Grimbold's Other World [Paperback]

Nicholas Stuart Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1990

Mother Meg blew out the candle and closed the door behind her. A heavy weight landed on the bed and a husky voice asked, "Might I have your attention?" It is the black cat Grimbold who introduces the boy Muffler to the night-world, much more exciting than the day-time world, but also more alarming. Nicholas Stuart Gray was a professional actor and wrote many plays, both for stage and television. He was regarded as a pioneeer of children's theatre in Britain and also wrote many children's novels and collections of fantasy stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057115445X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571154456
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,649,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of short, inter-related fantasy stories., July 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Grimbold's Other World (Paperback)

One of my favourite books ever, this humorous and quirky collection of short stories about one boy and his relationship with the world of faery is written with intelligence and wit. Grimbold is a large black cat who guides Muffler, the foundling child raised by farmers, on many midnight adventures through the "night world", where everything becomes, physically, what it is spiritually, or mentally. Cats are huge, fearsome and fast, and dogs are small, cringing things full of fear. (Great for cat people: I felt very vindicated.) I highly recommend it for bedtime reading, as it is harmless and not frightening at all, and each chapter can be read on its own. Grimbold is full of dry, sarcastic humor, and Muffler is an endearing character for children and parents alike.

Nicholas Stuart Gray is a very talented, underappreciated artist who wrote other children's fantasy fiction. Notably, he wrote a story called "Seventh Swan", about the last of the ! "swan prince" brothers from the fairy tale. The premise of the novel is, what happened to the poor prince who was left with one swan's wing at the end of the story?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grimbold is Great, February 4, 2000

By 

pinlighter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grimbold's Other World (Paperback)

My Dad has told to sit down and prattle on about Grimbold and Muffler in the hope that the publishers will put Nicholas Stuart Gray books back into print again.

Dad read us Grimbold's Other World,and this is what I think of it:

Muffler,brought up by farmers, meets Grimbold the cat, who takes the boy into the Night World, where cats grow enormous and dogs quiver like mice,and where Sable,the merciless sorcerer, lives in Red Tower, with his mischeivous son, Gareth. Gareth always defys his father,and gets into rather serious trouble, but Muffler and Grimbold help him.

Muffler also meets the Hob,who lives in the barn and is the luck of the farm,and Madam Nettleweb, Sable's scatty sister.

This is a fabulous book,full of magic and mystery. I recommend it for any age from 7 and upwards.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glittering Grimbold's adventures in the world of night, April 27, 2004

By 

Liz Lacey (Liverpool UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grimbold's Other World (Paperback)

I had this book read to me by my mother when I was seven, and fell in love with it... an enduring affair it seems, as I have just finished reading it. to my own seven-year-old son. He was even compelled to leave his xbox and stop slaughtering Orcs , to beg for a nightly chapter of the adventures of the not-quite-all-there goatherd, Muffler, in the world of night.The nightworld is configured in the same fashion as our own, but more mysterious, elemental, and enchanting. Cats are twice their usual size, with powers of magic some of us have always suspected they possessed. Nicholas Stuart Gray was a renowned children's writer, child actor,and playwright. His style combines sinuous story-telling with seductive wit, making the dialogue a joy to read, unlike the often leaden exchanges of fantasy fiction. Old themes are explored, the sense of being different, the yearning to belong but not conform, and , most poignantly, the pain of loss, of abandonment, separation, ageiing and death..I haven't made it sound all THAT jolly yet , have I? There is even a ring of power, and a sorcerer who, if not exactly evil, displays a fine temper and a nasty turn of phrase. Above all, this is a funny book, displaying a feline wit. The characters are gloriously drawn, and outrageous. A camp , damp ghost called Heliotrope, ineptly materialising and scaring itself silly, assorted talking horses and other friendly beasts, and the cool, glamorous Grimbold himself, the sleek ringmaster of this nocturnal circus, make this book a deep delight for the imaginative of all ages.