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A Spell of Sleep
Peter accidentally wakes a strange couple he stumbles across in the woods, and unwittingly breaks an ancient spell, unleashing untold evil on himself and those close to him.
140 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1976
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July 2, 2025
I quite like a few of Beachcroft's books. This isn't one of them. I'll have to check on what I awarded Cold Christmas: A Ghost Story, because this was about as good.
I can't decide what this story was about: trying to explain the motivations of miserable neighbours? Warning prospective buyers about the perils of the semi-detached (U.S. = "duplexed") home? Original sin (yes, this is mentioned, but also along with (unnamed) pagan gods and spirits and forest shrines (nemeta, or so I tag them), the Plague (black death), enchanted sleep, a cursed hermit, useless Christianity, and murderous mobs and accusations of witchcraft)? All this last mess happens in Chapter 14 (of 15 total) and does less to explain the whats and whys of the awful Baxters, than it does raise more questions (for me, anyway).
The most exciting and upsetting part was the bit about the dead birds (remains unexplained) and the captive cat they refuse to release (the children are traumatised by the sight of Taptoes scrabbling wildly from inside the Baxter's windows, unable to escape. The Baxters refuse to acknowledge that they have her). It upset me anyway, and I thought it would be the impetus for an exciting climax.. but it wasn't really. A poorly structured and planned story.
If you like old, out-of-print children's literature from yesteryear and want to discuss it with like-minded Goodreads members, please feel free to join our group Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished!. We have a thread discussing Nina Beachcroft here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .
I can't decide what this story was about: trying to explain the motivations of miserable neighbours? Warning prospective buyers about the perils of the semi-detached (U.S. = "duplexed") home? Original sin (yes, this is mentioned, but also along with (unnamed) pagan gods and spirits and forest shrines (nemeta, or so I tag them), the Plague (black death), enchanted sleep, a cursed hermit, useless Christianity, and murderous mobs and accusations of witchcraft)? All this last mess happens in Chapter 14 (of 15 total) and does less to explain the whats and whys of the awful Baxters, than it does raise more questions (for me, anyway).
The most exciting and upsetting part was the bit about the dead birds (remains unexplained) and the captive cat they refuse to release (the children are traumatised by the sight of Taptoes scrabbling wildly from inside the Baxter's windows, unable to escape. The Baxters refuse to acknowledge that they have her). It upset me anyway, and I thought it would be the impetus for an exciting climax.. but it wasn't really. A poorly structured and planned story.
If you like old, out-of-print children's literature from yesteryear and want to discuss it with like-minded Goodreads members, please feel free to join our group Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished!. We have a thread discussing Nina Beachcroft here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .
Displaying 1 of 1 review