Customer Reviews

The Capricorn Stone

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Madeleine Brent is an easy writer to read. When you feel too stressed to enjoy a more literary work and just want to lose yourself in a relaxing adventure this is the way to go.
Unfortunately finding her work is difficult, few remain on the library shelves even less at the booksellers. This charming story is about two gently raised sisters who suddenly find their lives thrown into chaos when their father is killed during the performance of a robbery revealing to the world the secret of his livelihood. The younger sister is a little airy headed and just one of the responsibilities that Bridie has to contend with in her new found world of poverty. Her adventures centre around solving the puzzle of where her father's horde is hidden and the other interested parties who will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.

What can I say? It's impossible to pick a favorite from among the books that Peter O'Donell wrote as Madeleine Brent. I love them all. Each one has interesting settings, breathtaking adventure, and -- most of all -- a strong, brave, and intelligent heroine. And each book has something else -- an extra something -- which makes me love it in particular.

In _The Capricorn Stone_ that 'something extra' is Nathan McFee. I just love a cowboy. And McFee is my all-time favorite fictional cowboy. O'Donnell -- a Brit! -- somehow managed to create in McFee a cowboy hero who is iconic but never trite.

5 stars isn't nearly enough -- I'd give this book (and all of O'Donnell's books) 10 stars if I could.

Having just read the absolutely wonderful "Golden Urchin", I am now making my way through Madeline Brent's novels. This one was OK but definitely not the best. Our hero Nate was not as well drawn as the typical Madeline Brent hero. Good mystery though and engaging plucky heroine. The romance part was blah.

I am amazed how totally different Brent's stories are. Each book has great adventures and I never see repetitions. We again have the plucky English heroine, but this time she also has a nanny and younger sister to take care of after their charming papa delivers a shock along with his death. We have the charming hero and villain to tantalize and confuse her and us while we follow her efforts to keep the family afloat. Through luck she falls into a lucrative vaudeville Chaplin-type act and through innate ability and hard work she succeeds at it. I now understand and appreciate slapstick more than I did before. Brent writes so well that I even laughed when she described the slapstick comedy acts and I generally don't care for slapstick. Our heroine encounters many interesting characters who help and hurt her along the way. And things get complicated and what turns out to be a treasure hunt heats up in France.

This book combines two of my favorites: Victorian England and the American West - the characters are so very likeable, and at the end, the heroine cannot fail to win even the most grudging respect. This has to be my favorite of MB's as well.

This is my favorite book by Madeleine Brent. I love the heroine and her resilience. The plot is very unexpected.

When Bridie finds out her father was not who she thought he was, her life changes forever. Her father is determined to have been a jewel thief, causing Bridie to lose everything. Fortunately, an old friend of her mother's offers to help Bridie out- leading Bridie into a life as a music hall performer. Will her father's past compromise her future?