The Secret of Castle Cant [Library Binding]

K. P. Bath (Author), David Christiana (Illustrator)

Book Description

Lucy Wickwright, maidservant to the Baron of Cant's daughter, does what she's told, never lies, and always takes the blame for her mistress's whims, which unwittingly leads her to become a spy in a mysterious rebellion that is pitted against her own mistress. When Lucy discovers that she is actually the true heir of Cant and at the heart of the revolution itself, she must choose between foiling the rebels, who support her right to the throne, or betraying her own flesh and blood.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9–Bath deals with a familiar fairy-tale theme: the discovery of noble lineage in a maidservant. His treatment, however, is quirky, funny, and rife with social satire; his style, full of puns, similes, alliteration, and just the right tone of tongue-in-cheek pomposity, is delightful. The setting is the Barony of Cant, a land so small that it is lost in the creases of every map. While the Cantlings live as though it were long ago, the time is actually contemporary, and the heroine wears T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers procured from the American Mission. This juxtaposition of medieval and contemporary fuels much of the novel's humor. Eleven-year-old Lucy Wickwright, an orphan, tends the Baron's mischievous daughter. Although Pauline, who follows whims such as catapulting soggy underwear at the spectators of an execution, is difficult to manage, the girls are best friends. Lucy unwittingly gets caught up as a spy in the Cause: the fight against chewing gum, which the nobles import at great expense to the taxpayers. On his deathbed, the Baron confesses that Lucy is his illegitimate child and heir to the throne, throwing the land into chaos and Pauline into the dungeon. Lucy rescues her and the girls mend the bad feelings brought on by their father's admission. The sisters, both fugitives, escape to safety in an ending teasingly open-ended enough for a sequel.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-9. Travel in the eccentric, isolated Barony of Cant is exclusively by "foot or hoof or sail"; fashions from 150 years ago are "considered daringly modern"; and chewing gum, a luxury derisively termed "the cud" by enemies of the nobility, threatens to foment a civil war. Humble maidservant Lucy Wickwright agrees to spy for the anti-gum contingent, hoping to protect her mistress (the baronial heiress) from revolutionaries who wish her ill. Instead, Lucy exposes a secret that abruptly alters her relationship to Pauline von Cant, putting both in grave danger. Lucy's enduring devotion to Pauline isn't entirely convincing in light of the latter's alternately imperious and whiny behavior. However, the girls' refusal to play into the hands of corrupt grown-ups makes for a decidedly rousing story, with first-time novelist Bath's mock-erudite, footnote-studded narrative style striking a hilarious contrast with the mischief-making that frequently occurs alongside the heroism. An inconclusive ending suggests that the fate of this seductively quirky, pinprick of a kingdom may not be left entirely to readers' imaginations. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 304 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435273834
• ISBN-13: 978-1435273832
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,349,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Author is child pornographer, July 9, 2010

By 

C. Madden - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of Castle Cant (Hardcover)

K.P. Bath was just sentenced to 6 years in prison for possessing graphic and violent sexual images of very young children.

24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Author child pornographer, July 9, 2010

By 

cobaltblue "cobaltblue" (lasvegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret of Castle Cant (Hardcover)

Author convicted in federal court as a child pornographer. Burn the book if you have it, and take it off Amazon!

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgusting Author!, July 9, 2010

By 

Leah S. Juarez (ABQ, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of Castle Cant (Hardcover)

No! No! No! Do not buy this book - If you want to support a sick, sick author - Go ahead.

Strait from the author himself:
Bath wrote, "I'm glad there are molesters out there" because they supplied images of children being sexually violated by adults.

In an online chat with another accused child porn collector, Bath wrote, "I wish a 9 yr old was doing that to me," Sussman told the courtroom. "This," he added, "from a man who's writing books for 9-year-olds."

Bath fell under suspicion of federal agents in recent years when two agencies -- the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE -- began independent investigations of the author's alleged trading of child pornography.

Sussman told the courtroom Monday that when ICE agents searched Bath's home last June, seizing a Compaq Presario computer, portable memory devices and DVDs, they found movie clips of children -- some of them bound -- crying as they were sexually abused.