Not Gritty Realism, I'll admit; but I still think that the idea of
the TV personality who broadcasts his message of longing for children
and then gets more than he bargains for is an interesting one!
The children are interesting personalities, and Thomas' misunderstanding
about the hospital rings very true.
I thought it a bit improbable that Mr. Master would have had Nannie
on the spot; it would have been much more convincing if he'd *hired*
an old-fashioned Nanny, which I'm sure he could have well afforded to
do.
What do people think of Wintle's Wonders? I think that Rachel's
mistaken sense of responsibility for Hilary's dancing, and the
ways in which her reaction to her mother's death are misunderstood,
are very well done. But I think that the book as a whole is marred
by Streatfield's obvious distaste for the world that she's
describing. In her other books, there are lots of improbabilities
of plot, but they are carried along by enthusiasm and by the
characters. In Wintle's Wonders, Rachel is a very good character;
but Hilary isn't seen enough from the inside, and Dulcie is a bit
pasteboard [e.g. Miranda in Curtain Up is a somewhat similar
character, but much more believable]. Also, there are rather too
many dramatic fates carrying off various characters in the first
chapter; though these do provide one of the best lines of the
book, when Mrs. Wintle comments on the fate of Pursey's former
charge: Fancy, a shark! And him an Honourable too!
Ann
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED] claire [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
However, I am rather in the minority in really liking The
Children on the Top Floor.
Ann
*Not* completely alone, though. It was one of those books I bought with My
Very Own Money as a little kid. Ok, perhaps not gritty modern realism, but
a *nice story*.
Claire
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