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Tod of the Fens
Set in Boston, England, in the fifteenth century, it is a light-hearted adventure about Tod, a boy who lives with a band of men outside town, and Prince Hal, the heir to the throne, who disguises himself so he can move among the people incognito.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1928
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147 people want to read
About the author
Elinor Whitney
13 books1 followerSome works published as Elinor Whitney Field.
Elinor Whitney Field was an American children's book author. Her book Tod of the Fens (1928) was the recipient of a Newbery Honor. She and Bertha Mahony founded The Horn Book Magazine, the oldest US magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature.
Elinor Whitney Field was an American children's book author. Her book Tod of the Fens (1928) was the recipient of a Newbery Honor. She and Bertha Mahony founded The Horn Book Magazine, the oldest US magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 8, 2021
Newbery winning authors have had a wide variety of career paths. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings won a Pulitzer Prize (The Yearling, 1939) almost two decades before her Newbery Honor for The Secret River; Esther Forbes wrote primarily for adults, but took home the 1944 Newbery Medal for her historical children's novel, Johnny Tremain; Robert Lawson's legacy was equal parts writing and illustrating, and he won Newbery and Caldecott citations throughout his career; Russell Freedman earned three Newbery Honors and the 1988 Medal (Lincoln: A Photobiography) despite exclusively authoring nonfiction, a category that historically had been overlooked by Newbery. Like those four, Elinor Whitney has a notable backstory. Cofounder of The Horn Book Magazine in 1924, Ms. Whitney wrote only a few kids' novels, but Tod of the Fens—a comedic look at life in 1400s Boston, England—was acknowledged as one of its era's premier books for young readers.
In the spirit of Robin Hood, Tod and his coterie of jokesters live apart from society, devising riddles to tell and audacious tricks to attempt under the noses of the unsuspecting. These free spirits operate in the background of Tod of the Fens, subtly directly the drama that surrounds a financial snafu which threatens Boston's leading citizens. Sir Frederick Tilney is a wealthy merchant dissatisfied with England's international trade agreement. He wants a freer market for import and export, but the Hanseatic League opposes him. Some in Boston would see Sir Frederick ruined, but his fourteen-year-old daughter Johanna is far removed from such concerns. Not yet dignified like her mother, Lady Mathilda, Johanna prioritizes exploring and adventure over courtship, but Sir Frederick isn't worried. She will be ready to wed in her own time.
Trouble is brewing in Boston. The keys to the town coffer, which holds a large quantity of money, have been stolen. Sir Frederick and other officials can't even open the coffer to confirm the funds are gone, but surely one who troubled himself to steal the keys would have removed the coffer's contents. Alan Marflete and a man named Skilton undoubtedly are involved in the heist, but Sir Frederick can only imply his suspicions when Marflete publicly accuses Sir Frederick of wrongdoing. The means to upend Marflete are, however, at Tod's disposal, but he wants to have his fun before revealing Marflete as a scoundrel and restoring Sir Frederick's honor. Johanna has her own adventure to complete first, and the comedy of errors surrounding the supposedly empty coffer is magnified a dozen times or so before Tod resolves the mystery. All's well that ends well, and Sir Frederick's foresight will someday usher in an exciting era of partnership between England and the Americas. The seeds of it are scattered throughout this novel.
Tod of the Fens lacks not for potential, but the writing and story are confusing. I found it impossible to keep straight how Tod's actions affected the Tilneys, and the import of all the goodnatured trickery among Tod's friends. The narrative feels distant, and by the end I only vaguely understood the two hundred thirty-nine pages I'd just read. There are a few interesting passages, though, such as when Tod contrasts his lifestyle with that of Boston's respected citizens: "Some men call us idle, but what, forsooth, is idleness? Is it to laugh and be merry, and to be no man's enemy; and is busy-ness to quarrel over gold and silver and be no man's friend?...I quarreled once over gold and silver, but dost think they are worth it?" What good is life if not to be enjoyed, to balance work with adventure, philosophy, and innovation? Is it more productive to scrape for every dollar to add to your bank, or to be content with the rich rewards of the human condition? The reason I don't rate Tod of the Fens higher than one and a half stars is its inaccessible language and muddled story, but there is value to these pages. Elinor Whitney put a lot of work into creating an authentic period piece, and I hope kids continue to read it.
In the spirit of Robin Hood, Tod and his coterie of jokesters live apart from society, devising riddles to tell and audacious tricks to attempt under the noses of the unsuspecting. These free spirits operate in the background of Tod of the Fens, subtly directly the drama that surrounds a financial snafu which threatens Boston's leading citizens. Sir Frederick Tilney is a wealthy merchant dissatisfied with England's international trade agreement. He wants a freer market for import and export, but the Hanseatic League opposes him. Some in Boston would see Sir Frederick ruined, but his fourteen-year-old daughter Johanna is far removed from such concerns. Not yet dignified like her mother, Lady Mathilda, Johanna prioritizes exploring and adventure over courtship, but Sir Frederick isn't worried. She will be ready to wed in her own time.
Trouble is brewing in Boston. The keys to the town coffer, which holds a large quantity of money, have been stolen. Sir Frederick and other officials can't even open the coffer to confirm the funds are gone, but surely one who troubled himself to steal the keys would have removed the coffer's contents. Alan Marflete and a man named Skilton undoubtedly are involved in the heist, but Sir Frederick can only imply his suspicions when Marflete publicly accuses Sir Frederick of wrongdoing. The means to upend Marflete are, however, at Tod's disposal, but he wants to have his fun before revealing Marflete as a scoundrel and restoring Sir Frederick's honor. Johanna has her own adventure to complete first, and the comedy of errors surrounding the supposedly empty coffer is magnified a dozen times or so before Tod resolves the mystery. All's well that ends well, and Sir Frederick's foresight will someday usher in an exciting era of partnership between England and the Americas. The seeds of it are scattered throughout this novel.
Tod of the Fens lacks not for potential, but the writing and story are confusing. I found it impossible to keep straight how Tod's actions affected the Tilneys, and the import of all the goodnatured trickery among Tod's friends. The narrative feels distant, and by the end I only vaguely understood the two hundred thirty-nine pages I'd just read. There are a few interesting passages, though, such as when Tod contrasts his lifestyle with that of Boston's respected citizens: "Some men call us idle, but what, forsooth, is idleness? Is it to laugh and be merry, and to be no man's enemy; and is busy-ness to quarrel over gold and silver and be no man's friend?...I quarreled once over gold and silver, but dost think they are worth it?" What good is life if not to be enjoyed, to balance work with adventure, philosophy, and innovation? Is it more productive to scrape for every dollar to add to your bank, or to be content with the rich rewards of the human condition? The reason I don't rate Tod of the Fens higher than one and a half stars is its inaccessible language and muddled story, but there is value to these pages. Elinor Whitney put a lot of work into creating an authentic period piece, and I hope kids continue to read it.
September 16, 2019
Originally published in 1928, Tod of the Fens is one of six titles chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1929 - along with
The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo
,
Millions of Cats
,
The Boy Who Was
,
Clearing Weather
, and
The Runaway Papoose
- and follows the story of a practical joke played by Prince Hal (eventually King Henry V) on the citizens of Boston, a wool-trading town in the fens of Lincolnshire. Although the book is named for him, Tod - a sort of jovial semi-outlaw/unemployed sailor, whose band frequents the watery labyrinth of the fens (and so named because of his woolly hair - a "tod" being a unit used to measure the weight of wool) - is really no more the focal point of the story, than any one of a number of other characters, from the masquerading Prince Hal, to the worthy Sir Frederic Tilney, with his visionary ship-building project, or his daughter, Johanna.
That fracturing of narrative focus, as it concerns the protagonist (or lack thereof), can also be seen in the story itself, which seems to jump around quite a bit, shifting from Prince Hal's trickery, to Sir Frederic's new trading partnership, to town politics, to Johanna's growing relationship with her young intended, Gilbert Branche, to scheming German ("Easterling") merchant-pirates. The result is an oddly disjointed and unsatisfying story that never really allows the reader to really settle into its world, or identify with its characters. It was all very interesting, of course - the depiction of the wool trade in the fifteenth century (the author gives a list of historical sources, in the rear of the book), the tensions between England, which had as yet to truly develop a merchant fleet, and her continental neighbors (the Germans, in particular, are described in a racialized way, as being "course and red"), the portrait of the social customs of the day - but in the end, I wasn't terribly impressed.
Still, I don't want to overstate the case. Although Tod of the Fens probably isn't a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat, it wasn't terrible either. Whether it deserved to be Newbery material is another question, of course. The illustrations by Warwick Goble, who is particularly known for his fairy-tale art, were very appealing, both the plates and the chapter-heading black silhouettes. All in all, this is one I would recommend to those readers with an interest in the history of historical fiction for children, to anyone with a desire to read all the Newbery selections, or to Warwick Goble Fans.
That fracturing of narrative focus, as it concerns the protagonist (or lack thereof), can also be seen in the story itself, which seems to jump around quite a bit, shifting from Prince Hal's trickery, to Sir Frederic's new trading partnership, to town politics, to Johanna's growing relationship with her young intended, Gilbert Branche, to scheming German ("Easterling") merchant-pirates. The result is an oddly disjointed and unsatisfying story that never really allows the reader to really settle into its world, or identify with its characters. It was all very interesting, of course - the depiction of the wool trade in the fifteenth century (the author gives a list of historical sources, in the rear of the book), the tensions between England, which had as yet to truly develop a merchant fleet, and her continental neighbors (the Germans, in particular, are described in a racialized way, as being "course and red"), the portrait of the social customs of the day - but in the end, I wasn't terribly impressed.
Still, I don't want to overstate the case. Although Tod of the Fens probably isn't a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat, it wasn't terrible either. Whether it deserved to be Newbery material is another question, of course. The illustrations by Warwick Goble, who is particularly known for his fairy-tale art, were very appealing, both the plates and the chapter-heading black silhouettes. All in all, this is one I would recommend to those readers with an interest in the history of historical fiction for children, to anyone with a desire to read all the Newbery selections, or to Warwick Goble Fans.
January 23, 2022
Oof. I started reading this book about 4-5 months ago and decided today I could not read one more page. I hate it. I made it up to 60% so I'm counting it as "read."
If the author had just stuck to the plot, it might have been enjoyable. There were a couple parts that were kind of fun. But only about 25% was actually the plot. The rest was filler and it got extremely confusing. Especially with the "ye olden" language.
I think the main plot was about some city keys getting stolen and the town panicking. Maybe. But it was really just the Prince of Wales playing a practical joke so maybe it's about them discovering the trick? Or maybe it's about Tod and his merry band, I don't know, loafing around in the woods pulling pranks? It's really hard to say. Think of that, I read 60% of the book and I have absolutely no idea what the main plot is.
When reading a book starts to feel like pulling teeth that's when it's time to give up. I've tried not to DNF books on my Newbery Quest, but sometimes that is absolutely impossible. Some of these books are just so. bad.
Newbery Honor 1929
If the author had just stuck to the plot, it might have been enjoyable. There were a couple parts that were kind of fun. But only about 25% was actually the plot. The rest was filler and it got extremely confusing. Especially with the "ye olden" language.
I think the main plot was about some city keys getting stolen and the town panicking. Maybe. But it was really just the Prince of Wales playing a practical joke so maybe it's about them discovering the trick? Or maybe it's about Tod and his merry band, I don't know, loafing around in the woods pulling pranks? It's really hard to say. Think of that, I read 60% of the book and I have absolutely no idea what the main plot is.
When reading a book starts to feel like pulling teeth that's when it's time to give up. I've tried not to DNF books on my Newbery Quest, but sometimes that is absolutely impossible. Some of these books are just so. bad.
Newbery Honor 1929
September 3, 2022
Once you get going, this is an entertaining story of misadventures, community foibles, and resolution. But something about Whitney's writing style kept leaving my ming wandering.
January 26, 2022
I enjoyed this farce of a story and appreciated the insight into life at this time and another view of Henry V. I don't think it would be very accessible, though, to children today.
June 13, 2016
I haven't read all of the 1929 Newbery Award and Honor books (yet) but I suspect that this honor book is the one that should've won the award that year. This is the first of the older Newberies that I enjoyed. Despite the decades that have passed since the book's publication, this book remains a teaching-tool for the classroom.
English Lit majors will enjoy this medieval farce but most kids will probably find this book dry and boring because it is archaic in it's structure - kids that enjoy Shakespeare will like this book while the kids who groan at the Bard's name will probably continue to moan while reading this book. I highly recommend this book for parents who suspect their kid may be a future English Lit major.
The first few chapters are loaded with historical information, which could be seen as information overload but this overload helps shape a past world that modern-day kids aren't familiar with. The language can be a bit rough but it's a great way to introduce kids to early modern English which most kids will meet when they read Shakespeare in high school so this book has use as a prep-tool for future classes, both in English history and English literature. Reading out loud helps illustrate meanings for younger audiences - this book is one that should be used for school-plays (even if it's only done in the classroom, with kids sitting at their desks taking turns reading out-loud) because the play-acting will help kids figure out the nuances of the language.
So, while there are many Newbery Books I wouldn't recommend reading with kids, this book isn't one of them.
English Lit majors will enjoy this medieval farce but most kids will probably find this book dry and boring because it is archaic in it's structure - kids that enjoy Shakespeare will like this book while the kids who groan at the Bard's name will probably continue to moan while reading this book. I highly recommend this book for parents who suspect their kid may be a future English Lit major.
The first few chapters are loaded with historical information, which could be seen as information overload but this overload helps shape a past world that modern-day kids aren't familiar with. The language can be a bit rough but it's a great way to introduce kids to early modern English which most kids will meet when they read Shakespeare in high school so this book has use as a prep-tool for future classes, both in English history and English literature. Reading out loud helps illustrate meanings for younger audiences - this book is one that should be used for school-plays (even if it's only done in the classroom, with kids sitting at their desks taking turns reading out-loud) because the play-acting will help kids figure out the nuances of the language.
So, while there are many Newbery Books I wouldn't recommend reading with kids, this book isn't one of them.
September 15, 2010
This odd but interesting story takes place in Boston, a town north of London, in the youthful years of Henry V, in the early 14th century. The title would lead you to believe that Tod is the main character, but he is, in fact, one of many characters, whose interwoven stories are told in alternating chapters. In fact, though this was a Newbery honor book for 1929, it could easily qualify as an adult book. Only two of the characters, Johanna and Gilbert, are teens, and they only feature in less than half of the chapters. The book is part adventure story, part mystery, part coming-of-age story, and even part comedy, reminding me in some ways of a Shakespeare play. Details of life at that time were fascinating, and I enjoyed learning about the English port of Boston after which the American Boston was named. The chapters about the men living out in the fens reminded me of Robin Hood and his men, who lived in Sherwood Forest north of Boston. It's too bad that this book has long been out of print, as it's a story that pulls you in and keeps you reading to find out how all the characters will come out and how situations will put themselves right again. Recommended!
July 18, 2014
This is another old newbery honor book. The storyline was difficult to follow at first, but it became easier as the book progressed. I think the life of the fenmen was quite stupid with nothing honorable about it, but I guess that's just me. I also think that if the Prince was so wise, why did he just leave the keys to the town coffer just sitting on the ground near the church? Let us just say that leaves plenty of ways for the town money to be stolen. Now, since this book was written 86 years ago, of course it has a good ending.
Long story short, I liked the story and it eventually read well, but I did not think the heroes in the story were as great as the author would like me to think they are.
Long story short, I liked the story and it eventually read well, but I did not think the heroes in the story were as great as the author would like me to think they are.
September 7, 2017
I had a hard time getting into this story. The action and intrigue picks up a bit as the story progresses, but I don't think that was my main issue. The book is rather dialogue heavy, and given the setting, it's burdened with a lot of "knowest thou not" and such. The writing is decent. I don’t have any particular complaints -just that it was too tame to overcome the muddying of dialogue. I wanted some real action, and it picked up to a light jog at best.
July 7, 2011
Not one of my favorite Newbery Honors, but not a bad book. Maybe a bit dry or old-fashioned. It probably won't appeal to today's children, but it has a fairly entertaining storyline. I agree with the other reviewers on the Robin Hood feel to the story - I kept waiting for Robin to show up or for Tod to say that his real name was Robin.
November 23, 2020
As stated by others, this book was a bit confusing, and not properly named. I did enjoy the parts with Gilbert and Joanna Tilney, but as for the rest, there were too many characters for such a short book.
January 23, 2019
Not bad once you get used to the way the characters speak. A bit of a folly piece with some adventure and mystery thrown in.
November 24, 2017
I'm giving this disjointed novel 2.5-2.75 stars, rounding up to 3 stars. The author was clearly trying for a multiple POV, multiple plotline story that centered on Tod, the character from the book's title - the operative word being "trying". Also Tod is not the center of the tale although he stands near it. The theme that theoretically ties everything together is trickery. Tod and his merry men (they're not Robin Hood, but close) make a not quite legal living in the fens near Boston, England. For fun they play endless pranks. At some point they encounter Henry, Prince of Wales, and future king (Henry V) who it seems also enjoys playing pranks - this is really the tale's center - and who goes incognito as Dismas to trick the people ruling Boston via an elaborate theft of keys to the town coffer. The evening town gate guard has some opportunity to catch things out as he spots Dismas multiple times in multiple guises. There is a side plot of one of the ruling families' decision to go into ships and trading; I feel that this is here simply so the author can point to it and state this is the origin of Britain's mercantile empire. Anyway there are many characters all of whom play some small part in some piece of several tales and somehow connect back to Dismas's prank. I read this for my 2017 Reading Challenge and for my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1929).
Want to read
June 12, 20251929 Newbery honor book
September 13, 2022
Tod and Tom True Tongue meet a man they call Dismas, and Tom and Dismas have a wager about which one of them can fool more people in one week. Johanna Tilney meets Gilbert, and he father, Sir Frederick, promises her in marriage to Gilbert. Tod and his fenmen wait for Dismas to show up to find out the outcome of the wager, but he never comes.
All five men who have keys to the town coffer have their keys stolen, and they believe the coffer to have been robbed. Prince Henry tells Lord Arundel that he is known as Dismas to Tod, and that it is he who has caused everyone to believe the 200 marks from the coffer have been stolen. Lord Arundel goes to Tod and his fenmen, who call him Popinjay, and he and Heron switch clothes and have a race. Tod convinces his men to give up their lifestyle to sail for Sir Frederick. They go to find Dismas, but instead learn Popinjay is Lord Arundel.
Skilton and Marflete plan to steal the money they believe is still in the coffer. They accuse Sir Frederick of stealing the money to fund his ship, and Johanna receives a mysterious letter telling her to come to St. Botolph's steeple at Midnight. Johanna and Caroline get kidnapped by Ranolph and given to Redfern. Refern decides to return them without ransom when he finds out Johanna is a Tilney because Sir Frederick saved his dog, Angus. Angus brings Johanna a bone key.
Gilbert and Stephen catch on to Skilton and Marflete's plan and follow them. Mrs. Pinchbeck figures out what Skilton and Marflete have down, and Johanna returns to her father. Skilton gets the money out of the coffer and buries it to hide it from Marflete, but Gilbert and Stephen see him and steal the money from Skilton to return it to the town. Tod claims to help them, but then disappears with the money. When Prince Henry returns, he and Tod get the money back in the coffer before the fair and put on a "magic" show for the people to show them the money is still there.
I had a difficult time understanding the beginning of the story, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed it and understood what was going on. There are a lot of humorous parts, and I liked the characters and the plot. I liked how all the characters' stories were interwoven together in the end.
All five men who have keys to the town coffer have their keys stolen, and they believe the coffer to have been robbed. Prince Henry tells Lord Arundel that he is known as Dismas to Tod, and that it is he who has caused everyone to believe the 200 marks from the coffer have been stolen. Lord Arundel goes to Tod and his fenmen, who call him Popinjay, and he and Heron switch clothes and have a race. Tod convinces his men to give up their lifestyle to sail for Sir Frederick. They go to find Dismas, but instead learn Popinjay is Lord Arundel.
Skilton and Marflete plan to steal the money they believe is still in the coffer. They accuse Sir Frederick of stealing the money to fund his ship, and Johanna receives a mysterious letter telling her to come to St. Botolph's steeple at Midnight. Johanna and Caroline get kidnapped by Ranolph and given to Redfern. Refern decides to return them without ransom when he finds out Johanna is a Tilney because Sir Frederick saved his dog, Angus. Angus brings Johanna a bone key.
Gilbert and Stephen catch on to Skilton and Marflete's plan and follow them. Mrs. Pinchbeck figures out what Skilton and Marflete have down, and Johanna returns to her father. Skilton gets the money out of the coffer and buries it to hide it from Marflete, but Gilbert and Stephen see him and steal the money from Skilton to return it to the town. Tod claims to help them, but then disappears with the money. When Prince Henry returns, he and Tod get the money back in the coffer before the fair and put on a "magic" show for the people to show them the money is still there.
I had a difficult time understanding the beginning of the story, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed it and understood what was going on. There are a lot of humorous parts, and I liked the characters and the plot. I liked how all the characters' stories were interwoven together in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
July 15, 20121929 Newbery Honor book
August 23, 2016
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-r...
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