Midwinter Nightingale
by Joan Aiken

To the best of my knowledge, at the time I write this, Midwinter Nightingale is the latest (2003) in a varicolored series of adventures called the Wolves Chronicles, stretching back to 1962's classic The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. And perhaps surprisingly, for those of you joining the program late, this is the first book in the series that actually has a werewolf in it.

I knew Remus Lupin. Remus Lupin was a friend of mine. And Mr. Baron Magnus Rudh, you're no Remus Lupin!

No, indeed. This werewolf is a very evil guy. And he isn't necessarily the scariest villain in this story, which pits Dido Twite, resourceful heroine of most of the series, against possibly the most chilling conspiracy to overthrow the King of this alternate-world, mid-1800's England.

This time, it isn't a Hanoverian plot. It's a Burgundian plot. For in the six or so years since the events of Dido and Pa, there have been lots of changes in Ms. Aiken's intriguing world. The only thing that hasn't changed is the blend of fantasy and history, with a flair for macabre, melodrama, and camp.

Good King Dick is coming to the end of his life, sadly, and too soon. But there are problems with the royal succession. Our dear friend Simon Bakerloo, 6th Earl of Battersea, has come a long way from the goose-boy who aspired to be a painter. But is he ready to take sole responsibility for the kingdom? It's hard enough keeping the king's safehouse a secret from the cabal of wicked villains who want to stick a (cough) royal bastard on the throne. But the murdering swine have taken over a boys' boarding school, kidnapped Dido (among others), hired Burgundian mercenaries, and committed various other perfidies. And what with a flood coming, and a hard winter on its heels, and the woods haunted by Russian bears and levitating Saxon rebels, and an obnoxious girl who wants to marry Simon, and a set of bad guys who will stop at nothing to get revenge and power, what can a cockney girl and a gentle painter do?

Lots, evidently. So much, in fact, that the last couple of chapters are apt to make your head spin. The final collision of all the forces set in motion, though carefully prepared ahead of time, seems to happen so suddenly and swiftly that it leaves you staggering. But there are many shocks, most of them gruesome, in this modern gothic. Also a lot of humor and wit (I love the way Dido thinks and speaks, epecially), and of course, a bit of unheralded poetry. Let me quote one brief bit...

The duchess certainly looked evil. She had a fat pale face and eyes that lacked any expression. They were like two pickled onions, Dido thought, and her mouth was a thin slit, painted bright red, like a line under the wrong answer to a sum.

...One final note. I thank many readers for telling me where I can locate copies of Is Underground and Cold Shoulder Road online. When I can afford the prices being asked, I will buy them & read them up for you. Till then, let my assurance that this series is consistently entertaining suffice to recommend them.

Robbie Fischer
Arizona USA

Recommended Age: 12+

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.