Black Hearts in Battersea

by Joan Aiken

Book Overview

Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395971284
• ISBN13: 9780395971284
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

So cool!

I loved this book. Simon comes up to London and from the start, people are trying to get rid of him for reasons unknown to him. Dido Twite is introduced in this book and she is a lovely hilarious spirited character. The story is light-hearted and fun to read. The characters are portrayed effectively and such a variety of them! A satisfying ending, though I wasn't completely happy until I read Nightbirds on Nantucket to find out what happens to Dido.

Plots afoot and foiled in an alernate England

This is a direct sequel to "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," which took place about a year before. In it, for the first time, we learn that Aiken's world is not our own, but an alternate reality in which the Stuarts kept the British throne; the King is James III, the "Hanoverian Wars" were fought some 15 years earlier to keep him in office, and the "Pretender" is "Bonnie Prince Georgie over the water," who is supported at home by a conspiracy of Hanoverians. Simon, the young orphan hero of "Wolves," is now 15, and comes to London to study painting and lodge with Dr. Gabriel Field, whom he befriended in the previous book. When he finds the doctor's lodgings (not without a good deal of misdirection, which proves to be enemy action), not only is Field not there, but everyone insists he never was. Bewildered, Simon manages to gain entry to the art school in Battersea, where he deeply impresses the master and meets Justin, the thoroughly untalented nephew of the Duke of Battersea, whose castle lies directly across the Thames. He soon makes the acquaintance of the Batterseas themselves, a delightfully foggy middle-aged couple (the Duke is a keen natural scientist and experimenter in gas balloons, and his lady has such a horror of boredom that she carries an arsenal of amusements wherever she goes, including the opera), and discovers to his delight that his dear friend Sophie, whom he knew in the orphanage before running away at the age of eight, is now the Duchess's lady's-maid. His friendship with his landlord's slangy small daughter, the neglected Dido Twite, leads him to the discovery of an arsenal of guns and pikes in the Twites' cellar and the realization that the family is Hanoverian--a persuasion shared, as it proves, by just about every servant in Battersea Castle (though not at the Duke's country house in Chippings). After he, Sophie, and the art students foil two attempts on the Batterseas' lives, he learns of a conspiracy to assassinate King Jamie, but is kidnapped to sea before he can warn anyone. Dido and Justin, stowing away on the ship, contrive to rescue him, there's a fire and wreck in a savage storm, and after a series of revelations that would do credit (once again) to Dickens, the conspirators come to their deserved end (or at least most of them do) and Simon and Sophie learn the secret of their roots. Though the British slang used by many of the characters may be puzzling to American readers, it can be worked out from context, and the plot is fast-paced and builds skilfully toward a climax. Robin Jacques's lovely line illo's add immeasureably to the story. "Battersea" defies the maxim that sequels are always inferior to the original. A great read-aloud that all families should own.

Battersea is the pinnacle of literary perfection

This book in the Wolves/Dido series is probably amoung the best. It would be because of A.outstanding characterization B.amusing dialogue C.beautiful British humour. While The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Nightbirds on Nantucket are both worthy of accolades, Blackhearts in Battersea is the funniest. As most Scottish readers would know, in real history Bonnie Prince Charlie tried to wrest the throne from the Georgians. Aiken's use of twisted history is superbly amusing. Also, the large pair of trousers cracks me up. My only complaint is that Sophie was too perfect and not enough human.

Black Hearts in Battersea

BLACK HEARTS IN BATTERSEA is written by Joan Aiken and takes place during the reign of King James III, near the beginning of the nineteenth century. The story is about a boy named Simon, an orphan, who travels to London to meet an old friend named Dr. Field who promised to teach Simon painting. When he reaches the house where Dr. Field is supposed to be lodging, all he finds is an annoying little girl named Dido Twite. The Twites' are the owner of the house, and they tell Simon that they have no clue who or where Dr. Field is. Confused, Simon decides to stay at their house for a while. Soon, he finds himself playing chess with the kind old gentleman who is the Duke of Battersea, taking Dido to the fair, and meeting a boy named Justin. Justin is also an orphan and is in the middle of preparing to be the next Duke of Battersea. Dido starts to like Simon and tells him that she knows what happened to Dr. Field, but she cannot tell him. Simon starts to think Mr. Twite is one of the people who wants to overthrow good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. He also thinks Mr. Twite has something to do with the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Field. It seems that everywhere the Duke and Duchess go, they experience mishaps: a fire at the opera house, a wrecked ship, attacking wolves, and poisonous mince pies. With the help from Sophie, Simon's old friend and the Duchess' maid, they are all saved from the accidents. The accidents sound strange to everyone, and Simon thinks they were purposeful. However, many of the people who are against King James feel that Simon is dangerous and is ruining their plot. One night Mr. Twite and some other men kidnap Simon, but Dido sees them. She follows them and meets Justin on the way, and they both follow the kidnappers to a ship, called the "Dark Dew". Dido and Justin hide with Simon at the bottom of the ship unknown to the kidnappers, but the ship runs into a storm and falls apart. Dido, Justin and Simon are torn apart from each other, but Justin and Simon are pulled onto the shore of a small island. While they are on the island, everyone, including the Duke, Duchess, and Sophie, finds out that Simon is the next Duke, not Justin. The mystery unfolds the moment Simon and Justin find out about the large and terrible mistake that was made a long time ago. My favorite character in the book is Dido because she is a friendly, brave, and a caring girl. She is the nicest and most trustworthy member of the Twite family, and she is helpful and a good friend to Simon. Dido has characteristics anyone would want to have, including me. I love this book because it is full of mystery and evil. I think evilness is needed in a book because it makes the story more interesting and exciting to read. My favorite part of the book is the moment that the mystery is solved, because it is exciting to know what caused all the mysterious events. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, and does not mind if the story is

Awesome sequel to Wolves Of Willoughby Chase!

This book is an awesome addition to the Wolves of Willoghby Chase. Although, Bonnie and Sylvia Green have a very small part in the story, this book is even more suspensful than its predecessor. Simon returns to study Painting with Dr. Field at an art academy in London. In London we meet many new and exciting characters, Dido Twite, a poor child who craves adventure and Simons's affection, Sophie, the lady-in-waiting for the Duchess of Battersea, and many others. There are other books besides this one. Make sure to read them all. An excellent series to read aloud to a Fifth or Sixth Grade class. They just die when you stop right before the climax of a part. It really captures their attention.