Lone Pine London

Lone Pine #10

by Malcolm Saville

If Jon hadn't gone to a football match on a foggy afternoon... and Penny hadn't wanted to buy a glass paperweight in Chelsea... But they did, and here is a thrilling Lone Pine adventure set in exciting London.

... oh, Macbeth the Scottie also appears.

For the first time, the mystery which the members of the Lone Pine Club help to solve is centred in London.

Each of the Lone Pine Stories, which is complete in itself, is set amidst English countryside which you yourself can visit.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, British Literature, Fiction

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Leonard Malcolm Saville was an English author best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work emphasises location; the books include many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and sometimes towns.

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Drew Shiel]

One of the very few of Saville’s Lone Pine books I hadn’t read before. Bought in October in a secondhand shop in Lancaster, where they tried to charge me the original publisher’s price of 20p, and were rather surprised when I insisted on paying more. The book itself is as charming as the rest.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

London - a place we've previously only passed through with the Lone Piners, on our way to somewhere more interesting - is the real star of this story, although new girl Harriet runs the city a close second. MS captures London's diverse streets, its smog, its busy-ness and its unexpected quietness, and it's worth reading for this alone.

But of course, there's also a story going on, and as well as the Lone Piners (and their newest recruit) we are reunited with an old friend, and a bunch of old enemies (whose crime is a pretty interesting one). Practically everybody gets either lost or kidnapped at some point and it's all quite exciting. Well, everybody ends up just outside Guildford, which isn't that glamorous; but there's a film star joining in so it kind of balances out.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this book, which I had not read since 1995 - and then in the abridged Armada version. I'd entirely forgotten the story, and found it well written and quite tense in places.

The Morton family are in London, with Jon and Penny visiting. They find themselves - as ever - in the midst of an exciting adventure, and while there are some slightly dodgy coincidences over just happening to bump into various relevant people, it doesn't much matter: that's how these stories get going, after all. James Wilson, the journalist from 'The Elusive Grasshopper' reappears, now with a delightful fiancée, Judith.

There's also a glamorous film star who makes a cameo appearance, and I mustn't forget twelve-year-old Harriet Sparrow, who proves herself courageous and loyal. It sounds like a lot of people but the characterisation is excellent, though it helps to have read the earlier books beforehand.

Definitely recommended as part of this series. Four and a half stars, really.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Greyscotty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes - I'm a Lone Pine fanatic. This story strikes very close to home because I was born in London in the '50's. Yes, my parents moved me away from the central city at a very young age but I still feel connected to the streets & avenues depicted in this book. It makes no difference that my soccer team was Crystal Palace instead of Tottenham Hotspurs - they're all London teams! One phrase of advice.....read this book!

[Selaya Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah: this was a re-read. My stepdad (who is from London) thought it might be a good follow-up to Souper Mum. English and all that. I must say that Saville's setups are pretty decent and as kids books go this is one of the best. It mixes fact and fiction in just the right amounts. Up The Lone Piners!

[Helen Turnock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A completely different setting to previous books, and I don’t think the city atmosphere suits the lone piners at all, also, there is no Peter but it’s nice to see Wilson once again.

[Jason Towers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, well-mannered book in which nice, well-mannered children have an adventure and solve a mystery. Describing it as quaint would be misleading; it's an artefact of 1957 and is enjoyable as such. Clear simple prose makes it an easy read. It's quite detailed for a children's book. Love the gimmick of setting these books in places which "you yourself can visit".