Big John’s Secret, By Eleanore M. Jewett, Bethlehem Books. Distributed by Family Publications: 0845 0500 879. £6.95.

Some children, despite the sophisticated appeal of modern fantasy literature such as Philip Pullman and his ilk, still relish historical novels where they can escape to a real past rather than a fictitious future.

This book, first published in 1962 and now reprinted under Bethlehem Books’ imaginative approach to children’s publishing, is set in England at the time of King John – 1218 AD – and the fifth crusade. There is a mystery surrounding the birth of ‘Big John’, the book’s hero, and in learning the solution the reader follows him from an English villein’s troubled world under a weak king, to Acre and Damietta in the Holy Land, where we encounter the charismatic Francis of Assisi on his mission to convert the Saracens.

Crusaders are not depicted as always virtuous; Saracens are sometimes shown as brave, compassionate and civilised. History records that the Sultan, Melek-al-Kamel, took leave of St Francis with the most moving words quoted here: ‘…Remember me sometimes when you are at prayer. May He who is your God and my God reveal to me the faith that is most pleasing to Him’.

An excellent introduction to true Christian forbearance towards other creeds, within a most exciting story. For ages 10 upwards.

Sun Slower, Sun Faster, By Meriol Trevor, Bethlehem Books. Distributed by Family Publications: 0845 0500 879. £6.95.

In this absorbing novel, time-travel in the past is combined with a glimpse of the Catholic history of England through the generations of the Morne family. Two children, Cecilia (known as Cecil) and Rickie, the heir to Welston Manor, travel back in time, sometimes accompanied by their eccentric tutor, Dominic.

Set in the West country, with visits to Bristol and Bath, the old manor house is the principal setting for a stirring tale. So often in children’s literature old houses prove the catalyst for new horizons and Welston is no exception, with its attics, pleasance, hiding holes and former family chapel. Neither of the children is Catholic: Cecil brings her 1950s background of religious agnosticism to the ‘flashbacks’, and Rickie brings his hunger for family, roots and a real faith.

Beginning in 1838 AD, the children have episodic experiences of successive significant events, such as the exile of James II, the last Catholic King of England, and the Tudor persecutions. They also meet a rich procession of Catholic folk from medieval, Norman, Anglo-Saxon and post-Roman Britain. Pre-reformation England is not shown as all rosy – there is mention of a ribald friar - and many different ways of pondering the Catholic outlook are raised: through the bravery of a hunted priest kissing the doorstep of his prison, through a discussion of the difference between a sacred object and a lucky charm, through the ‘eternal present’ of the Mass contrasted with the passage of the centuries.

There is a lovely explanation of Mass by old Lady Morne, a recusant Catholic during the Tudor period, and the story’s conclusion, experienced by Cecil alone, is very memorable, bearing comparison with CS Lewis’ conclusion to The Last Battle. For ages 12 upwards.

Black as Night: a Fairytale Retold, By Regina Doman, Bethlehem Books. Distributed by Family Publications: 0845 0500 879. £6.95.

In this book, aimed at a teenage readership, the author breaks new ground in her original treatment of the fairytale genre. The story of Snow White in modern dress, it is a sequel to her earlier book, Snow White and Rose Red.

Then the story began with the adventures of a strange young man, Arthur Denniston, known as ‘Bear’, wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit; here it is taken up in the person of a young student called Blanche, who is being pursued by an unknown enemy, jealous of her youth, purity and beauty. The seven dwarves become seven friars working among the poor of the South Bronx and there are some hilarious episodes as they struggle both to shield Blanche and to fathom the evil that dogs her.

Good and evil are given insightful, even-handed treatment in modern-day New York, where drug addicts and down-and-outs jostle alongside men dedicated to God. Blanche’s ‘Prince’ is Bear, from the first story, and their growing love for one another, with all the uncertainties, doubts and longings of youth, is one of the most attractive aspects of this story. It is very hard to portray genuine young romance in youthful fiction; few writers attempt it and of those who do most get it wrong.

Regina Doman deserves high praise for her sensitive and delicate handling of this aspect and for her most daring ‘translation’ of a well-loved tale into a credible contemporary setting. Blanche and Bear possess no occult powers; there is simply, in the author’s words, ‘the magic of grace and coincidence’.

Most people probably remember Walt Disney’s film, with its terrifying witch/queen; here she becomes Elaine, mistress then second wife to a wealthy but weak man, vain, careerist, self-centred – and murderously jealous of her innocent rival, Blanche. The chilling – and thrilling - climax takes place in a house of smokescreens and distorted mirrors. Now read on. For ages 14 upwards.

© 2004 Francis Phillips

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