Bagthorpe Unlimited

Bagthorpe Unlimited
Bagthorpes Unlimited, like its predecessors, marked a turning point in the lives of the craziest family in U.K. The first book was about Jack and his feelings of insecurity while the second one revolved around the acceptance of Zero into the family. This one covers a topic that we have all been wondering about – family unity.

The overall plot of the novel focuses on and is continuously influenced by two major events – a burglary and a world record. The said robbery takes place at the beginning. It is a hilarious event in itself, where an enterprising robber breaks into the house and finds a handy list detailing precious items. The list was Grandma's brilliant idea and when this comes to light, everyone is far from happy with her. Fortunately for the Bagthorpes, the police are able to find their stolen goodies, albeit dumped in a field with a dismissive note.

Of course, this being the Bagthorpes, the full details of the robbery – including that horrid note – is published in the papers. As can be expected, Grandma receives everyone's wrath for landing them in this embarrassing position. And being a Bagthorpe, she knew how to solve the problem. She throws in a guilt-trip, moaning about her short life span and thereby calls for a family reunion.

So far, readers have only seen the immediate creative writer Bagthorpe and the agony aunt in the form of Stella Bright. Fair enough, Uncle Parker and Aunt Celia are part of the all the books but they usually come in as fillers. Who are these other members? It turns out that one particular branch of the family has rather strict religious tendencies. And for the most part, none of the Bagthorpes really wish to see them again. There is the germ-phobic Aunt Penelope who has a penchant for reciting verses. Then there are the snooty know-it-all children, Luke and Esther, who make the Bagthorpe clan feel just a tad inadequate. I would mention the father, Claud, but he obviously takes after Grandpa and is too much of a wallflower to annoy anyone.

The family wouldn't be the same without a diabolical scheme to alter their lives for the better. In this case, it was a devious method of getting rid of their extended family or, to use the pet name for the pious clan, the Dogcollar Brigade. Let's just say that it involved a lot of fungus and maggots as well as a rather nasty rotten egg.

Eventually, they cleared the house of the annoying family members but life was not going to be the same again. Luke and Esther had plans for fame and fortune, or at least to be on radio sometime soon. The clan had to do something quick and beat them to this task. Thus, it came about that everyone sought for that record-breaking act that would grant immortality through fame. Needless to say most of the acts ended disastrously. This was not the end of the matter – Grandma had a plan and it would unwittingly bring them all together as a family.

This book was a delightful read and certainly lived up to my expectations. The humor is typically British and is guaranteed to make you chuckle. My favorite bit was the reference to Mrs. Fosdyke's re-recruitment. The children flatter her into coming back once they fear that she might call it quits. They achieve this feat by promising a portrait of her. The end product would be hung in a fancy little frame that previously contained a painting of a castle. Helen Cresswell wraps up this entire agreement with the words - “The day was won, the Highland cattle had been well lost and Mrs. Fosdyke was to be framed and hung.”

Another feature that draws me to Cresswell's books is her command of the language. I usually expect simplistic grammar coupled with a lack of complex words from children's books. That is not the case with Cresswell's works. She effortlessly weaves sentences together and throws in a number of complex words, making it a bit of a challenge for a younger reader. This is a good surprise as I would prefer better standards from this genre so as to set the stage for harder books later on in life.