When Madlyn and Rollo’s parents are given the opportunity of a lifetime to work in American for a price that will pay all of their debts, it seems the children have no choice but to go to Clawstone Castle to stay with elderly relations. As it turns out, the elderly relations need the children’s help rather desperately. Clawstone Castle is in serious financial trouble and Madlyn and Rollo have a plan. But will their help be enough to stop the evil Mr. Trembellow from buying the castle and its grounds and turning into a giant cement subdivision?
Another terrific fantasy from Eva Ibbotson, The Beasts of Clawstone Castle is chock full of ghosts, intrigue and clever capable children. The ghosts are plenty gruesome if you like that sort of thing, but aren’t intended to be actually scary as they help the children quite a bit. It’s complicated enough to be most interesting for grades three and up. In particular, the final quarter of the book takes a bit of a confusing turn. By Chapter 24, all but the best readers will have lost the plot entirely. I wasn’t particular sure where things were going myself, but it sorts itself out. Also, in a random aside, this book has many mentions of plastic surgery. Not something I see written about often, but there it was!
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Some field mice decided to “breed” in the sofa. One ghosts remembers when he and a friend used to court the same girls. A man married five women (not all at once) and divorced them.
Profanity – “blasted,” “hell,” a ghost calls rude words,
Death, Violence and Gore – Sir George got a leg wound during the war. One castle has a dungeon and torture devices where people probably died in agony. Sir George considers that if the children disturb the animals he should have to beat them. Mrs. Grove’s husband had been killed by a drunk driver. There’s a bit about how the Druids sacrificed cows. Madlyn suggests that people may have drowned or been murdered nearby. There are ghosts. The children are hoping for some with heads that come off or daggers in the chest. One fell down the stairs and broke his neck, another died on the hunting field. There’s a ghost who was shot as a bride and leaks blood all over. There is a skeleton with bits of flesh left on him and one eye. A girl was sawn in half and can make her top part float toward the ceiling. Another ghost has a dead ghost rat with the plague gnawing on his heart. One was struck by lightning, yet another died in a truck accident. One ghost would like to strangle people a bit. A live man has lost a few fingers to frostbite and gangrene. It is mentioned that prisoners were thrown onto dead bodies in the dungeon. There some discussion of killing of animals, cows, clubbing seals and gassing badgers in their burrows. While the ghosts are not particularly scary, the fact that all of the beautiful cattle are slaughtered is pretty traumatic. A soldier recollects a friend being shot on D-day. Some people come from a country where they are in danger of being killed. A king drowned. A woman died when her child was a baby. Uncle George has quite a few guns.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – Not frightening as much as inadvisable, an 11 year old boy and a skeleton take turns driving a car. Animals are mistreated on a very large scale. It is clear they need rescue (even to the characters). There are preparations to do surgery on an animal. Children are tied up.
