmosphere of the crowded, narrow, putrid streets come alive with brilliant imagery. Colourful images that contain a whiff of the overpowering smells and sounds. Language that gives sight and sound.
Smith's troubles begin when in a narrow lane he picks an elderly gentleman's pocket.
Hearing footsteps he blends back into the shadows and witnesses his mark being stabbed. Murdered! Escaping the scene he discovers that he has, not the valuables he was expecting but some sort of document. And therein lay the rub. Smith cannot read!
Ah, the mystery of the fatal,document leads Smith across the dark streets to new acquaintances, the depths of Newgate Prison, and onto Finchley Common with Lord Tom the highwayman. It's all mad dash and adventure, the tension seesawing from despair and anxiety to determination and hope, underlined by daring and courage.
I must say I had my heart in my mouth and the occasional tear in my eye!
The reread only strengthened my admiration.
A NetGalley ARC
Leon Garfield has long been one of my favourite children's authors, so I lept at the chance to reread Smith. This is pure Dicksonian melodrama for a younger audience. A gift of talent indeed.
The depths of Eighteenth century London slums, where 'the houses reared and clustered as if to shut out the sky,' are no place for the soft or uninitiated. The very atmosphere weeds the weak from the strong, if not through illness and malnourishment, then by the preying on the unknowing. Surrounded by this miasma of complacent intent is Smith, a rapscallion street pickpocket who breezes through the most atrocious situations with an acceptance of life that amazes. Smith lives in the cellar of the Red Lion Inn with his two sisters who eke out a living makeover the gallows clothes of the condemned. They refer to Smith as 'dear Smut' and 'felonious child!' Half will-o-the-wisp, half trickster and with heart of gold, others might be downcast and resentful at their lot but not so young 'glass-half-full' Smith.
Garfield's language draws you in. I was grabbed from the first with utterances like, 'Smith's speed was remarkable...a rat was like a snail beside Smith.'
His descriptive use of phrase, the twists and turns and metaphors are a delight and are as twisty as the narrow streets and alleyways Smith inhabits.
12-year-old Smith's daily haunts, the atmosphere of the crowded, narrow, putrid streets come alive with brilliant imagery. Colourful images that contain a whiff of the overpowering smells and sounds. Language that gives sight and sound.
Smith's troubles begin when in a narrow lane he picks an elderly gentleman's pocket.
Hearing footsteps he blends back into the shadows and witnesses his mark being stabbed. Murdered! Escaping the scene he discovers that he has, not the valuables he was expecting but some sort of document. And therein lay the rub. Smith cannot read!
Ah, the mystery of the fatal,document leads Smith across the dark streets to new acquaintances, the depths of Newgate Prison, and onto Finchley Common with Lord Tom the highwayman. It's all mad dash and adventure, the tension seesawing from despair and anxiety to determination and hope, underlined by daring and courage.
I must say I had my heart in my mouth and the occasional tear in my eye!
The reread only strengthened my admiration.
A NetGalley ARC
October 21, 2019
A classic story that isn't afraid to probe the underbelly of London.
October 17, 2013
I'll read almost anything from NYRB; they're a terrific publisher. Not too much of a surprise considering they mostly cherry-pick backlists. The latest release in their children's collection is SMITH: THE STORY OF A PICKPOCKET, a Carnegie Medal Honor book. Originally published in 1967, it is set back in the eighteenth century.
It's a little like Dickens for kids, except unlike A CHRISTMAS CAROL it isn't totally boring. (I love Dickens, but A CHRISTMAS CAROL is a total slog.) Smith is young, dirty, and stealing to survive. He lives with his two sisters, who make money sewing hanged men's clothing into new suits. Given that they live in a poor area, they're often sewing the clothes of old friends. Then, one day, Smith picks a man's pocket. Shortly after, he witnesses the man being murdered for his possessions. Smith has a document that two thugs want, and one big problem. He can't read. He has something worth something, finally, but he doesn't know what it is.
SMITH is a charming novel where goodness is rewarded and evil punished, but it takes a lot of work and effort to reach the happy ending. Smith's life is rough, and there is no magical way to make it better. He runs into a kindly, blind magistrate and his daughter who are a great help, but they cannot save Smith alone. Plus, Smith isn't blameless. He lies, and steals, and he has to learn empathy if he's going to be the good guy.
Leon Garfield does an excellent job at evoking the period. Well enough that SMITH is probably best saved for children who can have conversations about capital punishment, because there is a lot of execution going on. Other conversations about the period would probably be less fraught. And hey, this is a book where literacy is a matter of life and death. That's pretty cool.
I enjoyed SMITH quite a bit, and think this is one of those children's books that has strong appeal for adults. C'mon, it's about a thief who is friends with a highwayman and there are relentless henchman! It's a pulpy adventure, told in classic style. I may have to look up some of the rest of Garfield's extensive backlist.
It's a little like Dickens for kids, except unlike A CHRISTMAS CAROL it isn't totally boring. (I love Dickens, but A CHRISTMAS CAROL is a total slog.) Smith is young, dirty, and stealing to survive. He lives with his two sisters, who make money sewing hanged men's clothing into new suits. Given that they live in a poor area, they're often sewing the clothes of old friends. Then, one day, Smith picks a man's pocket. Shortly after, he witnesses the man being murdered for his possessions. Smith has a document that two thugs want, and one big problem. He can't read. He has something worth something, finally, but he doesn't know what it is.
SMITH is a charming novel where goodness is rewarded and evil punished, but it takes a lot of work and effort to reach the happy ending. Smith's life is rough, and there is no magical way to make it better. He runs into a kindly, blind magistrate and his daughter who are a great help, but they cannot save Smith alone. Plus, Smith isn't blameless. He lies, and steals, and he has to learn empathy if he's going to be the good guy.
Leon Garfield does an excellent job at evoking the period. Well enough that SMITH is probably best saved for children who can have conversations about capital punishment, because there is a lot of execution going on. Other conversations about the period would probably be less fraught. And hey, this is a book where literacy is a matter of life and death. That's pretty cool.
I enjoyed SMITH quite a bit, and think this is one of those children's books that has strong appeal for adults. C'mon, it's about a thief who is friends with a highwayman and there are relentless henchman! It's a pulpy adventure, told in classic style. I may have to look up some of the rest of Garfield's extensive backlist.
April 26, 2020
The great strength of this book is that it has a real 'whodunnit' plot tied up with crooked lawyers, highwaymen and secrets from the past. Set in nineteenth century London, there is quite a lot of unpacking to do with confident upper KS2 readers both in terms of the conventions of the age but also in the way in which Garfield writes which is so different to the way in which children's books are written today (first published 1967). 12 year old Smith inadvertently witnesses the murder of someone whose pocket he has just picked. The murderers were seeking what he had stolen so they begin a relentless pursuit of the boy. What he took was a document but neither he nor anyone he knows can read and he fails to persuade anyone to teach him. This fact in itself can lead to a very fruitful discussion. There are overtones of Oliver Twist (often the only reference point child readers have for the story) as Smith is taken into the house of a kindly gentleman before being betrayed (an ongoing motif of the story) and ending up in Newgate prison. The prison and the nature of prison and punishment in Victorian Britain is another theme to explore. Poor Smith is gradually let down by everyone but his noble spirit (at times perhaps implausibly so) and desperation to believe that the document holds the key to a better future keep him going and keep him making good decisions, helped by the odd coincidence. The final revealing of the plot twist comes right at the end after one of his betrayers, his good friend the highwayman Lord Tom, steps in to rescue him and in the end, the document does indeed prove life changing. A book that introduces children to a very wide range of vocabulary and holds interest right to the end because of the constant pressure of being caught by 'the men in brown' and the realisation that everyone is deserting him. This book deserves a higher profile!
April 29, 2014
I am very happy that The New York Review is taking classic books and giving them another opportunity to be introduced to a new generation of readers. The books are beautiful.
Smith is twelve and living in eighteenth century London. He is a pickpocket. He is quick and hard to catch. He takes pleasure in his skill and stealth.
One day his picks his mark and empties the older man's pockets. Immediately the man is set upon by two men wearing brown, he is killed and his body searched. The killers did not find what they were looking for. Smith discovers that he has not walked away with money, but with a document instead. The problem for Smith is that he doesn't know how to read.
Taking the document back to his home in the cellar of a tavern. He and his sisters decide to try to find out what is in the document. They are sure that it will lead to some kind of a pay off for pockets.
Turns out that the document brings more trouble than it's worth to Smith. He is chased and imprisoned.
This book is full of adventure. I loved that they author gave the reader the feel of an older century London. The hero is a young boy, who is barely surviving and lives using his wits. This is sure to catch the imagination of new readers.
I found myself caught up in the story and wondering what awaited Smith around the corner. He is deceived and betrayed, but still the young man uses his brain and outwits those around him.
The book has an older feel, it was originally published in 1967. The writing style has a more classic feel to it. Even thought the writing style is different than children read today, the book is easy to follow and understand.
Smith is twelve and living in eighteenth century London. He is a pickpocket. He is quick and hard to catch. He takes pleasure in his skill and stealth.
One day his picks his mark and empties the older man's pockets. Immediately the man is set upon by two men wearing brown, he is killed and his body searched. The killers did not find what they were looking for. Smith discovers that he has not walked away with money, but with a document instead. The problem for Smith is that he doesn't know how to read.
Taking the document back to his home in the cellar of a tavern. He and his sisters decide to try to find out what is in the document. They are sure that it will lead to some kind of a pay off for pockets.
Turns out that the document brings more trouble than it's worth to Smith. He is chased and imprisoned.
This book is full of adventure. I loved that they author gave the reader the feel of an older century London. The hero is a young boy, who is barely surviving and lives using his wits. This is sure to catch the imagination of new readers.
I found myself caught up in the story and wondering what awaited Smith around the corner. He is deceived and betrayed, but still the young man uses his brain and outwits those around him.
The book has an older feel, it was originally published in 1967. The writing style has a more classic feel to it. Even thought the writing style is different than children read today, the book is easy to follow and understand.
October 29, 2013
Smith was a twelve-year-old who during his time had survived smallpox, the consumption, brain-fever, jail-fever and even the hangman's rope. You see, Smith was a pickpocket, and he was the best, that is as far as pickpockets go. Each night he slithered and crept the streets looking for unwary victims. One particular chilly night an older gentleman caught Smith's eye. He cleverly brushed up against the man and was successful in lifting something from his pockets, but it wasn't money. Right after, two other pickpockets pounced on the man and killed him. Afterwards, they desperately searched the man for something that wasn't there. Smith then wondered what he had lifted that was worth a man's life. When he investigated, he discovered he had a letter, but unfortunately for Smith he couldn't read. His sisters Miss Bridget and Miss Fanny couldn't read the mysterious letter either, but that didn't stop them from offering up their suspicions of confessions or property deeds, neither of which Smith thought were it. Smith thought the best way to solve the mystery of the letter was to find someone to teach him to read. He wasn't very successful, at least not at first. How will Smith solve the mystery of the stolen letter?
Garfield has created a well written and well versed story of misfortune. The words weave a tale so eloquently that readers will become engaged, intrigued and mesmerized by the verbiage that is representative of classic literature. Parents, teachers and children of all ages will enjoy this story, best read aloud by a warm fire or moonlight.
Garfield has created a well written and well versed story of misfortune. The words weave a tale so eloquently that readers will become engaged, intrigued and mesmerized by the verbiage that is representative of classic literature. Parents, teachers and children of all ages will enjoy this story, best read aloud by a warm fire or moonlight.
October 29, 2017
A story that left an everlasting imprint!
Some good things are just imprinted on your mind.
I read the first chapter of the book as a part of my course, when I was six or seven . The image of a pickpocket, the old suburbs of London, and the whole notion of romanticism of the past really captivated my mind. I always wondered what happened after the first chapter.
What happened to Smith? Did he meet a good end?
Over time I even forgot the name of the book. I just remembered that it was about a pickpocket.
When a got older it remained buried in some dark and dusty corner and nook of my mind. But once, as if on a whim, I set upon to find the name of the book.
And by God I'm so happy that I found it.
By the time I finished it, I had laughed and smiled many a times. I am 22, and it made me smile and laugh without any of the stupid sexual innuendos that you see nowadays. I was sad at Smith's plight and I was tickled when I read his musings. And the descriptions of the Old London; it seems as if Mr. Garfield has painted a picture on a canvas, in so simple words. I am just amazed that why this book got none of the attention it deserved.
In short- Oh boy, it was a delight to read!
Some good things are just imprinted on your mind.
I read the first chapter of the book as a part of my course, when I was six or seven . The image of a pickpocket, the old suburbs of London, and the whole notion of romanticism of the past really captivated my mind. I always wondered what happened after the first chapter.
What happened to Smith? Did he meet a good end?
Over time I even forgot the name of the book. I just remembered that it was about a pickpocket.
When a got older it remained buried in some dark and dusty corner and nook of my mind. But once, as if on a whim, I set upon to find the name of the book.
And by God I'm so happy that I found it.
By the time I finished it, I had laughed and smiled many a times. I am 22, and it made me smile and laugh without any of the stupid sexual innuendos that you see nowadays. I was sad at Smith's plight and I was tickled when I read his musings. And the descriptions of the Old London; it seems as if Mr. Garfield has painted a picture on a canvas, in so simple words. I am just amazed that why this book got none of the attention it deserved.
In short- Oh boy, it was a delight to read!
December 12, 2013
WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS
Smith by Leon Garfield is and exciting novel about a young man named smith. Smith is a 12-year-old pickpocket set in a Victorian London esque town. After pickpocketing an elderly man Smith runs to the street in hopes to find a getaway route, but is instead is trapped. He whirls around expecting to find his victim but instead witnesses the elderly man getting murdered by two other men. Smith terrified and watching from the shadows watches the two men plunder the body with no avail. What has smith stolen from the elder to cause his death? After consulting with his sisters they agree on telling no one.
Leon Garfield writes a fun fast paced novel. My favorite part was when the elderly man was murdered “The taller one came at the man from the front and the smaller from the back – and slid a knife into it” This reminds me of watching CSI with my parents and watching the fear in the victims eyes as they’re body is introduced to a knife.
If you like Sherlock homes or old style writing I would definitely recommend this book to you. If mystery, social issues or crime books is your genre then I recommend this Book
Smith by Leon Garfield is and exciting novel about a young man named smith. Smith is a 12-year-old pickpocket set in a Victorian London esque town. After pickpocketing an elderly man Smith runs to the street in hopes to find a getaway route, but is instead is trapped. He whirls around expecting to find his victim but instead witnesses the elderly man getting murdered by two other men. Smith terrified and watching from the shadows watches the two men plunder the body with no avail. What has smith stolen from the elder to cause his death? After consulting with his sisters they agree on telling no one.
Leon Garfield writes a fun fast paced novel. My favorite part was when the elderly man was murdered “The taller one came at the man from the front and the smaller from the back – and slid a knife into it” This reminds me of watching CSI with my parents and watching the fear in the victims eyes as they’re body is introduced to a knife.
If you like Sherlock homes or old style writing I would definitely recommend this book to you. If mystery, social issues or crime books is your genre then I recommend this Book
March 11, 2020
This book has all the elements of a classic, which is what it has become. I don't need to defend that view particularly - the book was written in the 1960s and it is still being read today, so clearly generations have loved this children's book.
Smith is a London pick pocket in the 18th century. He has made it to the age of 12 without being caught or otherwise killed, but then one night death pays a visit close to him as he witnesses the murder of the man he pick pocketted some 15 seconds earlier. Unwittingly Smith has stolen the very document the murderers would kill for and events tumble headlong towards their inevitable and wonderful conclusion. On the way there is a good deal of humour and intrigue, and the book is very readable.
Because it was written in the 1960s this book does show its age a little in the style of writing. Nevertheless in this story, that perhaps adds something to the setting. There were a few inconsistencies in the style (particularly the cockney dialect used), but despite a few blemishes this is a book that children aged 9 or 10 upwards could really get into and enjoy. It also does not disappoint adult readers.
Smith is a London pick pocket in the 18th century. He has made it to the age of 12 without being caught or otherwise killed, but then one night death pays a visit close to him as he witnesses the murder of the man he pick pocketted some 15 seconds earlier. Unwittingly Smith has stolen the very document the murderers would kill for and events tumble headlong towards their inevitable and wonderful conclusion. On the way there is a good deal of humour and intrigue, and the book is very readable.
Because it was written in the 1960s this book does show its age a little in the style of writing. Nevertheless in this story, that perhaps adds something to the setting. There were a few inconsistencies in the style (particularly the cockney dialect used), but despite a few blemishes this is a book that children aged 9 or 10 upwards could really get into and enjoy. It also does not disappoint adult readers.
August 28, 2014
This edition is a charming little book that is most tastefully illustrated.
Smith is a young boy who lives in appalling squalor and poverty in 17th-18th century London, who has a strong desire to improve his lot and that of his sisters. Although he's no saint, he does have lovely qualities such as pluck, sharp wits, quick learning, loyalty and good cheer which inspire strong friendships from a diverse range of people from a magistrate to a highwayman and a raft of people in between. There are some evil characters after Smith and it takes all his wits to survive in his world and ultimately succeed in his goal.
There are plenty of twists in this tale, and plenty of action and adventures to engage young minds. Some similarities to Stevenson's dark tales and to Dickens, both in setting and that we see more caricatures than fleshed out characters, are evident.
I loved reading about this lad and his harsh world redeemed by goodness at many levels of society. A heart-warming tale.
Smith is a young boy who lives in appalling squalor and poverty in 17th-18th century London, who has a strong desire to improve his lot and that of his sisters. Although he's no saint, he does have lovely qualities such as pluck, sharp wits, quick learning, loyalty and good cheer which inspire strong friendships from a diverse range of people from a magistrate to a highwayman and a raft of people in between. There are some evil characters after Smith and it takes all his wits to survive in his world and ultimately succeed in his goal.
There are plenty of twists in this tale, and plenty of action and adventures to engage young minds. Some similarities to Stevenson's dark tales and to Dickens, both in setting and that we see more caricatures than fleshed out characters, are evident.
I loved reading about this lad and his harsh world redeemed by goodness at many levels of society. A heart-warming tale.
April 29, 2017
The characters are excellent, the writing is good, I liked it. The period and the picture of London are a blast. The story gets too plotty and complicated for my taste. I could not enjoy the climax as much as I hoped, with too much frantic revelation going on, and too many characters.
There's a great intimacy between Smith and the friend he gains and loses more than once. The force of that was diluted with characters I didn't care about jumping in with plot twists that I didn't need. That stuff was more impersonal and generic, to me.
Smith and friend are wonderful characters. Miss Mansfield and Meg are good, too, but they're barely there toward the end. While I'd like the book to leave these folk more time to themselves, maybe if I read it again later, I won't be as bothered by hoping for scenes that aren't going to happen.
There's a great intimacy between Smith and the friend he gains and loses more than once. The force of that was diluted with characters I didn't care about jumping in with plot twists that I didn't need. That stuff was more impersonal and generic, to me.
Smith and friend are wonderful characters. Miss Mansfield and Meg are good, too, but they're barely there toward the end. While I'd like the book to leave these folk more time to themselves, maybe if I read it again later, I won't be as bothered by hoping for scenes that aren't going to happen.
November 17, 2012
A mystery and adventure full of thrilling chases and treacherous betrayal with a detailed glimpse into the lower classes of 18th century London.
Smith picks a man's pocket then watches as two men in brown murder the gentleman to get the document he now has. On the run from the men in brown and their one legged confederate Smith needs to figure out why this document is worth a man's life. The problem...Smith can't read!
Smith picks a man's pocket then watches as two men in brown murder the gentleman to get the document he now has. On the run from the men in brown and their one legged confederate Smith needs to figure out why this document is worth a man's life. The problem...Smith can't read!
February 2, 2015
An intriguing tale of murder set among the poor of 18th century London. We have a cast of rather Dickensian characters set 100 years before Dickens himself was writing- judges, highwaymen, pickpockets set in the pubs and alleys surrounding St Pauls. Leon Garfield didn't set out to write children's books, he wanted to write family novels- a novel readable and enjoyable to all- I think he well succeeded with Smith.
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
August 24, 2014
I read this book when it first came out. An illiterate pickpocket and artful dodger type has come into the possession of a document which other men are willing to kill for. He needs to learn to read and decipher it before they catch up to him. I thought this would make an excellent film and am surprised that no one has picked it up yet.
August 27, 2018
Haven't read any Leon Garfield since I was about 10. Loved him then. Lots of atmosphere, great imagery, fab vocab (makes you think about why kids struggle to express themselves now!) Get rid of potential giggles at names like Dick and Fanny and words like prick and gay which modern writers would avoid in their earlier use and this is a cracking story. Read in 2 goes. Black Jack soon...
March 14, 2025
7/10
written late '60s, rip roaring adventure in jamaica inn/treasure island/Ruby Dust vein about street urchin who befriends rich man.
Oliver Twisty, Old Landan taan, mate. Possibly a touch overwritten. Either that or I was tired reading on holiday after taking my old limbs boogy boarding. A must read for any YA puffin lit fan (as I am)
written late '60s, rip roaring adventure in jamaica inn/treasure island/Ruby Dust vein about street urchin who befriends rich man.
Oliver Twisty, Old Landan taan, mate. Possibly a touch overwritten. Either that or I was tired reading on holiday after taking my old limbs boogy boarding. A must read for any YA puffin lit fan (as I am)
May 13, 2010
A fun London boyhood adventure read for people of all ages. I discovered it on the $1 rack at the library and initially, I bought it for the fab illustrations of St. Paul's but it's certainly a fun mystery book.
Its a nod to Oliver Twist.
Its a nod to Oliver Twist.
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