Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful characters, wonderful story, 5 Feb 2003
Maria is a ten-year-old orphan girl, growing up in her crumbling ancestral home, under the authority of a cold guardian and a tyrannical governess. But when Maria paddles over to a small island in the center of a lake on the grounds, she makes a marvelous discovery: the island is peopled by Lilliputians. Yes, the sea captain who rescued Gulliver so long ago, returned, and trapped a group of the unfortunate Lilliputians for a sideshow act. But, they had escaped, and built themselves a new home on the island called Mistress Masham's Repose. Unfortunately, human nature has changed very little over the last three hundred years, and the Lilliputian's safety exists only in their being unknown to the humans living around them. Can Maria safeguard the little people from her greedy guardian and governess?I caught the title of this charming book quite by accident, but am delighted to have it! Author T.H. White (who also wrote The Sword in the Stone and The Once and Future King) did an excellent job of building a magical world set into our own, peopled with characters that are fascinating, scary, charming, humorous, and so much more! The storyline kept me on the edge of my seat, as I watched Maria and the Lilliputians adventure through the book. This is an excellent book for young readers, and for adults as well. I highly recommend this book to everyone!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
mistress masham's repose, 8 Dec 2000
By A Customer
I read this book as a child and remembered it fondly. I have just re-read it with my own children aged 8 and 6 and enjoyed it just as much. More to the point they loved it too: "it's funny and a bit scary and exciting too".(Would suggest a reading age of 9+ to read it by themselves.) The basic story line is very simple as in all classic stories: Maria lives in the ruined palace of Malplaquet with her wicked governess who is in cahoots with the evil vicar. She discovers a community of Lilliputians on an island in the grounds (Mistress Masham's Repose) and with the advice of a friendly but eccentric professor befriends them. Vicar and governess find out and want to exploit the lilliputions for financial gain. Maria with the aid of the professor cook and captain the dog out with the evil doers. However the book works on many levels: Maria learning not to bully because she is bigger than the lilliputians; that you cannot treat others as toys; that dogs can think of humans as pets and that children can get the upper hand over grown-ups (a touch of Roald Dahl). All in all a satisfying read.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful, satisfying modern fable., 20 Oct 2000
By A Customer
What if Gulliver had brought some Lilliputians back to England? Maria is an unhappy girl, alone in a crumbling mansion that is the only thing her parents left her, with only a greedy cook to help her. Her only friend is a (very) absent-minded Professor, as poor as she is. But on Mistress Masham's Repose, an island in the weed-clogged lake, is a colony of Lilliputians descended from a handful that Gulliver smuggled back. When Maria discovers them, will she take over their lives? Will the wicked cook find them and sell them as curiosities? The book is wonderful, totally unsentimental about the "little people" but full of fascinating details about their lives- they are completely believable. Maria is so brave and determined you like her at once, yet she isn't a "perfect heroine"- she nearly becomes a tyrant by mistake. The ending is totally satisfying. T. H. White was a very good writer, and he makes you think without intruding on the story. One of my favourite books.
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