A synopsis of the novel The Demon In The House by Angela Thirkell.
Hamish Hamilton
This is the frightfully frustrating story of Tony Morland who first appeared in High Rising. A sweeter demon doesn’t exist than this 12-year old with a gift for disconcerting remarks and getting what he wants from his mother.
Boys will be boys, and little Morland is no exception, boasting, bragging, breaking windows, messing about in boats and demanding breakfast in bed, all very much to the despair of his mother, Laura. More than anything, Tony is desperate for a bicycle and although Laura is certain he’ll come home in a coffin after one of his rides, Tony is determined to make her concede.
Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, Inc. (USA)
Mrs. Thirkell made her bow to American readers last year with Wild Strawberries, a novel wherein an irrepressible, irresponsible household of English gentlefolk supply the story. Their artless abandon to the pure joy of living rendered them altogether delight-tul and amusing companions.
The author’s new book has all the charm and gayety of her previous one. The Demon in the House is Tony Morland, a twelve-year-old boy with a natural gift for making disconcerting remarks and a passion for trains and allegedly scientific research.
The confusion that this bubbling youth – ably assisted by his friend and foil, Donk, who is as silent as Harpo Marx and just as funny – brings into a well-ordered adult world, makes side-splitting reading.
If you have ever been rash enough to pit your energy against a child’s; if, in the unequal contest you have gone down to ignominious defeat – then, if it be true that misery loves company, this is your book. We guarantee that it will enlarge your horizon and induce a series of loud and reminiscent chuckles!
To Mr. Gerald Gould, “Tony is quite de. licious”; Mr. James Agate says: “A small boy who spends his time between the angelic and the utterly revolting”; Mr. Comptor Mackenzie writes: “No contemporary writer has succeeded in creating a more authentic small boy than Tony”; according to the Manchester Guardian he is: “One of the most convincing children drawn by any modern novelist.
And we ourselves make bold to prophesy that Tony will become one of the most famous boys in, fiction.
The text on this page is taken from the dust jacket of The Demon In The House, by Angela Thirkell. The book was published in 1934 by publishers Hamish Hamilton who have since become part of Penguin Random House.
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