A Spell is Cast

by Eleanor Cameron

During her visit to Tarnhelm, a huge old house on the California coast, Cory Winterslow discovers the secret of her past.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Mystery

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Eleanor Frances Butler Cameron (1912 - 1996) was a Canadian children's author who spent most of her life in California. Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1912, her family then moved to South Charleston, Ohio when she was 3 years old. Her father farmed and her mother ran a hotel. After three years, they moved to Berkeley, California. Her parents divorced a few years later. At 16, she moved with her mother and stepfather to Los Angeles. She credits her English mother's love of story telling for her inspiration to write and make up stories.

She attended UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles. In 1930, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library and later worked as a research librarian for the Los Angeles Board of Education and two different advertising companies. She married Ian Cameron, a printmaker and publisher, in 1934 and the couple had a son, David, in 1944.

Her first book came out in 1950, based on her experience as a librarian. It was well received by critics, but didn't sell well. She did not start writing children's books until her son asked him to write one starring him as a character. this resulted in her popular series The Mushroom Planet.

With the success of the Mushroom Planet books, Cameron focused on writing for children. Between 1959 and 1988 she produced 12 additional children's novels, including The Court of the Stone Children (1973) and the semi-autobiographical five book Julia Redfern series (1971–1988). She won the National Book Award for Court of the Stone Children in 1973, and was a runner up for To The Green Mountains in 1979.

In addition to her fiction work, Cameron wrote two books of criticism and reflection on children's literature. The first, The Green and Burning Tree, was released in 1969 and led an increased profile for Cameron in the world of children's literature. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s Cameron worked as a traveling speaker and contributor to publications such as The Horn Book Magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin, and Children's Literature in Education. She was also a member of the founding editorial board for the children's magazine Cricket, which debuted in 1973. In 1972 she and Roald Dahl exchanged barbs across three issues of The Horn Book, a magazine devoted to critical discussions of children's and young adult fiction. Her second book of essays, The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books, came out in 1993. It is her final published book.

From late 1967 until her death Cameron made her home in Pebble Beach, California. She died in hospice in Monterey, California on October 11, 1996 at the age of 84.[

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yeah, I read this now for the (marvelous as always) illustrations by Beth & Joe Krush and to clear up my memory of it. And as I'm going along I remember reading it once as a child but not particularly liking it (despite all the aspects that do charm like writing style, setting, fairy tale vibe...) until I get to the end and realize what's wrong.

The males are dangerously moody. Both Dirk and Peter are absolutely the kind of people who make lousy husbands and fathers. They can charm when they choose to, but accidentally cross them and they go cold, try to warm them up and they're more likely than not going to lose their temper and strike out.

If you see your daughter reading this, ask her what she thinks of those guys' behavior.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book when I was eight years old, and I've waited a long time to read it for the 18th time. It was such a magical experience as a kid: the waves crashing on cliffs, the foggy redwood forest, the big house with secret rooms, the caves that needed exploring. I was enchanted. As an adult, it was a little less engrossing, but even so, Cameron's descriptions of the house and landscape are so palatable that at times it doesn't seem like a young adult / children's book at all. And she writes a mighty fine Scottish accent! I would highly recommend this book for loner kids with a vivid imagination - they'll take this magical experience and conjure up something of their own.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious book - the title doesn't give much away about what it holds. About the first three-fourths seems to be just uneventful setup, with false starts that don't get anywhere. The last quarter, or maybe even less, is where everything happens, if you believe that's what is significant. One could wish for a sequel that picks up things at the new level.

But there is an appealing mood (here's the connection to the title) created over the course of the book that makes it stand out. The book is more about setting and character and relationships and psychology. The dramatic resolution is largely predictable and sort of unbelievable, but the earlier parts of the book are very ordinary, with the pleasant and unpleasant mixed together as they are in real life.

Especially interesting are the adults, most of whom have "issues" - these are not necessarily major psychoses, but the characters are by no means perfect and ideal. I guess the kids have problems too - though perhaps they seem less noticeable because kids aren't generally expected to put on the impression of always having their stuff together. There's something oddly satisfying about how some of the interactions and conflicts don't come out all nice and neat with everyone perfectly happy.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a kid, I read it several times and asked for a unicorn necklace for my birthday. I bought a copy for my 8 year old niece for Christmas this year. Of course I had to read it again! It was a time machine-- reading a former library book (complete with a sleeve in the back with "due date" stamps) sent me back to 1973. (The book was published in 1964.) I had fun visiting my youth.

It is definitely dated, the language often sounds stiff and formal. But the story holds up suprisingly well. I'm interested to see what a modern kid thinks of it.

[Ejayen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has no magic, unless you call falling in love with a place instantly magic. Or if you call being a young, bright, curious, lonely, girl magic.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review from Kirkus: Miss Cameron manages to conjure up an intriguing blend of myth, mystery and imagination. The lush coast of southern California takes on new shades as seen through the eyes of young Cory who has come to spend the summer with her mysterious ""relatives."" The visit proves to be an end to her heretofore transient existence. Cory, after learning that she has never been truly adopted by her flighty guardian Stephanie and longing for the security discovered in her summer ""castle"" Ternhelm, slowly ferrets out the meaning of her one tie with the past, her amulet, a unicorn. She finds that an exact unicorn is the symbol of Tarnhelm and with agile imagination delves into the reasons behind her Uncle's moodiness, her grandmother's erratic aloofness, the truth behind a feverish dream, a vaguely remembered song, the odd quality of the figures on the chess set her uncle had once carved, the strange kinship felt with a solitary neighbor and the relationship between her uncle and this woman. Imagination leads to logical rewards as Cory finds a permanent home. The author captures that special quality of youth where fact and fantasy blend and a spell is cast.

[Capella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I picked this book up randomly somewhere for free and Mum kept it because she thought it was an old and important book from my childhood. It was weird and disjointed and confusing and entirely too dependent on things just magically working out for the character.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent years trying to remember the title to this book, one I read multiple times as a child. I was fascinated with the unicorn motif, and google finally helped me locate it.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book, but more for the descriptions and moods than for for the story.

[JKR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, and a beautiful cover, but peopled by unlikeable/unreasonable characters and with an emotionally unresolved plot, this book veered from four to two stars.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- This is a 1965 Edgar Award Honor book, but it is not a whodunit. It is not really a mystery at all, in my opinion. Cory Winterslow has lived with Stephanie Van Heusen her entire life. Stephanie is Cory's adopted mom and a stage actress, so not only has Cory called her Stephanie all her life, but she has also had a revolving door of live-in 'nannies'. Though Cory is fairly young, upper elementary I estimate, she has already attended five different schools because of Stephanie's indecision (or flakiness, truthfully) about where they should live. At the beginning of this novel, Cory has flown to California from NYC to meet and stay with her grandmother and Uncle Dirk, Stephanie's brother. The rest of the novel is really about Cory's getting to know her family and those who live with them, a neighbor friend named Peter who is about her age, the Explorer's Club that Peter is a part of, and another neighbor named Laurel Woodford who is a weaver. Though this is a bit of a slow story, I enjoyed it, but it is really not a mystery.

[KerryT · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average story. Not great, but good enough to keep reading. Written in 1964, I was curious about the title. The story is good. The main character has a vivid imagination and the title is more about her imagination than spells and witches. She imagined one older lady to be a witch. She imagined a spell was cast. I personally feel that reading this book might encourage children to read more about witches and magic. This one is not a keeper for me but like I said, the story is good. I give it 3 stars.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting this childhood favorite, I found it less enchanting than I remembered, though still a pleasant read. Lots of good description and all the ingredients for a good children's book--old house, underground caves, orphan child, etc.--but no actual magic, despite the title (which seems a little misleading).

[Kathleen Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this book since my teacher in 4th grade first read it to us back in the 1960's. I have read it several times over the last 50+ years and still find it charming.
I absolutely LOVE the description of the chess set Cory finds, and would love to have one like that for myself!

[Cara St.Hilaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite of mine when I was a child, I was so happy to find a used copy of this out of print book. It was the magic of it that made me love this story - and the descriptive writing and moody feel. What a joy to read it again in my 40s.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and recently read it to my 10 year old granddaughter who loved it, also, and wished there was a sequel.

[Dichotomy Girl]

Read it or Delete Challenge: Delete It

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good. I read this book as a child. Rereading it I found the description of eyes that I loved so much. I was delighted to find it again. Her eyes were "the color of the golden-brown moss that clings to rocks at the bottom of a clear running stream"

[Elizabeth]

A spell is cast by Eleanor Cameron (1964), [1st ed.]

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

B.- children's fiction, mystery, California, grade 4, mom's stash, discard

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the cover. Library book. Can remember some of it.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic kidlit. Good stuff.