Posted by Andy Morley on March 20, 1999 at 10:11:12:
In Reply to: Three More Sea Capns... posted by Andy Morley on March 18, 1999 at 19:46:22:
Oh dear, no-one's following the rules. Well I don't mind - rules..? pshaw..! But I thought that Ransomites liked rules, as expressed by one of the characters of this book, Jack, who embodies the virtues of the British Establishment:
"We've got to have rules and obey them. After all we're not savages. We're English; and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things."
But then I always identified with Ralph. Jack to me, when I was a typically rebellious schoolboy, epitomised everything that the older generation stood for. Anyway, the answer is:
ISBN 0-571-19147-9
There is a HEALTH WARNING attached to this book. If you are the sort of Ransomite who harks back to a gentler time, when mother was always in the nursery and tea always came at four o' clock, then do not read it. Seriously, this isn't a challenge, there's lots of other books I can tell you about that you would like. If however you like an original twist to the plot and are a big boy/ girl, get a friend to order you this book and give it to you in a plain brown wrapper. Have a darkened room furnished with an armchair and a reading lamp, make sure Nanny is within earshot and briefed to come running with a hot posset if she hears a scream, and set aside half a day. From then on, your view of children's books will never be the same again.