The Sylvia game

by Vivien Alcock

During a trip to the seaside with her ne'er-do-well artist father, twelve-year-old Emily makes friends with a gypsy's son and the young heir to a stately home, who are struck by her resemblance to mysterious, long-dead Sylvia, a girl in a painting by Renoir.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult

157 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Born September 23, 1924, in Worthing, Sussex, England; died October 11, 2003, in London, England. Author. Alcock was a bestselling author of mystery and fantasy fiction for young adults. Her early training and career, however, was in commercial art, and she attended the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Arts from 1940 to 1942. She left school to become an ambulance driver for the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II; after the war, she held several different jobs, including as an artist for the duplicating firm Gestetner Ltd. from 1947 to 1953. This was followed by three years as an employment bureau manager; and from 1956 to 1964 Alcock worked as a secretary for Whiltington Hospital in London. Although she had enjoyed storytelling and novels since she was a child, Alcock was shy about trying to be a published author and was content to stay in the background behind her famous author husband, Leon Garfield. However, she did occasionally give him ideas for his books, such as the popular Smith stories. It was not until 1980, therefore, that she finally published her first novel for teenagers, The Haunting of Cassie Palmer. Alcock continued writing fantasies, ghost stories, and mysteries through 2001, many of which proved popular with teens and some of which were adapted to television as movies and series. She published almost two dozen books in all, including Travelers by Night (1983), The Cuckoo Sister (1985), The Monster Garden (1988), A Kind of Thief (1992), Time Wreck (1996), A Gift on a String (1998), Ticket to Heaven (2000), and her last book, The Boy Who Swallowed a Ghost (2001). Several of her novels were named notable books by the American Library Association (ALA), and The Monster Garden was named the best science fiction/fantasy book of 1988 by the ALA.

Reviews

[Sara Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buon romanzo per ragazzi di 12-13 anni, la narrazione è resa accattivante da un'antica e sfarzosa villa in decadimento che porta con sé una piccola dose di mistero e di fantasmi del passato, inoltre vengono analizzati alcuni aspetti di contorno alla storia che riguardano la vita famigliare della ragazzina protagonista in maniera accurata e riflessiva, senza tuttavia portare via troppe pagine. L'autrice è brava a tratteggiare e caratterizzare i suoi personaggi in maniera vivida con descrizioni accurate ma brevi. Un libro che fa riflettere sull'amicizia e sul rapporto genitore-figlio e che al tempo stesso tiene sulle spine per il piccolo mistero che vi è al suo interno.

[Swapna · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Alcock’s ‘The Mysterious Mr. Ross’, I thought ‘The Sylvia Game’ would be as much or more interesting, going by the synopsis. But that was not the case. Emily and her thoughts are well brought out, esp. where saving money is concerned, or where she suspects her father’s actions and her irritation with him. But the other two boys weren’t likeable. The plot is about Oliver’s make-believe stories and illnesses and the main characters’ versions about the drowning and the painting related incidents. There is no mystery or any supernatural element in the story.

Did most housemaids take a fancy for gypsies and have their illegitimate offspring?

[Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite book as a child. Romantic mystery à la Bronte sisters, in a way.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C-. fiction, children's fiction, upper elementary; confusing story of a girl and a painting; from stash, discard

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Dodd’s father is a painter who doesn't sell many paintings. When the creditors take away the family's furniture to cover debts, Emily begins to distrust him. Emily and her father go on a seaside vacation so Emily can recover from a serious bout of the flu. One day, Mr. Dodd goes off on a mysterious errand. Enlisting the help of Kevin, the hotel manageress' son, Emily follows him. She ends up at Mallerton House where she meets a moody, fractious boy named Oliver Mallerton. Oliver calls her Sylvia because of her striking resemblance to a painting in the family gallery. Sylvia was Oliver's distant cousin who drowned a hundred years before. When Emily sees the painting, she sees herself. She remembers posing for her father while wearing the same style dress Sylvia is wearing. Sylvia is determined to find out the connection between her father's painting and this one which is signed by Renoir.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Constance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read some Vivian Alcock in the past, and really loved them. This one was not my favorite of hers; the set up was great, and I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, particularly some "good" adult characters with definite flaws, such as the dad in the book. The three main children in the book reminded me of a citified variation of the characters from The Secret Garden: the spoiled rich kid, convinced he is ill, the practical kid with a great disposition, and the main character, grumpy, in this case, from a recent illness. The mystery of the painting and the "Sylvia game" itself were interesting, but the resolution seemed a little pat. I still enjoyed, just seemed a little routine and derivative compared to Alcock's other books.

[Partridge Public]

Alcock, Vivien

[Vanlilith · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Anne Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man hires a artist to paint a picture by Renoir lost in a fire – that of Sylvia who drowned a century previously. A romantic mystery.

[Zainab · Rating 5 out of 5]

a haunting book i read in my childhood but i cant find it anywhere now...

[Alexis Hartley · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books and I still love it all these years later.