Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset [Hardcover]

Tom Angleberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2011 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 880L (What's this?)

Tom Angleberger's latest, loopiest middle-grade novel begins when M'Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it's never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of "the Loosening," the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can't tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this silly romp of a mystery.

Praise for Horton Halfpott
“A positively gleeful historical mystery farce. Short chapters, a fast pace and plenty of linguistic and slapstistic humor will have young readers hoping that a sequel is planned. The scribbly pen-and-ink chapter-heading cartoon illustrations are just icing on the cake—or pickle éclair. A romp from start to finish.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Exaggerated black-and-white drawings emphasize the often wacky humor in this goofy faux-British mystery. Sprawling, outlandish tale.” –The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Readers will enjoy Angleberger’s penchant for the absurd as well as his many droll asides. With Angleberger’s many eclectic characters, his wild-and-witty storytelling, and a lighthearted but perplexing mystery—involving a “lump” of diamonds, a couple of wigs, and a bust of Napoleon—readers are in for a treat.” –Publishers Weekly

“From the author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, here’s an amusing romp of a mystery that balances skulduggery with just rewards.” –Booklist

 “Much like Dickens or Dahl, an opinionated narrator with a strong sense of the ridiculous directs this story.” –School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Angleberger is the author of the runaway bestseller The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, which the New York Times called a "delightful first novel" and which Publishers Weekly dubbed a "snappy debut." He is also a columnist for the Roanoke (Va.) Times. He lives in Christianburg, Virginia, with his wife, the author and illustrator Cece Bell.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Amulet Books; 1 edition (May 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810997150
• ISBN-13: 978-0810997158
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.8 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Giddy British Mystery Spoof April 30, 2011

By K. Coombs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Angleberger is the guy who wrote a whole book about a fortune-telling origami Yoda, so you shouldn't be surprised by the title of his latest: Horton Halfpott or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset. Right there, you know you're in for an absolutely spiffing romp of a tale!

The story begins with Lady Luggertuck unexpectedly asking her maid to tie her corset a little less tightly. She's never done that before, and the manor house's crew of oppressed servants twitches mildly in the direction of chaos as a result. As the back jacket copy puts it: "Shelves go undusted! Cake is eaten! Lunch is lukewarm!"

Then a family heirloom disappears, and the servants naturally get the blame. But Horton and his friends, the stable boys, who sound like a slightly objectionable law firm (Blight, Blemish, and Bump), are determined to discover the real thief. Along the way, Horton falls hard for a girl above his station and the Shipless Pirates complicate things considerably. Besides which, there's the obligatory sneering villain to make life hard for our hero.

Tongue-in-cheek is Angleberger's rallying cry in this book, as he takes on a traditional genre (um, Upstairs-Downstairs Melodrama? Gothic English Manor House Mystery with Highwaymen?) and makes it his own. Here's young Horton, not to mention the pleasantly intrusive Narrator:

"'Lazy, lazy, lazy boy!' roared Miss Neversly, a middle-aged woman with two hundred years' worth of meanness in her. Her wild black hair whipped across her furious face as she swung her spoon at the servant boy. 'Wretched wart-covered ape!'

"Beware, Reader, do not form an opinion of Horton based on Miss Neversly's cruel words. True, he had just been a trifle careless in the matter of firewood fetching. However, he is to be the hero of our story and it is only fair to point out that he was ill-paid and ill-treated for his services, which mostly involved the washing of dishes and was normally done quite carefully."

Be sure to watch for the author's parody of Hercule Poirot and his ilk, AKA The Greatest Detective in all of England. Plus the harried and harrying members of the press. I also really enjoyed Angleberger's frequent references to supposed previous volumes about Lady Luggertuck, e.g., "Faithful readers will remember that M'Lady Luggertuck had a fear of forks ever since the events recounted in 'M'Lady Luggertuck Hires a Tattooed Nanny.'"

Outrageous? Oh, yes! But very funny, and very fun. For the kid with a taste for farce, Horton Halfpott is just the ticket.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful... June 20, 2011

By Book 'Em! Blog

Format:Hardcover

In this delightful children's tale, we are taken into the world of Horton Halfpott, no one special, just the kitchen boy who cannot tell a lie.

Angleberger hooks readers from page one with his introduction paragraph. It's simple - "there are so many exciting things in this book - a stolen diamond, snooping stable boys, a famous detective, the disappearance of a valuable wig, love, pickle eclairs, unbridled evil, and the black deeds of the shipless pirates -"

And thus the author summarizes the entire novel with a simple paragraph. Yet, the plot is more than just that. It is a delightful, chuckle-filled read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dickensian kidlit ... a delight to read! May 8, 2011

By William K. Leonard

Format:Hardcover

The full title of the book is Horton Halfpott, or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor, or The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset. The cover glows in the dark. This, by the way, is only the fun that you get to have before opening the book.

This story is a whole lot of fun. As the titles suggest, the story starts as M'Lady Luggertuck wears her corset a little less tight one day, setting off a strange feel in the air, which sets off all kinds of peculiar events. These culminate in the theft of the Luggertuck family treasure, and all manner of chaos and mayhem as the crime is investigated.

Make no mistake, this is definitely kidlit. It's written at a great level for children. Were I to choose a primer for the later reading of Dickens, though, this would be it. If Charles Dickens himself wrote a piece of modern children's literature, I think it might look a lot like Horton Halfpott. Being a huge Dickens fan, by the way, I do not say this casually.

Horton Halfpott himself could well be a Dickensian protagonist. He's a hard-working, loyal-to-a-fault kitchen boy in Smugwick Manor who gets caught up in the mystery and a plot to kidnap the young lady Celia, a young lady from nearby with whom he falls in love. The boy is every bit as lovable as Oliver Twist, which is saying quite a lot.

The villains and various scoundrels around the story (the head of the kitchen, the Shipless Pirates, etc.) are a true joy to read. The story is a delight. Tom's Acknowledgments credit Charles Dickens with inspiring the story, and it really shows. The sympathy for the poor and downtrodden, contempt for the rich and stuck-up, and celebration of the wealthy and compassionate are so very enjoyable.

The book doesn't take itself too seriously, though. Whenever the story turns to romantic thoughts, the narrator assures us that he won't dwell on such things too much. We are assured once that while Horton was dwelling, the narrator won't do so.

When my wife and I are reading in the living room, we will frequently read a sentence or passage out loud because it's so well-written, so expressive, or otherwise worth sharing. I must have read a quarter of the book to my wife, and I felt like I was being too selective. In a way, I think I should have just read the book out loud to her.

Having read all four of Tom Angleberger's novels (two of which are written under the pseudonym Sam Riddleburger) -- The Qwikpick Adventure Society by Sam Riddleburger, Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run by Sam R. and Michael Hemphill, and The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom A. -- I feel like I need to comment on his writing style. In all cases, the narration is a lot of fun. But he has not used the same voice in any of them. The other three books have been in wonderful first-person narration, but by very different characters (Yoda having been by more than one character). Horton uses a wonderful third-person narration brilliantly executed in order to maintain the humor of the story.

Coming in at 206 pages and with plenty of Tom's illustrations, it's a pretty quick read, and well worth the time. This is a feel-good book that carries on the Dickensian spirit without the work of getting through Dickens' language. Even so, Tom's use of wordcraft is every bit as enjoyable.

A heartily-deserved five stars.