Ghost of Thomas Kempe [Paperback]

Penelope Lively (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 1992

A funny story of the supernatural which won the 1973 Carnegie Medal. When the Harrisons move to an old cottage in Oxfordshire and are beset by small domestic disasters, they assume that James is up to his tricks again. How can he explain that he's plagued by the ghost of a 17th-century sorcerer?

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mammoth (March 5, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749707917
• ISBN-13: 978-0749707910
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #729,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it's a good mystery/ghost story -sarah, June 22, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (Paperback)

The ghost of Thomas Kempe is a spooky story written by penelope lively. The Harrison family have strange things going on in their new house. Messages are being left in places in werid writting and odd things have been happening. James Harrison is sure there's a ghost haunting the house but no-one will beive him until things start to get too out of hands........ This book makes a good read and is suitable for anyone who is willing to sit down and get engrossed into solving the mystery of the Harrisons house.

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Smart book by a Booker Prize winner, July 9, 2010

By 

Kathleen Odean "Great Books for Girls author" (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (Paperback)

This is a funny, smart book by someone who has won the Booker Prize for adult literature as well as the Carnegie Medal, which is the British equivalent to the Newbery. The story is original and very funny. It's one of my favorite books and I'm sorry that it's not in print in the U.S., but check your library for it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts are no match for little children, July 8, 2008

By 

Zoe Brillantes "Reads Carnegie Medalists For Fun" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost of Thomas Kempe (Paperback)

Dr. James Harrison, FRS, MP, D.Phil, OBE, writer of The Life Cycle of a British Beetle is a pirate of the Seven Seas, first conqueror of the earth's highest peak, captain of a World-Cup-winning football team and professional hole-digger. In short, he is a normal boy. And if in his made-up adventures windows get broken, cups shatter and his arm gets stuck in a grate - well that's not really his fault, is it? No matter what his father, mother and, sigh, sister think.

After moving into an old house, James discovers that he is sharing a room with a literate poltergeist,Thomas Kempe, who resorts to banging doors and hiding glasses for attention. Of course, it is James who gets blamed and whose allowance has to pay for damages. Things take a turn for the worse for James when Kempe, a sorcerer, leaves notes all over the place offering his magicks and accusing people of witchery. Can he successfully exorcise Thomas so that he can finally eat dessert and not have to be sent to his room all the time?

Penelope Lively takes us to a time in our lives when the world was bright and wide; when every nook, cranny and hole can yield buried treasure and unfettered possibilities. Through James we remember climbing trees, running through grass, cartwheeling, and of course, telling ghost stories among friends. We also remember times when we couldn't ask adults for help because they wouldn't believe us and sadly, neither did our bestfriends.

This is the perfect reading material for children who will certainly know what it's like to be James and for adults who want to be like James again - at least for a short time.