What do you think?
Rate this book
Devil-in-the-Fog
A dramatic and eerie story of lost identity and family secrets, told in Leon Garfield's memorable and distinctive style. George Treet is happy with his life as part of a family of travelling actors. But George's world turns upside down when he discovers that Mr Treet is not his real father, and that he must go and live with his real family. Where someone, somewhere out in the fog, is waiting for him...
188 pages, hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
1 person is currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Leon Garfield
117 books49 followersLeon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 13, 2025
It was so good to step back into 1960s children's literature – literature, not fiction – and especially into Leon Garfield. Not unlike sitting down in a bathtub of hot water rather than standing in a shower. A triumph of luxury over utility.
Garfield's prose, both flowery and complex, is almost a corporeal substance to wallow in or be engulfed by. One paragraph displays it – George has been tempted to change into his theatrical finery at a family get-together:
“I made my hurried excuses and flew to my room – to the chest I'd always known I'd be opening at just such a time as this. Out they came! King Charles's green coat! Othello's yellow tabby waistcoat with its rich silver lace! The stockings with 'bas de soye shot through'! The white silk breeches! The red-heeled shoes worn by a Marshal of France! Even the grand Dutch wig with its two tails and great black bow... and last and most handsome of all, the blue Steinkirk cravat with its foot deep border of lace!”
What a luvvie that boy was. A luvvie through and through.
And amazingly, despite the verbal acrobatics, it leads to a novel of under two hundred pages rather than one of today's door-stop blockbusters. One could be comparing a Rolls Royce Phantom with a pantechnicon. Intriguing characters everywhere, not the least being the protagonist George – fourteen years old and with the thespian swagger of a trouper and the declamatory delivery and vocabulary of Olivier.
There is a story as well: the lost, misplaced or distorted family inheritance plot that Garfield exploited so well. Is George a Treet and a blossoming actor? A Dexter and heir to a fortune? Or is he a victim of a despicable financial deal that saw him sold as a baby? The machinations are as dense and impenetrable as the Sussex winter fogs and murk. Get hold of a copy, get into it and read a children's book as they used to be written. And watch out for those Crystals of Lemon – exciting but dangerous.
Garfield's prose, both flowery and complex, is almost a corporeal substance to wallow in or be engulfed by. One paragraph displays it – George has been tempted to change into his theatrical finery at a family get-together:
“I made my hurried excuses and flew to my room – to the chest I'd always known I'd be opening at just such a time as this. Out they came! King Charles's green coat! Othello's yellow tabby waistcoat with its rich silver lace! The stockings with 'bas de soye shot through'! The white silk breeches! The red-heeled shoes worn by a Marshal of France! Even the grand Dutch wig with its two tails and great black bow... and last and most handsome of all, the blue Steinkirk cravat with its foot deep border of lace!”
What a luvvie that boy was. A luvvie through and through.
And amazingly, despite the verbal acrobatics, it leads to a novel of under two hundred pages rather than one of today's door-stop blockbusters. One could be comparing a Rolls Royce Phantom with a pantechnicon. Intriguing characters everywhere, not the least being the protagonist George – fourteen years old and with the thespian swagger of a trouper and the declamatory delivery and vocabulary of Olivier.
There is a story as well: the lost, misplaced or distorted family inheritance plot that Garfield exploited so well. Is George a Treet and a blossoming actor? A Dexter and heir to a fortune? Or is he a victim of a despicable financial deal that saw him sold as a baby? The machinations are as dense and impenetrable as the Sussex winter fogs and murk. Get hold of a copy, get into it and read a children's book as they used to be written. And watch out for those Crystals of Lemon – exciting but dangerous.
October 24, 2015
This had been on my to-read shelf for a while, it came off the shelf and into my hand as a result of the Aussie Readers October challenge.
It nearly didn't qualify, as children's books or YA are not quite the thing, however, as it says in the introduction 'It is a book to leave firmly out of categories and accept thankfully for what it is - a masterpiece.'
Despite being aimed at a younger audience Devil-In-The-Fog is not your typical 2000's youth book. Set in the eighteenth century, the main character, George, is a definite child, much more so than a fourteen year old today would be. Were fourteen year olds that young in the 1960's when it won awards? Or did people only like to believe they were?
George finds that he is not the person he thought he was; his father is not really a travelling player, he is the son of a great nobleman and has been hidden for years at risk of his life, supported by a stranger who came and paid for his keep in gold. Then, one day the stranger comes without gols and says 'no more', George and is taken back to his ancestral home where his real father is dying. But there are mysteries and buried secrets and Georges future may not be as bright as it seems.
The real mastery of this book however, is the writing itself; intricate and convoluted as the plot may be the literary style is more elaborate and intricate still. The sentence structure is often so elaborate that it too becomes convoluted, and while I enjoyed reading it, sometimes I found the meaning of a paragraph quite lost among the elaborate curlicues of the English language - I didn't mind this, I quite liked it, personally but not everyone might.
It nearly didn't qualify, as children's books or YA are not quite the thing, however, as it says in the introduction 'It is a book to leave firmly out of categories and accept thankfully for what it is - a masterpiece.'
Despite being aimed at a younger audience Devil-In-The-Fog is not your typical 2000's youth book. Set in the eighteenth century, the main character, George, is a definite child, much more so than a fourteen year old today would be. Were fourteen year olds that young in the 1960's when it won awards? Or did people only like to believe they were?
George finds that he is not the person he thought he was; his father is not really a travelling player, he is the son of a great nobleman and has been hidden for years at risk of his life, supported by a stranger who came and paid for his keep in gold. Then, one day the stranger comes without gols and says 'no more', George and is taken back to his ancestral home where his real father is dying. But there are mysteries and buried secrets and Georges future may not be as bright as it seems.
The real mastery of this book however, is the writing itself; intricate and convoluted as the plot may be the literary style is more elaborate and intricate still. The sentence structure is often so elaborate that it too becomes convoluted, and while I enjoyed reading it, sometimes I found the meaning of a paragraph quite lost among the elaborate curlicues of the English language - I didn't mind this, I quite liked it, personally but not everyone might.
November 10, 2012
I loved Leon Garfield when I was young. Going back, I realised this author really introduced me to the gothic, and is better than I appreciated as a YA reader. Playful, clever, with beautiful, evocative descriptions, twisty plots, the smell of evil, creepiness... wonderful stuff. Looking forward to getting my son reading it.
May 17, 2015
FROM BBC RADIO 4 - AFTERNOON DRAMA:
Highwaymen, duels, swirling fogs, escaped convicts - part one of a thrilling two-part dramatisation of Leon Garfield's classic 18th C. mystery adventure.
2/2 What murky secrets lie at the heart of the fog? Who is the principal? And who is the Devil?
Dramatised by Martin Jameson
Highwaymen, duels, swirling fogs, escaped convicts - part one of a thrilling two-part dramatisation of Leon Garfield's classic 18th C. mystery adventure.
2/2 What murky secrets lie at the heart of the fog? Who is the principal? And who is the Devil?
Dramatised by Martin Jameson
January 23, 2016
4.5
Fast-paced mystery with turns and twists for younger readers.
Fast-paced mystery with turns and twists for younger readers.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2023
Set in the 1800s, this tells of 14-year-old George Treet who, together with his father and siblings, make up a travelling show. His life, however, is turned upside down when his father reveals that George is not his child, and George is sent away to live with his real parents. They thought he was dead, so his arrival is a shock, but it soon turns out that not everyone is pleased to see him, and life takes on a dangerous turn for the lad...
My mum bought me this after we discussed Smith by the same author which we'd both enjoyed. It's a swashbuckling and atmospheric tale of bravery and adventure. Leon Garfield tells a good story, and although I'm not the target audience, and maybe it wasn't quite as good as Smith, it's an entertaining story and I'm sure I'll read something else by him in the future.
My mum bought me this after we discussed Smith by the same author which we'd both enjoyed. It's a swashbuckling and atmospheric tale of bravery and adventure. Leon Garfield tells a good story, and although I'm not the target audience, and maybe it wasn't quite as good as Smith, it's an entertaining story and I'm sure I'll read something else by him in the future.
Read
April 30, 2020This was not good, this was annoying.
July 6, 2020
Perfect foreshadowing and ambiance. Another great classic without being heavy-handed.
October 26, 2025
Engaging and enjoyable, but strangely written. Unusual prose style. I liked this a bit.
September 18, 2023
so much fun!!!
September 13, 2015
A slower start than some of his other books, but it truly picks up once our hero, George, is lost in the fog. Throughout the middle of the book nobody is clear, all actions and intentions are murky and trust is thin and sparing. Even the book's final chapter, where the mystery is laid out, is interrupted by multiple interpretations and viewpoints.
This book is also aided by the fact that George is one of Leon Garfield's better protagonists. Jack Holborn and Tolly were rather bland and Smith lost his agency once he was off the streets but George is an active and interesting participant throughout. This stronger protagonist, when aided to his typical more interesting side characters and his deliciously ironic (and sometime overblown) prose, makes this a definite book to enjoy.
This book is also aided by the fact that George is one of Leon Garfield's better protagonists. Jack Holborn and Tolly were rather bland and Smith lost his agency once he was off the streets but George is an active and interesting participant throughout. This stronger protagonist, when aided to his typical more interesting side characters and his deliciously ironic (and sometime overblown) prose, makes this a definite book to enjoy.
September 27, 2013
Despite being full of atmosphere (I can't recall ever having read a book with as many swirling mists as this) and richly developed characters, this didn't grip me as much as many other books by Leon Garfield. It felt as if the structure of the novel couldn't quite sustain the intricacies and subtleties of the plot. As always, there are some brilliant passages of descriptive prose to be relished, but this was otherwise rather lacklustre. C
February 4, 2016
Quite good. I like the main character for his virtuous and humorous nature. It felt like a detective story.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews