Dido and Pa

I loved it - plenty of action and an interesting twist on history with a strong female lead. Great reading for all

At long last Dido Twite is back in London, though perhaps not as she anticipated she'd be. Unexpectedly reunited (much to her delight) with her old friend Simon, now the Sixth Duke of Battersea, she has been spirited away from him by her rascally father Abednego, who with most of his family killed in the destruction of Battersea Castle has become Music Master to the Hanoverian Ambassador. The position is not unearned--for all his bad qualities, Mr. Twite is a brilliant composer and a performer of note on the hoboy, whose music often brightened Dido's younger days even though he always favored her much older sister Penny. But, quite naturally, the Ambassador is also a pivotal player in the ongoing Hanoverian plots against the Stuart throne, so Mr. Twite's politics mesh nicely with his employer's. Unfortunately for them both, "Bonnie Prince Georgie" (the King George IV of our universe) has recently died without issue, so what's a Hanoverian plotter to do? The answer's plain: find a way to become the power behind the throne. And this the Ambassador has done, with a Dutch double for King Richard IV. With the help of a network of street urchins and a young artist who is in love with Simon's sister Sophie, Dido contrives once again to foil the plot, though not without a few near escapes, and in the process is reunited with Penny and with what seems to be a younger half-sister, the oddly-named Is. She is also overlooked by a blind apple seller who has a gift of foreseeing and declares that he "can see crossed sparkling lines over her head, and a whole shower of lucky stars...a gold crown in her hand...and a velvet carpet under her foot." Take good care of her, he warns Mr. Twite, or the luck will turn for you... The high point of this installment in the Wolves Chronicles is the quirky relationship between Dido and her father, which is portrayed in a rich series of vignettes between them, cunningly spotted along the course of the tale to provide breaks in the otherwise headlong action. Aiken also shows her usual Dickensian gift in her portrayal of London street life and her creation of villains you love to hate--though Mr. Twite has his sympathetic moments. As the book closes, he has met the fate the apple-seller warned him of, Sophie and her gallant have come to an understanding, and Simon shyly suggests that perhaps Dido will "think about being Duchess of Battersea one day." A satisfying conclusion to Dido's extended globe-trotting.

I read these books when I was much younger, and re-read them every time I come back to my parents' house. They are incredibly well written; characters, plot, and dialogue are all wonderfully done. Dido is possibly one of the best female children's characters ever written, and I'd even argue that she's one of the best female characters ever, forget children's books. She is resourceful, irreverent, intelligent, moral, funny, and completely unsanitized. I love all of the books in this series, but this one is my favorite. The only reason that these could be called "children's" books is that there's no sex. They absolutely do not underestimate the intelligence of the reader. Joan Aiken writes young adult novels in the style of Susan Cooper and Lloyd Alexander -- these books are terrifying, beautiful, chilling, funny and intelligent in a way that children's books no longer are and *should* be. Joan Aiken will be sorely missed.

Firstly, a previous reader was incorrect in stating that Is was Penelope's daughter; she is, in fact, Penny and Dido's half-sister, their father's child by another woman. I also disagree with that reviewer's assertion that Dido and Pa was formulaic and stale; it is, in fact, my favorite novel in the series of nine, and, tragically, the only one out of print. Dido *finally* reunites with Simon, older, wiser, and worldly. The two are very happy to be together again at last, although their joyous reunion, in typical Aiken fashion, does not last long. Aiken's plots are water-tight and well-developed, interesting, lively, and full of skilled foreshadowing. If this is a formula, oh that it were one all writers followed!I'm hoping beyond hope that Ms. Aiken will resolve Simon and Dido's fate in a new novel-she focuses on every character except my two favorites!

Joan Aiken is my favorite historical adventure novelists for young adults. Her characters are wonderful, her sense of humor is perfect, the plots are page-turners. She creates a Dickensian world for a younger audience with a bit of Roald Dahl thrown in. I highly recommend all of the books in this series to anyone who likes a good ripping story. A note to teachers, they might be a little difficult to read out loud because of the british dialect.