The Greatest Gresham

Mr Copplestone & The Smiths #6

by Gillian Avery

Set in Victorian England, Gillian Avery's 'The Greatest Gresham' introduces the reader to the three Gresham children: Julia(12), Henry (10) and Amy (8). The Gresham family, we learn, are neither very rich nor very poor and live in an ordinary London suburb; in fact they are a very ordinary family - or so they initially appear. Julia, aware of her responsibility as the eldest Gresham, and continually reminded by her (very strict and constantly irritable) father that his three children are heirs to an important name, longs to be 'famous and great', but she has no idea how to go about it. Henry, a timid and anxious boy, who feels bullied by his father, would only like to be great in order to please his exacting parent, and Amy, a confident and high-spirited young girl who doesn't care what other people think, decides she will most probably be great one day anyway. When a new family move in next door, the Greshams become friendly with Richard Holt and his younger sister Kate, who are motherless and allowed much more freedom than the Greshams, and Julia, Henry and Amy soon begin to realize just how cloistered their lives are. However, the intelligent and rather superior Richard decides to take the Greshams in hand and broaden their horizons, a situation that results in the three children finding themselves involved in all sorts of adventures and getting themselves into some very hot water...

245 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Gillian Elise Avery was a British children's novelist, and a historian of childhood education and children's literature. She won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972 for A Likely Lad. It was adapted for television in 1990.

Reviews

[Janet Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this whole series. The drawings are exquisite.