Customer Reviews

Moonfleet

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I happened onto this book by chance 30 years ago. It quickly became one of my prized possessions. After reading it several times, I passed it on to my oldest son and it became his favorite too. Now worn and dog-eared, I recently picked it up again and was once more mesmerized by the adventure tale and the character development. "Classic Adventure" are the only terms I can think of to describe Moonfleet. You will fall in love with this book! It is a shame that it is currently out of print.

A truly wonderful tale of smugglers and wrong-doing, friendship and sacrifice. This book, which seems to have fallen out of fashion in the last twenty years is as much a classic as Treasure Island or Kidnapped.
It rips along at a fantastic pace with fortunes reversing almost page by page. The ending is such a beautiful joining of the circle that it leaves you breathless with admiration for the writer's genius while it moves you to the point of tears with the strength of the writer's story.
Though written for children, this book can be enjoyed by anyone over the age of eight and perhaps read to children even younger.

When I began reading this book, a friend of mine took one look at the cover and started naming off what he thought the aspects of the plot were. He named all of the traditional pirate story cliches (sometimes platitudes): orphaned boy, evil pirate, hidden treasure, etc. By looking at the cover, I thought that was what it would be too, and I looked forward to the classic adventure story (I've always loved swashbucklers). As it was, Moonfleet is a very original novel that doesn't follow of the conventions. Surely, some of those elements are there--the orphaned boy and treasure--but they are twisted in different ways. Moonfleet is somewhat darker than other swashbucklers such as Treasure Island, and there are actually no pirates at all. There is also a little bit more depth of characterization as John Trenchard and Elziver Block have a long and meaningful friendship. Moonfleet is certainly a superior adventure novel, complete with exciting escapes (a lot of them), lost treasure, and some actual characterization. It's well worth reading.

I recently purchased this book from Amazon because it reminds me of fond childhood memories. When I was young, my mother read this book to me when I was ill. It's still the best memory I have of my youth. The book itself is filled with adventure, passion, inter-laced plot and emotions that make you believe the characters and care deeply about their plight. The imagery is wonderful, and it is a book you can share with anyone. It's a classic.

The ending will make you cry ... very touching. Take a chance on this book, it's worth every penny.

P.S. I bought this book for my mom for Mother's Day.

I first read this book in the late 60's when I was a teenager. What a magnificant plot with great, vivid characters. I have re-read it about every 5 years since then. I lost the book, but hark, they have it in print on AMAZON! A must-read for any person, whether you are 13 or 80.

I read this book aloud with my 13 year old son when were were on a long trip together. Moonfleet is highly recommened as a read-aloud. Great plot, great story of loss and redemption. There is a good reason this book is still in print over a hundred years after it was published.

This book hung over me in memory for twenty years or more. It was read to us by my mother when i was 11 or 12; i remembered the story vaguely and the title wrongly. I had tried desultorily to find it over the years, unsuccessfully. Now, having reread it, aloud, to my children, i affirm that this is one of the finest children's adventure stories ever written. It out-treasures "Treasure Island" and any other of the same genre. The sad sacrifice at the end had all three of us in tears as i read it ~ i scarce could make out the words on the page. Elzevir Block is one of children's literature's finest heroes; a most honourable, strong, wise, loveable, faithful, and ~ despite some of his actions ~ good man. John Trenchard, the young protagonist, grows up, learns of life most awfully, and is rewarded with the love of a true woman ~ the daughter of his enemy, the book's first villain. I truly cannot over-recommend this book; it is hard to understand how it could be allowed to fall out of print, and why it is not more widely renowned and suggested by librarians, teachers, & parents.

I saw an adaptation of this book on children's TV years ago. I could not quite remember the gist but jumped at the chance to read it when I found an old copy in a Jumble Sale.

And it is really good. A tale in the old style, one of the first truly English novels. Set somewhere on the South coast, Moonfleet is the spiritual home of the Mohunes, a legendary group of pirates. The sea is always at the back of the story as we follow our young hero, John, through his various scrapes. His two goals in life are his girl and the treasure. As he searches for the way to both, John spends many a memorable episode in such places as the church's crypt, is defeated at almost every turn and goes through an adventure tinged with fear and horror that will exhilirate the hardiest reader.

Although this is a children's book, its themes and scenarios involve the most serious of readers. This is the archetypal "good yarn".

Moonfleet is a great book to read. It's an adventurous story told by John Trenchard,a man who lived many missions as a young boy. They story revolves around various issues such as the vault, secrets and a line of betrayal. The blatant use of description sets fascinting images and lets your mind flw into the amazing world of Moonfleet. I thought this book was amazingly written with description and complexed language.I would definitely recommend this book for those who especially digging their noses into adventure books.Witht the many things this book includes, no one will want to drop this book until the end.

This was quite an exciting book,in parts. The most enthralling part was john crawling along a foot wide ledge with a broken leg. At this point I couldn't put the book down until I knew what was going to happen at the end. Other parts were quite different, like the chapters spent on John asnd Elzevier in the cave. I thought these chapters were never going to end it just seemed to go on and on. The book over all was like this it seemd to go on for a while but then start to get molre interesting.......it took a long time for the story line to pick up. Like the escape from the prison and the boat ride which climaxed at the storm where the ship they were travelling was nearly wrecked. Although I would probably never read this book again I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. Some parts did keep you gripped and interested others were about as interesting as watching paint dry. I would rate this book 6.5/10 because of its adventurous,in parts story line.