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I grew up reading a lot of "classic" children's adventure stories (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, etc...) but hadn't read this one, and with its plot involving smugglers and a hidden diamond, it seemed like something my 9-year-old and I could enjoy together. The story starts on the Dorset coast, in a fictional village near Weymouth. John Trenchard is an orphaned teenage boy living with his strict aunt. Naturally seeking a father figure, he gloms onto the local innkeeper/smuggler king, Elzevier Block, whose own son is dead at the hands of the nasty local lord and magistrate. The two form a close bond, and eventually discover a clue to the hiding place of a legendary diamond stolen years before.
Of course, the diamond carries a curse with it, and there follows a debate as to whether or not to pursue it, and eventually the story hops over to the Netherlands for a bit. As one might expect of a book written more than a century ago, the melodrama ratchets up significantly at the climax, and the ending is a little moralistic and pat. But that's all to be expected for a book of its time.
My kid lost interest about 80% of the way through, and I had to smooth out some of the archaic vocabulary and turns of phrase at times, but for the most part I think it still holds together as a kid's adventure book. (I also had to stop and explain in some detail why importing French alcohol without paying duties was both profitable and crime.) Despite some scenes of adventure and tension, a remarkably large part of the book carries a melancholy tone that's somewhat at odds with the image of the classic adventure tale.
Of course, the diamond carries a curse with it, and there follows a debate as to whether or not to pursue it, and eventually the story hops over to the Netherlands for a bit. As one might expect of a book written more than a century ago, the melodrama ratchets up significantly at the climax, and the ending is a little moralistic and pat. But that's all to be expected for a book of its time.
My kid lost interest about 80% of the way through, and I had to smooth out some of the archaic vocabulary and turns of phrase at times, but for the most part I think it still holds together as a kid's adventure book. (I also had to stop and explain in some detail why importing French alcohol without paying duties was both profitable and crime.) Despite some scenes of adventure and tension, a remarkably large part of the book carries a melancholy tone that's somewhat at odds with the image of the classic adventure tale.