Stonestruck

by Helen Cresswell

When Jessica is sent from London of the Blitz to the seemingly peaceful Powys Castle in Wales, she swaps the bewildering world of war for another of screaming peacocks, whispering mists, superstition, and a chain of grey-faced children searching out homesick evacuees to catch in their ghostly net.

Genres: Childrens, Time Travel, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Helen Cresswell (1934–2005) was an English television scriptwriter and author of more than 100 children's books, best known for comedy and supernatural fiction. Her most popular book series, Lizzie Dripping and The Bagthorpe Saga, were also the basis for television series.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica's life in London comes to a sudden change when her father goes of to fight on the front, her mother goes to drive ambulances in Belgium and her house is destroyed by a bomb. Jessica is sent to live in Wales with a couple who look after Powis castle. The local children resent the evacuees and some are bullied by both children and the adults of their host families. Whilst Jessica's host family are kind she struggles with the loss of her previous life and becomes involved with a mystery of the village. For centuries children are fabled to have dissapeared. Jessica finds strength in her own problems whilst trying to save the children who have become stonestruck. This was an exciting story and made a good read aloud.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very effective scary kids story utterly embedded in Powis Castle. If you’ve been, you’ll love the book even more. Reminded me strangely of Leon Garfield’s books.

[Of Cake and Science · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this after reading Moondial, spooky adventure of an evacuee. I never read this as a child but would have loved it if i had

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, this book is a great fit for the National Trust/Manor house ghosty-timeslip genre. The visuals Cresswell conjures up with her writing are fantastic and the right kind of eerie for each setting without getting overly descriptive. The story is also great mix of folklore and originality that makes it formulaically appealing without being predictable, which is hard to get right. The only problem will arise if you've read Cresswell's earlier 'Moondial', because this is essentially a copy-paste story. If you're not interested in spoilers, just know that this is the better version.

Both books start out with a mother and daughter being parted by the mother's responsibilities (going to war/working too much to let her stay home over the holidays), and the girl being sent to a place she's never been to before (Powis Castle/Belton House). She stays with an old lady who doesn't understand children, and an old man who works in the gardens who somehow knows all about an ancient mystery in the garden - but won't elaborate - and goes only by a surname (Lockett/World). Soon after arriving, she gets a telephone call implying that her mother may die (unnamed accident/car crash and coma), that the adults try to keep from her. She finds a mysterious boy with a cockney accent who may or may not be a ghost (Billy/Tom), and a noble-born historical girl locked in a tower who sings the exact same semi-creepy nursery rhyme (Beth/Sarah). A scary non-human witch lady who traps children in time for some reason (The Green Lady/Miss Raven) tries to steal her away, but Lockett/World tells her she's the 'one the children have been waiting for the end the spell.' There are mists that announce the change of reality, and a neutral focal point to let her know she's changed (the peacock/the moondial), and then she saves everyone with a single realization out of nowhere (grab the ghost children's hand/show the witch her reflection). Oh, and when she saves everyone, she gets a call to tell her that her mother is fine. Luckily she'll remember this forever because she wrote it all down in a journal /recorded it on a cassette player as it happened.

Are they the same plot? Oddly, no. Does this feel like a mixture between a revised version and a 'serial numbers filed off' type reworking? 100%.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of love for the Bagthorpes saga by Helen Cresswell so was intrigued by this. Stonestruck sees Londoner Jessica evacuated alone to Wales to live in a castle, with only a few staff for company. It's not long before she realises that the castle is occupied by others; a ghostly spectre, a Green Lady and a bloody terrifying peacock that only she can see.

I struggled with this. Cresswell's a superb writer but this seemed to have a lot of space where very little happened. Once you create atmosphere, there's a need for something to happen with it, rather than just an evolution of said atmosphere. The early part of the book in London where we see the impact of the Blitz is quite stunning. It's tight, claustrophobic, and darkly written. But after that I struggled to become engaged in the story and frankly skipped the last few pages.

It's clear though that regardless of the nature of this book, Cresswell writes a superb peacock, and that's not meant to be a facetious comment. There's something superb in being able to find the grotesque amongst the nominally beautiful, and the scenes involving the peacock are genuinely some of the most unnerving in the book.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5. I read this as it's set at Powis Castle where I work, and it was nice to recognise parts of the garden and deer park, and Welshpool beyond. As far as kids books go, it was ok, but not the best written children's book I've read (it's no Momo). The concept was interesting though, and I loved the context of evacuees in Welshpool (there was in fact a genuine girls' school from Middlesex who were evacuated and did indeed live in the castle during the war period). So I'm glad I read it, but it's definitely not the best kids book I've ever read.

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivated me as a child. Will have to re-read one day.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect example of one of my favourite children's genres - a magical adventure combined with exploration of real life issues. It's so often done leadenly, with the messages hammered home, but here the author plausibly combines a realistic story of alienated evacuees with a creepy supernatural mystery. As in Margaret Mahy's The Haunting, the magical elements support and enhance the story of the central character's inner conflict, becoming a metaphor for social exclusion. I found it atmospheric and scary, and my nine-year-old daughter ranks the chilling Green Lady in her top three literary villains of all time (with Bellatrix LeStrange and Bill Sykes - exalted company!) Yes, nothing much happens in the middle of the book but this is amply compensated for by the gripping opening in a bombed London house.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm doing a reading list challenge this year and one of the books is 'a book set in your home town' (limited choice for me!) I read this as a child and it stuck with me so I wanted to read it again. Being from welshpool and knowing powis castle made it a bit more exciting, but either welshpool people changed significantly in the last 60 years or so or she didn't really research border towns! I don't think most people would have spoken welsh. My grandparents and their friends didn't.
But apart from the personal connection this was an average read!

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few pages would make you think it was an action packed, edge of your seat sort of book, but in reality it is confusing, slow and not at all scary. Jessica has been evacuated to Powis castle, where she meets other evacuees from London. The story then moves on agonisingly slowly, and the ending is a disappointing anticlimax, although it does become clearer what is happening. Overall, this book could be worse, but could be much, much better as well.
By Sam, aged 10

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story too long and drawn out. Supposed to be scary but really rather boring instead.