A mysterious filmmaker approaches The Penny Dreadful with a proposal to turn Montgomery Flinch’s sinister stories into motion pictures. With Monty installed as the star of his production, filming begins but is plagued by a series of strange and frightening events. As Monty pleads with Penny to help him, she is drawn into the mystery, but soon finds herself trapped in a nightmare penned by her own hand. Can Penny uncover the filmmaker’s dark secret before it’s too late?
Extraordinary cover, interesting theme, a few bucks short.
Book 2 in the trilogy, though there’s no mention of it on the physical book itself.
Penelope, a child, is the famous spooky-tale author of her own publication, The Penny Dreadful, set in London 1900. For some undisclosed reason, she pays Monty, via her guardian lawyer, to be the face of her penname.
One day, a weird, persistant man barges into her office (not her school or home…) and offers Monty and by default Penelope an offer they can’t resist in bringing one of her stories to life…from the dead. Anyway, no spoilers.
There is very little character work, which gives me the impression that it was all covered in the first of the series. I had no idea she was 13, though other reviewers did, perhaps they read the first one. Same with Alfie.
The plot was slow to get going and I was apathetic by the time it did. The explanation of how the supernatural element worked wasn’t overly impressive, but perhaps enough.
Given that this is intended for for Middle School not Middle Aged readers, I will cut it some slack in my rating. A star each for the cover, theme and leeway. A lack of star for keeping it secret that this was book 2 in a series, and for the lack of excitement.
Succinct and action-packed, this second story focuses on an amazing new invention of moving pictures that - unfortunately - has a supernatural element. This time around our focus is on a mysterious filmmaker who requests the right to capture one of Penny’s mysterious tales on screen. Naturally, things aren’t what they seem. Before we know it Penny is caught up in a dreadful situation, that could literally be a matter of life or death. The story bounces along and older readers might notice certain details are glossed over, but it’s a quick read.
Penelope Tredwell is 13, but that doesn't stop her from owning the Penny Dreadful, a magazine filled with horror stories of her own writing. No one knows the stories are written by Penny, as she writes under the name of Montgomery Flinch and has hired an actor to play the part of the now famous writer. Talking movie pictures are beginning to capture the population of Victorian Britain's imagination, and a filmmaker has approached the Penny Dreadful for permission to turn one of Montgomery Flinch's stories into a movie. But as filming begins, strange things begin to happen, and actors seem to be becoming their characters. Penny must find out what's behind the horror before her own creation is the end of them all.
Shadows of the Silver Screen is the second in a series. The first was Twelve Minutes to Midnight. I don't think Shadows of the Silver Screen stands up well on its own. It felt like all the character development must have been done in the first book, so it wasn't bothered with in this one. It seems like Penny is suppose to be a plucky heroine, but in action, she really wasn't that interesting and didn't really do very much. She was under the spell of the magical movie camera as much as anyone else. She didn't really do anything on her own. She planned to, but then couldn't because of one thing or the other and had to be rescued in the end.
Having not read Twelve Minutes to Midnight I don't know if that holds true in the first book as well, or if Penny is more interesting and more of a character.
The plot of Shadows of the Silver Screen was confusing and contrived. The filmmaker has a camera that brings ghost into the world by taking the souls of others. I didn't understand why he went to all the trouble of getting the rights to Penny's story, especially since he changed it dramatically to make it fit his own lost love story. That was the foundation for the whole thing, and I didn't think that made a whole lot of sense so the story itself was a bit shaky.
I think there are much better, much more exciting middle grade mystery stories. I would skip this one.
Shadows of the Silver Screen comes out September 1, 2014.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she's the author.
One day, a mysterious filmmaker approaches The Penny Dreadful with a proposal to turn their sinister stories into motion pictures. Filming begins but is plagued by a series of strange and frightening events. As Penelope is drawn into the mysteries surrounding the filming, she soon finds herself trapped in a nightmare penned by her own hand...
Can Penny uncover the filmmaker's dark secret before it's too late?
This was a lovely journey through the Victorian era, around the streets of London. The details within the book led you along with the characters every step. The story is centred around a young girl who is definitely not the typical Victorian girl of that time. An independent and focused businesswoman in what is seen as a male profession was a rarity, and that was nice to see. There's mystery, intrigue, and lovely sprinkles of historical references throughout, and I enjoyed that.
In this second instalment of thirteen-year-old Penelope Tredwell's gothic London life, one of the stories she pens under the name of Montgomery Flinch is being brought to life on camera. I thought this was a great route to take the plot, Penny and the other main characters as well as some new additions forward and into yet another sinister tale. From the first page, you are taken to Victorian London with elegant descriptions and gothic writing. Christopher Edge is one of my personal favourite authors because of his rich writing. He pens his work so realistically and brings the 1900 streets of London to life. As well as creating daring characters and detailed descriptions from fairgrounds to Manor houses and an interesting new 'gadget'.
Penny Tredwell, our main protagonist here, is one of the most refreshing heroines that I have read about. She's not the likely heroine, she doesn't hold a bow and arrow or jump from trains, but I find her so relatable. Penny is wise, interesting and unflinching, as well as being completely loveable. The way she works is that she out-wits the villains and sometimes feisty personality definitely plays a part. Another personal favourite character is Alfie and I'm hoping, in another book, that this character will be explored more. As Penny's best friend, side-kick and close confidant, I'm really wondering where this relationship could go. There was also a third-person narrative which I think really fits this novel. You could escape from Penny at times when filming in Dartmoor and cut to London, where a different part of the plot is playing out. Alfie is certainly the charming-prince!
When Penny and Monty, the actor hired to take on the role of Montgomery Flinch at public appearances arrive at the filming location, the whole plot takes a deadly side. With myths, ghosts and spirits, this book is a gripping read. The climax of the novel is fast-paced and exciting and there are also some suspenseful twists and turns in the plot that I really enjoyed getting through. I think the worst thing for a book is to be predictable, and there were no times where it let your hand slip from turning the pages.
After reading Twelve Minutes to Midnight, there were a few things that could have been better about the sequels plot. The writing will always have the highest of ratings but I felt the actual plot was confusing at times, and I found myself having to turn back the pages to see what had happened, to work out how the present had happened-and sadly I found that a pain as I love to be able to know everything. There was quiet a huge cast of characters, and with ghosts and spine-tingling illusions, it could also be difficult to understand some parts of the book. I also felt the age on this book should be higher, definitely not a read for children. It's not too scary but there's a few scenes in there that have you looking over your shoulder! Although, I felt this didn't live up to it's first book.
I found this at work while tidying the kids' section, and it looked awesome so I borrowed it. I'm really glad I did.
Penny Tredwell is a 13 year old orphan who lives in London in 1900. Along with her guardian, the lawyer Mr Wigram, she owns her father's magazine 'The Penny Dreadful'. The Penny Dreadful is very popular for its tales of terror, written by one Montgomery Flinch. Unknown to everyone except the very small staff of the monthly magazine, 'Montgomery Flinch' is actually Penny herself. She writes the stories, and an actor, Monty Maples, plays the public face of Mr Flinch.
Penny and Monty are both thrilled when they are approached by one Mr Edward Gold, the owner of a small cinematograph company. This is the era of the silent movie, and he wants to make a film of one of 'Monty's' stories, 'Daughter of Darkness' - a story of murder, betrayal, revenge and ghosts set on the wild Devon moors. What's more, he has an innovative new contraption called the Veritescope, which can capture moving images along with sound.
Penny and Monty set off for Devon to film the story in a creepy old manor house and tiny mining village in the Devon wilds. But once they get there, strange and creepy things start to happen. Not only is the house itself haunted, but the story too seems to be haunted, with the actors being taken over by the characters they play. Mr Gold starts acting creepy and weird, and just what is the secret of his mysterious Veritescope?
Along with her best friend and assistant at the magazine, Alfie, Penny begins to investigate.
A very creepy story. Well-researched, with a real feeling of the time and places it is set. Penny is a wonderful character, smart, strong, curious, and daring. I really enjoyed the supporting characters too, particularly her guardian, Mr Wigram, and her friend Alfie.
I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series.
Penelope Tredwell, thirteen year old proprietor and writer for popular Victorian magazine The Penny Dreadful, is back in her second historical-alternate-history-mystery-horror-paranormal tale starting six months after the end of Twelve Minutes to Midnight.
This time she’s pulled into the new and exciting world of the moving picture when the mysterious Mr Gold offers to make a film of one of Montgomery Flinch’s tales of terror.
Shadows of the Silver Screen has a similar pace to Twelve Minutes to Midnight, with a slower set-up for the first half of the book before you start finding out what’s really going on. The novel has a Sherlock Holmes feel to it, except the supernatural is real in this world.
When Penny left Alfie in London to travel with Monty, I was a little sad because I wanted all the characters to be included. I needn’t have worried as we need him in London to track down further clues. I found Penelope not as strong a character as the first novel, but this may have been the effects of ghostly interference. I hope she returns to strength for the third, and I hope there is a third because I am getting quite hooked on Christopher Edge’s alternate version of Victorian England.
A highlight of the novel for me were the historical facts the story inspires you to look up. I hadn’t heard of Louis Le Prince before and yet I would have called myself reasonably aware of film history (apparently not!) I also loved how the story didn’t end where I thought, but still held more thrills. Creepy and gripping, Shadows of the Silver Screen should appeal to anyone with an interest in film, horror, Victorian era, strong female leads and gripping plots.
When I requested SoSS from Netgalley (in exchange for my honest review) I had no idea what to expect. Judging from the cover it could have been a children's book or an adult book with a quirky cover. I also didn't realize it was the 2nd book in a series. Technically, I guess this is geared towards middle school kids, but is fine for ages 8 and up looking for a clean read and stands alone well despite my having some initial questions about the set up.
Edge did a good job of setting time and place and the plot is interesting and inventive. I found it a touch slow in places and it had no humor which could have helped. I think the author wanted it to be a straight, serious, gothic horror read and didn't want humor to lessen the effect.
I liked SoSS and if I knew someone into this type of genre, I would recommend it. The characters and action didn't appeal to me enough to want to read more of the series for myself though.
In this follow-up to Twelve Minutes to Midnight, Penelope Tredwell continues to write thrillers that are published in the newspaper she runs. But when the man she has hired to be her public face signs over the rights to a spooky story she wrote earlier, he begins to make a movie of the story but revises it in interesting ways. When things start to go awry on the set and Penelope starts playing the role of Amelia, readers will wonder how much is fact in this fictionalized account of a cruel aristocrat. Although much of what takes place is never explained, I enjoyed the suspense and wondering who was going to come out of this mess alive. Although revenge might taste sweet, in this case it involved innocent bystanders.
A cracking story which lived up to the anticipation. I love Penelope and the penny dreadful.
For me the best thing about this series is the feel they give you for Victorian London. Whilst there is a paranormal twist it doesn't overtake the story. For me the real joy of this book was following Penelope on her adventures around Victorian London and playing detective with her. Without giving too much away I found the story brilliantly engaging and it kept me completely hooked.
If you liked Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series you'll love this one too as it definitely has the same feel although possibly aimed at a slightly younger audience.
This was a wonderful slighty steampunk, slightly gothic story set in Victorian times.
The heroine, Penelope, is the owner and author of the Penny Dreadful - a popular magazine filled with tales of adventure and horror. But in this latest episode one of her stories causes frightening problems when a filmmaker decides to make a film using his latest new fangled camera...
I really enjoyed this and would recommend it for anyone who likes a good story, even though it's aimed at the 9-11/young teens audience.
Keine Lust mehr nach 26%. Die Dinge, die mich im ersten Band gestört haben, gehen genauso weiter. Dazu kommt, dass nicht mal der Fall (welcher Fall eigentlich, bisher gibt es noch keinen richtigen) spannend ist. Könnte sicher nett sein, aber ich nutze die Zeit lieber für ein wirklich gutes Buch.
I have come to the conclusion that this author is a great story-teller but not a very talented writer. He tends to be adjective heavy (rather like most high school essayists) and verb light. Still, if you read this book quickly to just extract the story, the story is quite good.
i have this book my friend gave me she caught an autograph from christopher edge lucky huh? so let me tell u she is lucky and by the way she do not like this book so thats why she gave it to me and i am almost in chapter 6
1🌟 dnf It was bad enough that I had to read the first book. Why does nothing interesting happen for ages!? It felt like the author had a dictionary by his side the whole time! Who knows all of this random language especially in a children's book??????
Nice. But a bit too formal in writing for a kids book. Formal writing and child's theme do not go great together. But interesting. Not too bad. Great for kids, adults...not so much.
Shadows of the Silver Screen by TrinityC If you like spooky stories that will send chills down your spine, then this book is perfect for you. This is a story about supernatural activities. It also tells a story about a girl named Penelope Mottram, who works for a writer named Montgomery Flinch, who is also the writer of a book called,The Daughter of Darkness, it’s story about a girl named Amelia Eversholt and how she looks for her revenge. Penelope gets a letter from a man named Mr. Gold saying that, he would like to make a movie about it. They agree and Penelope plays the part of Amelia, but while they're in process of making the movie some strange things start to happen around them. One of my favorite parts was how Penelope is cast as Amelia in the movie and how she's perfect for the roll. My other favorite part is when Mr.Gold was running away, Alfie tripped him and said, “I’m terribly sorry, but I think that Mr. Wigram has a new contract for you to sign’’ I think this book was amazing. I love the characters. My favorite character is Penelope, she is a dependent and a confident woman who is seeking answers about Mr.Gold and the paranormal activities and if he knows anything. Also she has some help on the way such as, Alfie, and Jacques. She also has enemies such as, Mr. Gold and Amelia Eversholt. I would recommend this book to my older brother Jordon because, I think he would love to hear a scary story here and there. But I really loved this book too, I liked how there could be danger lurking in every corner and the mystery that needed to be solved, but the book wasn’t really life changing in anyway, but I loved it