Merlin's Magic

by Helen Clare

"We begin by following the trail of what appears to be an ordinary summer afternoon's treasure hunt, though the mention of a 'classical beast of great antiquity' and the fanciful names of some of the children should have prepared us for the flight into the world of fantasy which soon follows. Each child has to follow a clue which leads to the intangible treasures of his own heart and mind, and in each case the search is imperilled by the appearance of an army of robot-like monsters, who, lacking imagination themselves, want to seize it from those so gifted. The contrast betweent the glories of the days of King Arthur, Elizabeth I or Kubla Khan, and the Wellsian atmosphere created by the robots is too sharp ... the characters of romance are not always true to their periods either; no one minds the delightful hippogriff lapsing into Cockney, but to find Queen Morgan le Fay speaking of people "barging about" or Sir Walter Ralegh mixing himself up with Edward Lear's Jumblies is a bit odd." -- Junior Bookshelf Review

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Pseudonym for Pauline Clarke

Pauline Clarke was born in 1921 and is an English author who has written for children of all ages and more recently for adults. Until 1943 she studied English at Somerville College, Oxford, before working as a journalist and writing for children's magazines.

Her children's books span many genres, including fantasy, family comedy, historical fiction and poetry. Her greatest success, The Twelve and the Genii, received the Carnegie Medal, a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.

Reviews

[Pat Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a teenager and found it really inspirational. Sadly it was a library book and I didn't at that time, look to buy my own copy. Wish I had as the only one I can find online is way out of a price range that I find acceptable