The Tin Princess [Mass Market Paperback]

Philip Pullman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 1996

Days after she witnesses a mysterious explosion in 19th-century London, 16-year-old Becky Winter is on her way to a small country In Central Europe, as a companion to Adelaide, a Cockney commoner who'd rather play board games than be a princess. But after an assassination makes Adelaide ruler of Razkavia, she rises to the occasion and her new station, gleefully playing international politics with the help of Becky and Jim Taylor, a dashing young detective.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW characterized this "action-packed romp" as "a breathtaking blend of Saturday matinee cliffhanger and Viennese light opera." It features characters from Pullman's popular Sally Lockhart trilogy, The Ruby in the Smoke, Shadow in the North and The Tiger in the Well, all of which are being simultaneously reissued in paperback. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-A complex tale of romance, intrigue, and adventure. Adelaide, Mrs. Holland's maid, vanished towards the end of The Ruby in the Smoke (Knopf, 1987). Now, 10 years later, in 1882, detective Jim Taylor tracks her down. Beautiful, tough, and illiterate, 22-year-old Adelaide has secretly married Prince Rudolf of Razkavia. When his brother is shot, the couple travels to that tiny European country. Jim accompanies them, as does Becky Winter, 16, Adelaide's tutor and interpreter. In rapid succession the old king dies, Rudolf is crowned and assassinated, and Adelaide becomes queen. Surprisingly, she's remarkably good at the job. She's not without enemies, though, and Becky and Jim have their hands full as they try to stay one step ahead of the schemers. Pullman writes fluently and descriptively, and his wealth of detail brings the period alive. The unexpected twists and turns will grip readers and make it difficult to set the novel down. At times, the large cast and numerous subplots needlessly complicate matters, and the introductory list of names and family tree are more a distraction than a help. Pullman's habit of shifting perspective (from Becky to Jim to assorted others) can also be annoying. Still, this book stands above most YA novels of its type due to its richness, its fascinating characters, and its story that, while sometimes far-fetched, is firmly rooted in reality.
Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (March 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679876154
• ISBN-13: 978-0679876151
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #891,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "There's Three Men I Might Have Loved...", October 23, 2004

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tin Princess (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Tin Princess" is the forth book in the Sally Lockhart series - though it doesn't actually star Sally herself. Perhaps a better description of this book would be to call it a spin-off, as it is has several characters from the previous Sally books as its protagonists, and solves a mystery that has been brewing since book one. In the first book "The Ruby in the Smoke," a young street waif named Adelaide Bevan disappeared into the streets of London, and only now has she been found. Readers who may be unwilling to continue with this series due to the absence of Sally are instead rather forced to - it's the only way to find out what happened to that young girl.

Jim Taylor, the amateur detective (among other things) has finally managed to track her down, following the trail of young Rebecca Winter who has been employed in the service of a nobleman to teach a young woman in his household how to read and write. The two collide almost immediately, and soon it becomes apparent that the young woman in question is none other than Adelaide herself. But her situation has greatly changed - she is married to Prince Rudolf of Razkavia, making her a princess of that small country squished between Austria and Germany. Rebecca is appalled at the unlikelihood of the match, especially since she herself is a native of Razkavia.

And now things are about to heat up. With the assassination of Rudolf's older brother, Adelaide and her husband now find themselves heir to the thrones of Razkavia - but whoever was behind the conspiracy to topple the royal family is not going to stop till they control the country. Now with Becky as her translator and Jim as her bodyguard, Adelaide is travelling with her husband to the country she now rules - a country watched over by the Red Eagle flag. Legend says that so long as the Eagle flies over the Rock of Eschtenburg, Razkavia will always be free. Now in a strange land, with strange customs, and a plot against them, Adelaide, Jim and Becky must juggle politics, public relations, personal safety, betrayal within the court, assassination attempts and a mysterious missing member of the royal family. Needless to say (of any of Philip Pullman's books), it's a very exciting ride.

Pullman beautifully creates an entire country with vivid realness - its customs, economy, language, history, all of it comes across with perfect realism, but also a sense of intrigue that he can invoke so well: "The streets are so crooked and narrow that they have no names...the Devil went there once, and couldn't find his way out. Which means of course, that he's still there." Likewise, the characters are vivid and immensely likeable, and his themes of power and corruption (which appear in all of his books in one way or another) are in place. Of our main characters, only Becky is initially unfamiliar to readers of the Lockhart books, but she soon becomes an interesting figure, who wields her own type of power in being Adelaide's translator (often stating her straightforward opinions to Princess Adelaide in the course of conversations, or rewording Adelaide's informal slang to the listener).

But it's Jim and Adelaide that really take centre stage in the course of this story - passionate, strong, out of their league, star-crossed and determined, I have to say that I think they are Pullman's best romantic couple (disagree with me if you must, but that includes Sally/Fred and even Lyra/Will). Adelaide definitely foreshadows Lyra for the "His Dark Materials" trilogy - willful, spoilt, cunning and yet with a strange sense of innocence about her. Glancing at some of the other reviews, it's unfortunate to see she's rather unpopular - I thought she was a wonderful character, and every inch a queen.

Of those that are disappointed at the lack of Sally, there's no reason to completely despair. She is present at both the beginning and end of the story (as is Goldberg, her husband - sadly, no Harriet or Trembler) and is mentioned throughout by several characters. And in her own way, she plays a very big part in the course of the story - just watch how useful the knitted jersey she makes for Jim turns out!

Although this is not my favourite book in the series (that would be "The Tiger in the Well") it is the most re-readable, the most intriguing and the most poetic - the final passage in particular is beautifully written. I won't give it away, but I often find myself picking up the book just to read it again, and the images that Pullman invokes, especially in the escape from the old palace through the snow, are just beautiful. There is a certain amount of cynicism, but the barest touches of hope in the conclusion of the story. But whether you like it or not (because it *is* rather different from the first three books, and not just in the shift in characters) it is a necessary part of the series, to complete Adelaide and Jim's story.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid, but not exceptional, Lockhart Crew adventure, October 25, 2002

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tin Princess (Mass Market Paperback)

At the end of "Tiger in the Well," one could tell that Phillip Pullman was becoming less interested in Sally Lockhart and more interested in her crew. With "The Tin Princess," Mrs. Goldberg disappears almost altogether, and Jim takes the stage along with the long lost Adelaide and newcomer Becky.

Set in a minor European kingdom, the action of this story takes place both in the palace and the bar. Jim travels in the seedy underbelly, while Queen Adelaide takes on the court. Intrigue, plots, romance and history are all present in droves, as one has come to expect from Pullmans Lockhart books.

A few of the plot points seem more convenient than natural. Jim's sudden overwhelming love for Adelaide does not suit the Jim that I am familiar with. It does, however, work for the story once it has been accepted. It is nice to reunite with Adelaide, although I always enjoyed her disappearance at the end of "Ruby in the Smoke." I saw it as Mr. Pullman's way of saying that not everything turns out well, and not all mysteries are solved. But her she is.

"The Tin Princess" is not the strongest book to come out of Phillip Pullman, but the nostalgia for the characters and his enjoyable writing is enough to make it a good book, and one worth reading.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unlikely Plot, But Who Cares?, September 19, 2002

By 

Mira (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tin Princess (School & Library Binding)

Having read all three of the original Sally Lockhart novels, I was thrilled to find a sequel of sorts on the shelves of my local bookshop. Pullman takes a brave shot at writing a traditional swashbuckling adventure story, and succeeds wonderfully on many (though not all) levels.

The basic plot is thus: Adelaide Bevan, the penniless waif of The Ruby In The Smoke, has resurfaced after having gone missing for ten years. And she appears with a bang: she's married to a European prince of a small country called Razkavia. The problem? Adelaide is illiterate and has no idea how to be a princess, someone is assassinating the royal family of Razkavia one by one, and the great European powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary are itching to take over the tiny country at a moment's notice. It's left to Jim Taylor (the roguish friend of Sally Lockhart from the previous novels) and new character Becky Winter to try and keep everyone safe whilst trying to prop up the future of Razkavia and its people.

Implausible maybe, but Pullman infuses a nice feeling of reality into the proceedings with plenty of historical reference and accuracy. The story isn't perfect: Pullman's love of detail and an excess of rich and varied characters clutter it up, and the plot has more twists than a plate of spaghetti, but the overall story is so delightful, adventurous and well-written that this can be easily overlooked.

Pullman's real strength lies in his brilliant characterisation for his three or four main characters and the interaction between them. Adelaide and Becky are appealing, likeable and strong heroines, the Germans and a number of Razkavians make wonderful villains, but the star of the book is undoubtedly the delightfully clever, crafty, courageous and somewhat dangerous Jim Taylor, who steps into the limelight in place of Sally Lockhart and never gives it back.

This book is definitely worth a read if you're a Sally Lockhart fan - it's interesting to see how the characters from the original trilogy develop away from the London backdrop. Even if you're not a fan, read it - it's brilliant escapism, excellently written and well worth wading through the detail for.