Miss Bianca in the Orient

The Rescuers #5

by Margery Sharp, Erik Blegvad (Illustrator)

Miss Bianca began to take more interest as the little green snake continued his story. "The Ranee's page," he added, "is in the elephant lines waiting to be trampled to smithereens at the next full moon on account of his sniveling into Her Highness's sherbert!"

And so intrepid Miss Bianca, her sense of justice outraged that such a dire punishment can be meted out for such a trifling error, begins to plan and scheme an urgent rescue mission, which must be the strangest and most exotic yet.

Only this time she will need every ounce of tact, every measure of courage and all the wits she could possibly muster.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Animals, Classics, Young Adult, Middle Grade, British Literature

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Margery Sharp was born Clara Margery Melita Sharp in Salisbury. She spent part of her childhood in Malta.

Sharp wrote 26 novels, 14 children's stories, 4 plays, 2 mysteries and many short stories. She is best known for her series of children's books about a little white mouse named Miss Bianca and her companion, Bernard. Two Disney films have been made based on them, called The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.

In 1938, she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss Bianca in the Orient (1970) is the fifth book in the Miss Bianca books by Margery Sharp. Miss Bianca is taken the the "orient" by her boy and soon finds herself in the middle of a mystery.

Miss Bianca must save the life of a young court page who has somehow insulted the queen. He will be trampled to death under the feet of the royal elephants if Miss Bianca and Bernard can't find him first.

I enjoyed the mystery aspects of the novel. It's not clear until near the end if the boy really exists and the proposed method of execution is chilling. Unfortunately the book is so full of stereotypes and old colonial views of "the orient" to be difficult to read. There are times that the book borders on xenophobia.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think if I was still a kid I would have enjoyed this story a bit more. As it was, I just didn't like the idea of an oriental princess sending slaves/servants to be trampled by an elephant line as the plot of the story. And Miss Bianca and Bernard didn't have as many adventures together, so it was a little dull.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to a thoughtful Valentine's Day gift, I've been revisiting one of my favorite childhood book series - the Miss Bianca series by Margery Sharp. After seeing the 1977 Disney film based on these books (The Rescuers), I got the first 5 books as Christmas and birthday gifts and nearly read the words off the pages. While my original copies are probably long gone, my husband found copies of the Dell Yearling paperbacks and I spent a couple pleasant hours reacquainting myself with the stories.

This is the fifth book in the series (and the last I remember reading as a child) and features the most exotic locale yet. Lured by the story of a page boy to be executed by elephant trampling, Miss Bianca and Bernard travel to an Oriental kingdom. Miss Bianca is adopted as a pet by a bored and temperamental Ranee (wife of the local Rajah) and becomes involved in court intrigue. Along the way, Miss Bianca befriends a royal elephant and once again, there are some thrilling moments before the page boy (and a handmaiden) are rescued.

Yes, there's definitely a formula to these books; but the details of each prisoners' situation, along with the trials and tribulations the two mice face, manage to keep things somewhat fresh. Miss Bianca is easily the star of these novels, with Bernard playing the (usually) loyal sidekick. The supporting cast of characters vary from book to book, but are sufficiently well-drawn to fulfill their roles. The objects of rescue are a little less-well-defined; and the villains are also somewhat two-dimensional. The Garth Williams illustrations are utterly charming; although I enjoy Erik Blegvad's interpretations of the characters as well.

The style of writing is a bit dated, and rather British at times; but its gentle humour and generally engaging plotlines make these books good candidates for late elementary readers who enjoy "talking animal" stories with a bit of adventure thrown in. Miss Bianca is a fairly good role model; despite being a mouse of class and breeding, she demonstrates intelligence, loyalty and bravery throughout the series. I quite enjoyed revisiting this series and may pass them along to my nieces (and/or nephews) at some point.

[AR · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Just the premise of this one is 😬...yikes

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable! I love Sharp's writing. She includes longer words intermittently and doesn't hesitate to philosophize, albeit in basic terms. Perfect, IMO! Just wish I had discovered these as a child!

[Dr. Melissa Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um...three stars for being really problematic. All of the "mysterious East" stuff probably flew in the 1960s, but here it is way out of place. The setting is sort of Indian, but it's a small, separate kingdom, and everything from the cruel Ranee to the elephants feels really anachronistic and worrying. It's not terrible, exactly. Your mileage may very. And if you are a completist and have to read the *whole series*, there it is. And it has its moments.

[prcardi]

Read-aloud with a nine-year-old fan of the series. Every book is noticeably worse now, but Miss Bianca in the Orient is not too different from the last three in the series. One of the more unfortunate trends it continues with is the macabre threat to life which send our heroes on their mission. Truly ghastly depictions of impending death have long marked the series, and the vividness of it here exceeds that of prior volumes. This one was also a source of some embarrassment as Sharp, who was writing in 1970, seemed to be going off tropes, rumors, and characterizations of the Orient that probably started circulating closer to 1870. Our author clearly was ill-informed and proceeded with stereotypes and guesses. My child readers were more informed than Sharp and were confused by some of the details. It became one of those books where you stop and explain how the ignorance of authors of yesteryear led them to make assumptions and how differences between peoples and cultures became something to caricature. This would have been more excusable had the book been 150 years old instead of 50 years old. Still, the child listeners still love Miss Bianca and Bernard, despite the many other failings in the story.

[Barbara Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the Rescuers movies from Disney, so thought I would like one of the books. I picked this one up at a yard sale, little realizing that half the book was missing. So, after purchasing the (whole) book online (along with a couple others, which I will also read, eventually), I finally was able to finish it.

I'm torn between loving this book and hating it. On the one hand, Miss Bianca is a strong female character, in charge of her own destiny and able to keep her wits to save the day every time. On the other hand, the secondary female characters problems are all solved by getting married.

The publication date of this was 1970, so I suppose the mixed message regarding equality of the sexes isn't too surprising.

[Rubi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this one was a lot more boring than Miss Bianca and Bernard's other adventures. Bernard didn't even do anything, really :( And yet Miss Bianca has the nerves to get mad at him *tsk tsk*
For more than half the book, they weren't even trying to plan or rescue anyone....just playing around and okay with being locked up for some reason.
This would be my least favorite of the series as of yet, but I hope they get better, since the Salt Mines one was also a little dull, but not this bad.
Still, anyone into the series should read it and judge for yourselves. :)

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Bianca is a mouse that dares to try to rescue as harem girl and a page boy from being trampled to smithereens. In addition, she must survive being drowned in rose water and stuffed by a taxidermist. This is a delightful story by an author who writes sophisticated tales for children.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent sequel. It began to drag on about half-way through. For today's reader - as the title might lead one to suspect - the book reads a bit culturally insensitive here & there.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know: I’m reading a novel about mice going on adventures around the world, being honored by an Ambassador’s staff. However, Bernard riding a pony and playing polo really jarred my sensibilities. I rather liked the peacock. He’s so vain, but ends up being helpful and pretty kind.
I’d actually give this one 2.5.

[Alyssa Smith-Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most racist, elitist and offensive of all her books I’ve read so far. Her presentation of Indians was as either simpleminded or aggressive, as well as unreliable. Despite the illustrations, (my main pull), I won’t be won’t reading anymore of her stories.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Not much skill used, nor much rescuing done. Not up to Miss Bianca's usual standards.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful tale of adventure.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
weakest of the series- no Garth William's illustrations and not enough Bernard!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one knocked out of the park!!!! The more I read,the more I love this series!!!

[NEETGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in elementary school but hated reading it because of the musty smell of the old pages

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

for a long time in this book you kind of start to think maybe they are just on holiday and not a rescue mission. Bernard gets to play a lot of polo and I am disappointed that miss Bianca never even tries to go watch. poor Bernard with his unrequited love.

I loved these films and the first book a a kid it's fun to revisit them and read ones that I have no memory of reading before.

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