Jeffrey Strangeways - Softcover

Murphy, Jill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564022838 ISBN 13: 9781564022837

Publisher: Candlewick, 1994

Synopsis

Jeffrey Strangeways achieves his dream of being a knight when he joins Sir Walter of Winterwood in a wild adventure

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

The author of The Worst Witch (1974) tells a funny story about a medieval 11-year-old whose rescue of the local knight- errant is the result of slapstick-style good luck. Jeffrey's widowed mother has broken both arms (she fell from an ox-cart after too much mead); her present inability to knit leaves them even more destitute than usual. After a friendly chance encounter with the great Sir Walter, Jeffrey goes to the knight's agency, ``Free Lance Rescue Services Ltd.,'' with feeble hopes of a job (peasants aren't normally eligible for errantry). No luck, but while there he intercepts an urgent plea for help: Sir Walter is about to be devoured by an ogre. Jeffrey sets out, armed with his mother's kitchen tools and accompanied by a dog on an overlong leash. After various comical adventures, he finds the ogre; the dog accidentally snares the ogre's feet in the leash, toppling him so that he gets a fatal bump on a convenient rock. This thoroughly British, entirely accessible romp derives much of its humor from creative anachronisms--from the Earl Grey tea the knight fancies to the secretary and office arrangements at his headquarters. In the face of this, it seems even more ludicrous than usual to call Jeffrey's parent ``Mom.'' Still, a witty, wonderfully entertaining spoof/adventure. Murphy's adept pen drawings add a lot to the fun. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Chivalry is alive and well in the dreams of Jeffrey Strangeways--a young lad of medieval times who longs to be a knight. When Jeffrey's mother breaks both her arms in an accident--thus losing her means of meager livelihood from her knitting--she insists that her son look for work. A chance meeting with Sir Walter of Winterwood from the famous Free Lance Rescue Services Knight Agency entangles the 11-year-old in a web of mishaps that eventually includes killing an evil ogre and pursuing his gallant aspirations. Murphy's ( Peace at Last ; The Worst Witch ) lighthearted novel deftly combines comedy, adventure and suspense, though her breezy third-person narrative contains occasional asides that jolt the reader into the 20th century--"Big sweaters and knitted outer garments had not caught on in the Middle Ages." The book's design features black-and-white spot illustrations throughout, which offer evidence that boys of yore were not much different than their modern thrill-seeking counterparts. Ages 8-11.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1564022838
• ISBN 13: 9781564022837
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Murphy Jill