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Poor Tom's Ghost
When the Nicholas family first sees the derelict old house near London that has been left to them in Aunt Deb's will, they are sadly disappointed. Thirteen-year-old Roger's disappointment is greatest, since, having moved place to place all his life with his gifted actor-father, he longs for some measure of stability. Then Roger and his father discover under peeling wallpaper and rotted paneling traces of a much older, more graceful house, and their misgivings disappear— until, that night, the house is filled with a sound of wild grieving that Roger traces to an empty room.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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83 people want to read
About the author
Jane Louise Curry
39 books30 followersJane Louise Curry was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, on September 24, 1932. She is the daughter of William Jack Curry Jr. and Helen Margaret Curry. Curry grew up in Pennsylvania (Kittanning and Johnstown), but upon her graduation from college she moved to Los Angeles, California, and London, England.
Curry attended the Pennsylvania State University in 1950, and she studied there until 1951 when she left for the Indiana State College (now known as Indiana University of Pennsylvania). In 1954, after graduation, Curry moved to California and worked as both an art teacher for the Los Angeles Public School District and a freelance artist. In 1957, Curry entered the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in order to study English literature, but in 1959 she left Los Angeles and became a teaching assistant at Stanford University. Curry was awarded the Fulbright grant in 1961 and the Stanford-Leverhulme fellowship in 1965, allowing her to pursue her graduate studies at the University of London. She earned her M.A. in 1962 and her Ph.D. in medieval English literature from Stanford University in 1969. From 1967-1968 and, again, from 1983-1984, Curry was an instructor of English literature at the college level. She became a lecturer in 1987. Besides her writings, Curry’s artworks are also considered among her achievements. She has had several paintings exhibited in London, and her works have even earned her a spot in the prestigious Royal Society of British Artists group exhibition. Among the many groups that Curry belongs to are the International Arthurian Society, the Authors Guild, the Children’s Literature Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers.
Curry illustrated and published her first book Down from the Lonely Mountain in 1965. This juvenile fiction based on Californian Native American folklore has paved the way for Curry’s expansive literary career. She has penned more than 30 novels, which are mostly based on child characters dealing with a wide variety of subjects. Many of Curry’s writings deal with folklore, such as the Native American folklore that she explores in her novels Turtle Island: Tales of Algonquian Nations and The Wonderful Sky Boat: And Other Native American Tales of the Southeast, and the retellings of famous European folk stories, such as Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Robin Hood in the Greenwood, and The Christmas Knight. Yet she also delves into the genres of fantasy, such as in her novels Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Time and Me, Myself, and I; historical fiction, such as in her novels What the Dickens and Stolen Life; and mystery, such as in her novels The Bassumtyte Treasure and Moon Window.
Curry has been honored with many awards throughout her writing career. In 1970, her novel The Daybreakers earned Curry the Honor Book award from the Book World Spring Children’s Book Festival and the Outstanding Book by a Southern California Author Award from the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People. The Mystery Writers of America honored Curry two years in a row by awarding her the Edgar Allan Poe Award, or the Edgar, for Poor Tom’s Ghost in 1978 and The Bassumtyte Treasure in 1979. Also in 1979, for her complete body of work at that time, the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People presented Curry with the Distingushed Contribution to the Field of Children’s Literature Award.
Curry resides in Palo Alto, California, and London, England.
Curry attended the Pennsylvania State University in 1950, and she studied there until 1951 when she left for the Indiana State College (now known as Indiana University of Pennsylvania). In 1954, after graduation, Curry moved to California and worked as both an art teacher for the Los Angeles Public School District and a freelance artist. In 1957, Curry entered the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in order to study English literature, but in 1959 she left Los Angeles and became a teaching assistant at Stanford University. Curry was awarded the Fulbright grant in 1961 and the Stanford-Leverhulme fellowship in 1965, allowing her to pursue her graduate studies at the University of London. She earned her M.A. in 1962 and her Ph.D. in medieval English literature from Stanford University in 1969. From 1967-1968 and, again, from 1983-1984, Curry was an instructor of English literature at the college level. She became a lecturer in 1987. Besides her writings, Curry’s artworks are also considered among her achievements. She has had several paintings exhibited in London, and her works have even earned her a spot in the prestigious Royal Society of British Artists group exhibition. Among the many groups that Curry belongs to are the International Arthurian Society, the Authors Guild, the Children’s Literature Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers.
Curry illustrated and published her first book Down from the Lonely Mountain in 1965. This juvenile fiction based on Californian Native American folklore has paved the way for Curry’s expansive literary career. She has penned more than 30 novels, which are mostly based on child characters dealing with a wide variety of subjects. Many of Curry’s writings deal with folklore, such as the Native American folklore that she explores in her novels Turtle Island: Tales of Algonquian Nations and The Wonderful Sky Boat: And Other Native American Tales of the Southeast, and the retellings of famous European folk stories, such as Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Robin Hood in the Greenwood, and The Christmas Knight. Yet she also delves into the genres of fantasy, such as in her novels Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Time and Me, Myself, and I; historical fiction, such as in her novels What the Dickens and Stolen Life; and mystery, such as in her novels The Bassumtyte Treasure and Moon Window.
Curry has been honored with many awards throughout her writing career. In 1970, her novel The Daybreakers earned Curry the Honor Book award from the Book World Spring Children’s Book Festival and the Outstanding Book by a Southern California Author Award from the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People. The Mystery Writers of America honored Curry two years in a row by awarding her the Edgar Allan Poe Award, or the Edgar, for Poor Tom’s Ghost in 1978 and The Bassumtyte Treasure in 1979. Also in 1979, for her complete body of work at that time, the Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People presented Curry with the Distingushed Contribution to the Field of Children’s Literature Award.
Curry resides in Palo Alto, California, and London, England.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 11, 2016
Rating Clarification: 4.5 Stars
A very sophisticated YA book; it read more like an adult book then one geared towards middle-schoolers. Published in the 1970's, by the author of one of my favorite books as a child: Parsley Sage, Rosemary, and Time. Jane Curry is an expert in imaginative time-travel storytelling, and she knows how to make the past (in this case, the early 17th century) sound authentic.
It's a shame Curry didn't turn her hand to adult writing - no doubt she would have written some intriguing books. As it is, her YA offerings are pretty wonderful in their own right.
Looking forward to expanding my backlist with this talented author.
A very sophisticated YA book; it read more like an adult book then one geared towards middle-schoolers. Published in the 1970's, by the author of one of my favorite books as a child: Parsley Sage, Rosemary, and Time. Jane Curry is an expert in imaginative time-travel storytelling, and she knows how to make the past (in this case, the early 17th century) sound authentic.
It's a shame Curry didn't turn her hand to adult writing - no doubt she would have written some intriguing books. As it is, her YA offerings are pretty wonderful in their own right.
Looking forward to expanding my backlist with this talented author.
November 11, 2012
Interesting take on time travel and historical research: Roger's father, actor Tony, inherits a house from his aunt. The family, Roger, Tony, stepmother Jo and stepsister Pippa, discover that it's not only an Elizabethan home, but haunted.
Reminded me at times of Susan Cooper's King of Shadows and at others of L.M. Boston's work, specifically her second memoir, Memory in a House
Reminded me at times of Susan Cooper's King of Shadows and at others of L.M. Boston's work, specifically her second memoir, Memory in a House
October 8, 2019
I love Jane Louise Curry's books. *The Sleepers* is one of my very favorite middle-grade fantasy novels; I still treasure and periodically read a hardback copy that I've owned for over 40 years. But I was disappointed in *Poor Tom's Ghost*. It seemed padded and drawn out. I much preferred Susan Cooper's *King of Shadows*; similar theme, but a much tighter and more gripping story.
April 18, 2020
Tom must cope with the spirits of a pair of Shakespearean actors (brothers), one of whom possesses his father while one haunts him.
Read
August 16, 2015I had this marked as read but I think I confused the title with Tom's Midnight Garden (also British, also ghostly time travel) because it was in no way familiar. The only other Currys I remember from childhood are The Incredible Shrinking House, which I remember disliking, plus another that I love, Bassumtyte Treasure. PTG is on the back flap of my ex-library copy of BT so I sought it out, even though I read Stolen Life as an adult and thought it weak. A haunted old British house that merits an indifferent "meh": that's a weak book too.
March 17, 2013
Roger hopes the house inherited by his actor father will become his family's permanent base but not only is the house in poor repair, it has ghosts, including an actor from Shakespeare's time... Thirteen year old Roger must solve their problems before this house can become a home.
November 19, 2010
A great, haunting story with the importance of the love of family.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews