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Harris and Bostock #1
The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris
This farce set in the 18th century begins as Harris and his none-too-bright friend, Bostock, hear their classics master describe the Spartan custom of exposing their infants to the elements. The two decide to try out the custom, using Harris's infant sister, Adelaide. But fate intervenes.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
3 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Leon Garfield
119 books49 followersLeon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 14, 2011
A glorious little story that is impossible to resist - nonsensical and farcical, yet driven by the most beautifully consistent and human internal logic. Garfield is a master of gently poking his characters into corners they can't help but belong in, and their frantic, misguided attempts to escape or badger Fate into submission are sometimes too sharp for comfort.
Garfield has the knack with language; he's a master. It's especially delightful here, where he uses his ability to build, then puncture, a character with but a few gently chosen words. He clearly knew, understood, and loved people :)
And the book is of course funny - laugh-out-loud funny - but oddly moving too. As always with Garfield, one has to resist the urge to read bits aloud to whoever's passing. A worthy precursor to Jay/Lynn, and just as wicked.
Garfield has the knack with language; he's a master. It's especially delightful here, where he uses his ability to build, then puncture, a character with but a few gently chosen words. He clearly knew, understood, and loved people :)
And the book is of course funny - laugh-out-loud funny - but oddly moving too. As always with Garfield, one has to resist the urge to read bits aloud to whoever's passing. A worthy precursor to Jay/Lynn, and just as wicked.
October 1, 2012
The NYTimes Sunday books section recently had an interview with actress Emma Thompson about what she's reading. But what caught my attention were the books that she included among her childhood favorities, like "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase." Since that's also a favorite of mine, her list inspired me to search out "The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris" by Leon Garfield.
Harris and Bostock are friends and schoolmates at Dr. Bunnion's Academy for the Sons of Gentlefolk and Merchants. Harris, the hairbrained leader to the devoted Bostock, decides to conduct an unlikely experiment. He'll puts his new baby sister, Adelaide, out on a country hillside to see if a wolf will come and suckle her, just like they've heard in the tale of Romulus and Remus from their inept teacher at school. But a trysting couple discover the child and carry her off, much to the consternation of the boys.
What follows as they attempt to rescue Adelaide — without revealing their part in the plot — is a tale with more twists and turns than Dickens and with a cast of characters that is most definitely Dickensian, though the story is set a century earlier. This little gem — intended for readers 12 and up — is one that will equally captivate adults. The language is replete with puns, similies, big words and a laugh-out-loud literay joke near the end of the story.
There is a lot of sexual innuendo, more silly than serious, that made me wonder if parents today would make a fuss over it; which was clearly not the case when it came out in 1971. A satisfying read that will send me in search of other Garfield books. But first I have to read another of Thompson's favorites that I also found in the public library: “The Box of Delights” by John Masefield.
Right or wrong, I am a reader who often judges a book by its cover. When searching online for cover images for these two children's books, I discovered the copies I found via the library have illustrations that are much less compelling than other editions. I have to admit that if I had just stumbled across the book with the blah cover I would have been unlikely to give it another glance; while the cover pictured here would have caught my eye and sucked me right in.
Harris and Bostock are friends and schoolmates at Dr. Bunnion's Academy for the Sons of Gentlefolk and Merchants. Harris, the hairbrained leader to the devoted Bostock, decides to conduct an unlikely experiment. He'll puts his new baby sister, Adelaide, out on a country hillside to see if a wolf will come and suckle her, just like they've heard in the tale of Romulus and Remus from their inept teacher at school. But a trysting couple discover the child and carry her off, much to the consternation of the boys.
What follows as they attempt to rescue Adelaide — without revealing their part in the plot — is a tale with more twists and turns than Dickens and with a cast of characters that is most definitely Dickensian, though the story is set a century earlier. This little gem — intended for readers 12 and up — is one that will equally captivate adults. The language is replete with puns, similies, big words and a laugh-out-loud literay joke near the end of the story.
There is a lot of sexual innuendo, more silly than serious, that made me wonder if parents today would make a fuss over it; which was clearly not the case when it came out in 1971. A satisfying read that will send me in search of other Garfield books. But first I have to read another of Thompson's favorites that I also found in the public library: “The Box of Delights” by John Masefield.
Right or wrong, I am a reader who often judges a book by its cover. When searching online for cover images for these two children's books, I discovered the copies I found via the library have illustrations that are much less compelling than other editions. I have to admit that if I had just stumbled across the book with the blah cover I would have been unlikely to give it another glance; while the cover pictured here would have caught my eye and sucked me right in.
November 22, 2020
I wish I had read this less sporadically. It is wonderfully conceived and the language is rich, but there are subtleties and complexities that need to be fully savored.
A favorite passage, opening chapter 17: "Night, dark and impenetrable, seemed to collapse over Dr. Bunnion's Academy rather than fall in the usual way. Moon, stars and all the high paraphernalia of the heavens were utterly obscured by banking clouds that the wind had gathered in a great black rubbish dump above the town. Here and there uneasy candles gleamed out of windows as curtains were briefly drawn aside." (pp.147-8).
It's the opposite of dumbed-down; not a simplistic book in the least. I'm trying to decide who the target audience is. Certainly one needs experience with some of the great works of English literature, but this is not a book only for adults. A shame that too much of high school reading is the required stuff, not leaving enough time for lighter gems like this that are like the payoff for some of the hard slog.
A favorite passage, opening chapter 17: "Night, dark and impenetrable, seemed to collapse over Dr. Bunnion's Academy rather than fall in the usual way. Moon, stars and all the high paraphernalia of the heavens were utterly obscured by banking clouds that the wind had gathered in a great black rubbish dump above the town. Here and there uneasy candles gleamed out of windows as curtains were briefly drawn aside." (pp.147-8).
It's the opposite of dumbed-down; not a simplistic book in the least. I'm trying to decide who the target audience is. Certainly one needs experience with some of the great works of English literature, but this is not a book only for adults. A shame that too much of high school reading is the required stuff, not leaving enough time for lighter gems like this that are like the payoff for some of the hard slog.
September 8, 2011
This story is hilarious. After hearing the story of Romulus and Remus in his history class, a 12 year old boy decides to leave his infant sister in the woods to see if she'll be raised by a she-wolf. To the boy's dismay, the baby is not found by a wolf, but by a young couple headed into the woods for a tryst. All kinds of zany misunderstandings and misinterpretations of intent ensue as the boy tries to get his sister back. I kept thinking this book would translate well to a theatrical melodrama. I only gave it three stars because it was touted as a great read aloud for kids--but I found the content a bit mature for the elementary/middle school set.
November 16, 2015
This is an amusing and precisely told comic story. Set in the Regency period of England a well-plotted series of mishaps and misunderstandings are satisfyingly resolved at the end.
Deftly sketched comic, slightly grotesque, characters provide some memorable lines and scenes.
It should appeal to anyone that has an inclination for Tristram Shandy or Cold Comfort Farm.
I recently re-read this and find it as amusing as when I read it 10 years ago.
Deftly sketched comic, slightly grotesque, characters provide some memorable lines and scenes.
It should appeal to anyone that has an inclination for Tristram Shandy or Cold Comfort Farm.
I recently re-read this and find it as amusing as when I read it 10 years ago.
September 11, 2018
Leon Garfield books have a tendency toward the dark of the uncanny. This, the first of the two Bostock and Harris novels, is a comedy of errors. A small(ish) act by two schoolboys escalates through the personal failings of the characters around them before coming to an improbable yet satisfying ending.
Harris and Bostock are two schoolboy best friends. Harris is all brains and Bostock all brawn and after hearing about the Spartan tradition of leaving babies on hills to die, they link it to the Romulus and Remus myth and decide to try it on Harris’ baby sister. The stranded baby is found by the headteacher’s dashing son Ralph, and the arithmetic master’s daughter Tizzy, who takes it back to the school where the arithmetic master challenges Ralph to a duel. The baby is taken to the poorhouse.
The trouble finding the baby involves the creepy pseudo-private investigator Selwyn Raven, who meddles and complicates things by drawing up his own (false) idea of the baby’s disappearance. He’s my favourite character in the book and has an impulsive need to see the worst sides of everyone whilst telling himself he is really after the best.
As characters try and wriggle in and out of the duel, Bostock and Harris try and get Adelaide from the poorhouse and all the other characters try to pair up with those they love…things get confusing, then very confusing, then tie themselves up.
The key to all the characters is that each one feels they are honourable and good but only by consistently lying to themselves.
There’s no point trying to run through the plot, it ticks beautifully and ties up well. What’s more, Garfield is at his best in terms of style. I didn’t pick any lines in particular but there are plenty of fantastic ones. The insanity of the characters and the way they justify their own selfish actions are gleefully portrayed. Also, Brighton comes out well.
Harris and Bostock are two schoolboy best friends. Harris is all brains and Bostock all brawn and after hearing about the Spartan tradition of leaving babies on hills to die, they link it to the Romulus and Remus myth and decide to try it on Harris’ baby sister. The stranded baby is found by the headteacher’s dashing son Ralph, and the arithmetic master’s daughter Tizzy, who takes it back to the school where the arithmetic master challenges Ralph to a duel. The baby is taken to the poorhouse.
The trouble finding the baby involves the creepy pseudo-private investigator Selwyn Raven, who meddles and complicates things by drawing up his own (false) idea of the baby’s disappearance. He’s my favourite character in the book and has an impulsive need to see the worst sides of everyone whilst telling himself he is really after the best.
As characters try and wriggle in and out of the duel, Bostock and Harris try and get Adelaide from the poorhouse and all the other characters try to pair up with those they love…things get confusing, then very confusing, then tie themselves up.
The key to all the characters is that each one feels they are honourable and good but only by consistently lying to themselves.
There’s no point trying to run through the plot, it ticks beautifully and ties up well. What’s more, Garfield is at his best in terms of style. I didn’t pick any lines in particular but there are plenty of fantastic ones. The insanity of the characters and the way they justify their own selfish actions are gleefully portrayed. Also, Brighton comes out well.
March 28, 2013
Leon Garfield is a quirky, smart writer with an oddly beautiful style. Though he is contemporary 20th century, the writing feels authentically Georgian and is at once simple and sophisticated.
Garfield's characters are somewhat caricatures in creation: melodramatic, proper and full of irony; unable to see past their own misgivings. Ubiquitous and misguided Mr. Raven (and his side-kick show-stealing stump of a leg in a black boot) quickly became my favorite.
This "quick read" took me far longer to get through than it should have. One with the proper amount of focus could finish it in a few hours time. Still. Spending the time I did with these inane but well-intended folks allowed me to feel more of a connection with them and their plights.
May 1, 2021
Okay... that was pretty good (of course it was— one of my friends recommended it!) When I come up with adequate thoughts about the novel, a decently long-winded review will shortly follow 😊
May 19, 2017
I think I would have liked this book better had the characters been, in any way, likable. But none of them were. Each character possessed so many nasty traits that it made me cringe when I read each line. I understand this was a farce but I felt more disgust then humor when reading this particular book.
July 8, 2023
Re-reading this for the umpteenth time ... it's always fresh and funny, and all set in my home town of Brighton. A wonderful YA tale of mayhem at Dr Bunnion's Academy, set in the late 18th century. Twists and turns and plenty of laughs!
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March 8, 2020This was better than smith and it was indeed a strange affair
March 9, 2021
I’m a little turn on this one. Sometimes it’s humor was entertaining, but other times I definitely lost patience with it.
January 23, 2023
so near and yet so far
February 18, 2023
Rich, Regency-era farce set in Brighton.
January 21, 2025
Just a short little tale. I enjoyed the amusing writing and had quite a few good laughs.
December 13, 2021
A fun, farcical novel. I have yet to read a Leon Garfield novel that I didn't like. This one's a good mix of silly plot plus keen observions about human nature.
March 2, 2017
While I enjoyed this book, I would not recommend it for children - partially because the language and historical setting make it a bit complex, but mostly because of suggestive content.
March 4, 2011
An entertaining tale of two school boys, Harris and Bostock, who leave Harris's younger sister out in the woods to see if a she-wolf will suckle her like in the story of Romulus and Remus. Instead of being discovered by a wolf though, young Adelaide Harris is rescued by a young girl. The subsequent troubles the boys go through to re-rescue Harris's sister are humorous and convoluted.
I enjoyed this book most of the time, but I was sort of frustrated with it at the end because Harris was such a smarty-pants know it all and I was angry with him for the disillusionment of Bostock on matters of God, love, and charity. I know it's supposed to be humorous, but those bits fell flat with me.
I enjoyed this book most of the time, but I was sort of frustrated with it at the end because Harris was such a smarty-pants know it all and I was angry with him for the disillusionment of Bostock on matters of God, love, and charity. I know it's supposed to be humorous, but those bits fell flat with me.
March 19, 2016
Leon Garfield said that his historical novels, originally published for children, were written for all ages to enjoy. He makes no concession for younger readers in these richly written and densely plotted books. The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris was the first of his novels to display a new comic approach. It is a wonderful read, with fantastically intricate plotting, larger than life characters and a real feeling for its eighteenth century setting. I was lucky enough to find an early hardback edition from 1972 which is greatly enhanced by the wonderful line drawings of Fritz Wegner on the jacket and in the text.
April 6, 2014
I had thought this was a children's book, but it is NOT. Decidedly not. The plot seems like it ought to be funny, but it isn't. The characters appear to be interesting, but they aren't. The dialogue gives every promise of being witty, but fails miserably. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with this book. Maybe I'm just in the wrong mood for reading it. It's just the sort of book that usually entertains me, but somehow this one bored me to death.
January 12, 2016
The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris is unlike any book I have ever read. A boy Harris along with his best friend Bostock think of many schemes and do alot of crazy things together. The craziest of all is exposing Harris' seven week old sister to see if she is taken in. This leads to a crazy series of events. I do not think that I would use this book in a lesson in my classroom. But I would consider adding it to my classroom library for students to read during free reading time.
September 25, 2009
I came to this book after reading "Smith" (and perhaps slightly older than the intended readers) only to be surprised - at how much I giggled through it. This is another I must re-read and see if I find it as funny!
March 21, 2009
hilarious
December 20, 2023
Excellent
September 18, 2013
What a fun little read!
January 7, 2015
I would highly recommend this book. I read it to my wife when we were courting, and I only think she said yes because of the book :)
March 25, 2018
Such a strange tale. Highly enjoyable, but strange all the same.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews