The Little Gentleman
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Amazon.co.uk Review
From the author of modern classics such as Tom’s Midnight Garden, and A Dog So Small, this charming new novel from Philippa Pearce is reassuringly good and of a very fine quality. It is rooted firmly in the English countryside around the author’s home, the backdrop for many of her most entertaining and enduring stories, and combines history, magical realism and a host of well-drawn characters.
Bet, the granddaughter of Mr Franklin’s cleaning lady, is asked to deputise for the ailing master of the house by carrying out the most peculiar of tasks. She is despatched to the nearby meadow, apparently empty, and told to read aloud from Charles Darwin’s treatise on the earthworm. Her audience however is not just fresh air, butterflies and long grass--it is a centuries-old mole who can talk.
After her understandable surprise, Bet and mole become acquainted and the little furry creature’s significant history becomes clear. This little mole was the very same mole whose molehill in 1702 caused King William III’s horse to stumble and fall, chucking its rider and causing injuries to the King from which he died. Taken to Scotland as the toast of the Jacobean Cause, a spell was put upon this ‘little gentleman in black velvet’ which has made him immortal ever since. And it is from this curse that the mole wants to be free above all else, even it is at a cost to Bet.
Her first full-length work for nearly 20 years, Philippa Pearce’s The Little Gentleman is a timely reminder not to forget about the powerful storytelling skills still demonstrated by some of the country’s more long-established authors. In these times of young debut authors, pre-publication hype, door-stop fantasies and multi-million pound book advances, this is a little gem of a book from one the nations’ favourite and award-winning authors. (Age 9 and over) --John McLay --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sunday Times
A story of page-turning compulsiveness, written with elegance and wisdom, also rich in history. Pearce’s powers have not lessened
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Outside the cottage, lengthways against the wall, lay the ancient ladder with its tell-tale broken rung; the accident had been some days ago. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Outside the cottage, lengthways against the wall, lay the ancient ladder with its tell-tale broken rung; the accident had been some days ago. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is vintage Phillipa Pearce. They don't write them like this nowadays. A humorous, thoughtful, ruminative story about a little girl who meets a mole in the meadow and discovers that it can talk. It is something, too, of a historical mole, with memories going back 300 years. They get on well, and the girl looks forward to meeting her new friend when she walks in the meadow. But all good things must end one day, and the mole is weary after 300 years of wandering. How can the girl help him, and come to terms with parting with him ? Read the book to find out.
It would be a lovely read-aloud story for any child from about seven upwards.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A little too advanced for a three year old, but looked so good I had to read it myself. I gave it 10 out of 10. so It can be saved for when Poppy is older. it is a great book for 6+ not under.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Richie's Picks: THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN
12 Oct 2004
Format:Hardcover
The mole I've known the longest is the funky-looking critter who makes a very brief appearance in Shel Silverstein's A GIRAFFE AND A HALF. The mole whose story has meant the most to me is the hopeful and persistent character in David McPhail's MOLE MUSIC. Then there is that most gracious host to tired little bunnies in the Barbara Cooney-illustrated SEVEN LITTLE RABBITS. (The music cassette accompanying that book is forever imprinted on my brain after my having played it as part of several thousand naptimes during my former preschool career.)
There is, in fact, a whole delightful assortment of moles in children's literature. But I'm seeing the mole (Condylura cristata) in a whole new light after being enchanted by the subterranean-dwelling "little gentleman in black velvet" who is at the center of Philippa Pearce's latest book.
"...Mole he is burrowing
his way to the sunlight
He knows there's someone there so strong..."
--Moody Blues, "Watching and Waiting"
Bet lives with her grandparents. Her grandmother tends to Mr. Franklin and to Mr. Franklin's home, and Bet frequently accompanies her grandmother there when not at school. When Mr. Franklin becomes indisposed--having fallen from a ladder and broken his leg--he enlists Bet to sit at the log out on the riverbank by herself and read aloud. Thus the girl comes to meet that most unique mole who is not only well-spoken in the King's English, but is also inadvertently responsible for a pivotal incident in the annals of the British monarchy and, thereby, the subject of a well-known historic toast.
But despite all of that, he is still a most down-to-earth fellow:
"The mole spoke as if indeed in mid-flow of neighborly chat:'...And you probably have little idea of how delicious--how scrumptious--they are when eaten fresh. Of course, I have my worm larder--' He corrected himself. 'Worm larders, well stocked, but the prey pursued, or promptly pounced upon, and eaten fresh--as I've said--Ah! the earthworm, there's nothing like it! You can have your wireworms and your leatherjackets and as many ground beetles as you like to eat--snap! crackle! crunch! You can have them all! Even the toothsome slug has nothing to equal the near liquefaction of worm meat as I pass its length through my fingers sieving out the earth granules from its incessant feeding. Or alternatively tear it to eat it at once in great guzzling, gulping chunks.' "
And as surely as Bet comes to learn the twists and turns that mark the mole's jawdropping personal tale of history, sorcery, and happenstance, readers come to realize that the story of Bet and the mole is an intense tale of friendship and selflessness and choices. And while this is a book that is quite accessible to third and fourth graders, the questions THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN poses, in regard to what one would do for a friend, makes this story also fit in quite nicely alongside any number of YAs that probe similar ground, albeit in a more edgy and mature fashion.
" 'Now,' said Bet with satisfaction, 'we're going to go the whole hog.'
" 'More accurately,' said the mole, 'the whole mole!' "
Philippa Pearce, skillfully digging into British historic trivia, has mined a rich vein with THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN. The book arrived here just in the nick of time--it becomes my read aloud for our family vacation this coming week--and it is sure to be received with similar enthusiasm by all those who somewhere, down deep, are "watching and waiting for a friend to play with."
There is, in fact, a whole delightful assortment of moles in children's literature. But I'm seeing the mole (Condylura cristata) in a whole new light after being enchanted by the subterranean-dwelling "little gentleman in black velvet" who is at the center of Philippa Pearce's latest book.
"...Mole he is burrowing
his way to the sunlight
He knows there's someone there so strong..."
--Moody Blues, "Watching and Waiting"
Bet lives with her grandparents. Her grandmother tends to Mr. Franklin and to Mr. Franklin's home, and Bet frequently accompanies her grandmother there when not at school. When Mr. Franklin becomes indisposed--having fallen from a ladder and broken his leg--he enlists Bet to sit at the log out on the riverbank by herself and read aloud. Thus the girl comes to meet that most unique mole who is not only well-spoken in the King's English, but is also inadvertently responsible for a pivotal incident in the annals of the British monarchy and, thereby, the subject of a well-known historic toast.
But despite all of that, he is still a most down-to-earth fellow:
"The mole spoke as if indeed in mid-flow of neighborly chat:'...And you probably have little idea of how delicious--how scrumptious--they are when eaten fresh. Of course, I have my worm larder--' He corrected himself. 'Worm larders, well stocked, but the prey pursued, or promptly pounced upon, and eaten fresh--as I've said--Ah! the earthworm, there's nothing like it! You can have your wireworms and your leatherjackets and as many ground beetles as you like to eat--snap! crackle! crunch! You can have them all! Even the toothsome slug has nothing to equal the near liquefaction of worm meat as I pass its length through my fingers sieving out the earth granules from its incessant feeding. Or alternatively tear it to eat it at once in great guzzling, gulping chunks.' "
And as surely as Bet comes to learn the twists and turns that mark the mole's jawdropping personal tale of history, sorcery, and happenstance, readers come to realize that the story of Bet and the mole is an intense tale of friendship and selflessness and choices. And while this is a book that is quite accessible to third and fourth graders, the questions THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN poses, in regard to what one would do for a friend, makes this story also fit in quite nicely alongside any number of YAs that probe similar ground, albeit in a more edgy and mature fashion.
" 'Now,' said Bet with satisfaction, 'we're going to go the whole hog.'
" 'More accurately,' said the mole, 'the whole mole!' "
Philippa Pearce, skillfully digging into British historic trivia, has mined a rich vein with THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN. The book arrived here just in the nick of time--it becomes my read aloud for our family vacation this coming week--and it is sure to be received with similar enthusiasm by all those who somewhere, down deep, are "watching and waiting for a friend to play with."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
This book rocks!!!
22 Jan 2006
Format:Hardcover
This book rocks!!! I think this is the best book I have read all year. My favorite part was when Moon was chasing Mole. Moon was trying to catch Mole so he could eat him. Then, Bet threw a book at Moon and he ran away like a scaredy cat. That's why I liked this book.
Maura W.
Maura W.
awsome, love it!
8 Jun 2006
Format:Hardcover
The book that I read was called The Little Gentleman. The book was about a man called "Mr. Franklin" that has broken his leg and a lady named "Ms. Miller" she took her granddaughter to help her clean the mans house. Then he tells the girl one day that she should go to the meadow to read out loud. After a couple of days a beaver comes and listens to her read. They become friends and he tells her that if any intruder comes to yell a word. After the man has heal his leg he stars to read to himself out loud.
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