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Bannermere #4
Black Banner Abroad
Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
40 people want to read
About the author
Geoffrey Trease
173 books25 followersRobert Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 (Bows Against the Barons) and 1997 (Cloak for a Spy). His work has been translated into 20 languages. His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences towards Trease's work.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 3, 2016
My favourite Black Banner book, and by a lovely coincidence I have just re-read it on the day my husband is travelling overland to the South of France - just as Bill and Penny and the rest do here (although he is going by coach not train). It's also not so long since I travelled across France by train myself, and I completely share their view about the first stretch of the journey - it's just like England, but with different trees.
In this story, the two Winthwaite schools send a contingent to the South of France to perform two open-air productions of Romeo and Juliet. There is all the excitement (and tedium) of the long journey ('two nights in trains!'); we meet the French family Bill and Tim are boarding with, and find how different French family life is to English family life; we share their impressions of the colour, heat and brilliance of Provence.
Of course, if this were all the story was about, it would be interesting enough in an educational sort of way, but not exactly gripping. But this is Geoffrey Trease so it is much, much more than this. The story starts right back in Bannerdale, with a farm labourer's heavy conscience about something he did in France during the war. His story - a dramatic and touching one - gives Bill, Tim, Susan and Penny some detective work to do before they go, and again in France, in between the rehearsals and the French meals. And I defy you keep a dry eye at the end.
In this story, the two Winthwaite schools send a contingent to the South of France to perform two open-air productions of Romeo and Juliet. There is all the excitement (and tedium) of the long journey ('two nights in trains!'); we meet the French family Bill and Tim are boarding with, and find how different French family life is to English family life; we share their impressions of the colour, heat and brilliance of Provence.
Of course, if this were all the story was about, it would be interesting enough in an educational sort of way, but not exactly gripping. But this is Geoffrey Trease so it is much, much more than this. The story starts right back in Bannerdale, with a farm labourer's heavy conscience about something he did in France during the war. His story - a dramatic and touching one - gives Bill, Tim, Susan and Penny some detective work to do before they go, and again in France, in between the rehearsals and the French meals. And I defy you keep a dry eye at the end.
September 23, 2016
4.5
This series gets better and better as it goes on.
This series gets better and better as it goes on.
December 24, 2016
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Since they are somewhat hard to find, I am having to read the Bannermere books out of order. Though my last review from this series was of the second book, today's review focuses on the fourth, Black Banner Abroad. Excitement abounds for Bill, Sue, Tim, and Penny when it is announced that their schools will travel to France to present Romeo and Juliet for a French school group. Before the trip departs, the four are given a seemingly impossible task by a simple local man called Willy the Waller. He wants them to seek out a woman who helped him during the war and repay for him an old debt, but his memories are spotty at best, and the kids are unsure whom they should find, or even exactly where they should look. Once they arrive in France, it is difficult to find time to complete their task, what with performance preparations, Bill's new interest in a girl named Gigi, and their obligations to the host families with whom they are staying, but with some help from some new friends, they get it done just before they must return home.
Unlike Under Black Banner, which seemed like a pretty generic sequel to follow the wonderful No Boats on Bannermere, this book is a worthy companion. The story involves a little bit of everything young readers enjoy - travel, theater, romance, mystery, history, and conflict. Even more than the previous books this one is a story about relationships, with lots of inter-personal drama and dialogue, which really brings the characters to life and encourages the reader to love them. Penny is especially delightful in this story, as she shines on stage as the nurse despite her very obvious limp. The mystery is also a lot of fun to solve, as all the clues are present early on, but the characters must interpret them correctly to figure out the answer. Each time a new piece of the puzzle falls into place, there is an immense feeling of satisfaction for the reader.
This is the quintessential European travel novel. Though much of the story is heavily influenced by the events of World War II, which dates it to the early 1950s, the details of the visit to France overall are as relevant to today's kids as they would have been to their grandparents. It continues to puzzle me that these books aren't more widely available. They are certainly better than many of the other titles that survive from the 50s, including Nancy Drew. If you can find a copy of this book, snatch it up! It's one of the best.
Since they are somewhat hard to find, I am having to read the Bannermere books out of order. Though my last review from this series was of the second book, today's review focuses on the fourth, Black Banner Abroad. Excitement abounds for Bill, Sue, Tim, and Penny when it is announced that their schools will travel to France to present Romeo and Juliet for a French school group. Before the trip departs, the four are given a seemingly impossible task by a simple local man called Willy the Waller. He wants them to seek out a woman who helped him during the war and repay for him an old debt, but his memories are spotty at best, and the kids are unsure whom they should find, or even exactly where they should look. Once they arrive in France, it is difficult to find time to complete their task, what with performance preparations, Bill's new interest in a girl named Gigi, and their obligations to the host families with whom they are staying, but with some help from some new friends, they get it done just before they must return home.
Unlike Under Black Banner, which seemed like a pretty generic sequel to follow the wonderful No Boats on Bannermere, this book is a worthy companion. The story involves a little bit of everything young readers enjoy - travel, theater, romance, mystery, history, and conflict. Even more than the previous books this one is a story about relationships, with lots of inter-personal drama and dialogue, which really brings the characters to life and encourages the reader to love them. Penny is especially delightful in this story, as she shines on stage as the nurse despite her very obvious limp. The mystery is also a lot of fun to solve, as all the clues are present early on, but the characters must interpret them correctly to figure out the answer. Each time a new piece of the puzzle falls into place, there is an immense feeling of satisfaction for the reader.
This is the quintessential European travel novel. Though much of the story is heavily influenced by the events of World War II, which dates it to the early 1950s, the details of the visit to France overall are as relevant to today's kids as they would have been to their grandparents. It continues to puzzle me that these books aren't more widely available. They are certainly better than many of the other titles that survive from the 50s, including Nancy Drew. If you can find a copy of this book, snatch it up! It's one of the best.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews