Amazon.com Review
The tradition of the cozy English children’s mystery, so sweetly portrayed in classics like
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce and
Mandy by Julie Andrews, has been revived in Charmian Hussey’s exquisitely wrought
The Valley of Secrets. Stephen Lansbury never knew his parents. So the orphan is stunned to receive a letter informing him he has inherited a large estate in the English countryside from his long lost great-uncle Theodore. Upon his arrival to Lansbury Hall, two things immediately strike Stephen: the exotic plant life that seems to bloom everywhere, and the meticulous upkeep of the old manor. When Stephen finds the water-stained journals of his uncle’s youthful travels up the Amazon River, the unusual greenery suddenly makes sense. But who (or what!) is maintaining the tidy kitchen garden and replenishing his woodbox? As Stephen pores over his uncle’s journals, his curiosity and apprehension grow. Are plants the only thing Uncle Theodore brought back from the rain forest all those years ago?
Charmian Hussey has given the stale orphan premise a clever 21st century twist by inserting loads of facts and figures about the devastating deforestation of the Amazon into her old-fashioned tale. There is even a list of mentioned flora and fauna included for aspiring young naturalists, who will no doubt be charmed by Stephen’s surprising "discovery" of a whole new species. For more mystery melded with Amazon lore, follow up The Valley of Secrets with Eva Ibbotson’s equally wonderful Journey to the River Sea. --Jennifer Hubert
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up - An ambitious blend of fantasy, mystery, and ecological adventure. Stephen Lansbury, raised in orphanages in London, is informed by an ancient lawyer, Albert Postlethwaite (who could have marched straight out of Dickens), that he has inherited his great-uncle Theodore's country house. As the teen explores his new home, he feels that he is being watched. Discovering his great-uncle's journals leads to some answers. Theo and his friend Bertie Postlethwaite explored the Amazon jungle for two years beginning in 1911. In a story-within-a-story, Stephen reads of their friendship with the Amazon Indians, who are being destroyed along with their lands by rubber barons and missionaries who bring disease. They bring home with them a young Amazon Indian, as well as various plants and fantastic creatures. Stephen soon meets Murra-yari and the Bugwomps. Murra-yari teaches Stephen to be self-sufficient. When he dies of malaria, Stephen feels all alone - a feeling that is assuaged at the very end of the novel by the arrival of a teenaged grandchild of Bertie's. Much is crammed into this lengthy novel, from long descriptions of the flora and fauna of both the Amazon and Cornwall to environmental messages and information on Victorian furniture and clothing. While Hussey touches on several fundamental truths and important messages, she verges on the didactic at times. The journals in particular have a preachy tone, with the Amazon Indians portrayed as superior noble savages. The novel itself has an old-fashioned feel, but sophisticated readers who persevere will find this multilayered work intriguing.
- 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.
