Three siblings can’t go to their usual place for the summer, because another child there is ill with measles. So instead they stay at an empty boarding school with a governess, who pretty much gives them leave to wander about all day. They find their way onto the grounds of a large old mansion and in the extensive, beautiful gardens which feel so magical, come across a princess sleeping on a bench. Pretend to be living in a fantasy story, and she fully entertains this notion, but then lets on that she’s really only the niece of the household maid, dressing up for fun. But she does show them around the place, and among the heirloom jewels is a ring that actually grants wishes. And other nefarious magic. It takes them a while to figure out what is actually happening, and then to tease out the rules of the magic- for it does work by a certain pattern. Then they have to devise a way to make it all stop. Because what they think will be great fun at first, turns into disaster nearly every time someone makes a wish. One of them becomes invisible, which creates all kinds of awkward situations. In other scenarios, they have to earn pocket money by doing tricks in the marketplace, sneak around to solve a crime, and spend all day making costumes and a stage to put on a play for their governess – only to be terrified when the makeshift audience of stuffed coats and broom handle arms becomes animated. One of them gets changed in the wink of an eye into an older, professional gentleman who suddenly doesn’t recognize his brother and sister, and on another occasion their friend gets stretched to twelve feet tall and has to avoid being seen. Through it all they argue a lot amongst themselves, sweet-talk some adults, and always figure out how to deal with the situation until the magic ‘undos’ itself. The older boy is often self-narrating their adventures, and his turn of phrase: ‘To brush his hair and his clothes and to wash his face and hands was to our hero but the work of a moment‘ really threw me because I felt I should know where that came from. The kids were obviously familiar with classic literature, they wanted at one point to forget all the stress the magic caused by casually reading some Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson– both books which I found difficult to read or tiresome! so I felt were often quoting phrases or alluding to such literature and I was a bit in the dark on that.
I struggled somewhat to get through this book. While it’s written for children, the older style, sometimes lengthy descriptions, and unfamiliar phrases taxed my brain. In the past I would have delighted in these things, now I tried hard to enjoy them, but then would just suddenly feel fatigued, and have to shut the book even if in the middle of the climax for the chapter. It would just be too much, and I’d have to pick it up again the next day. I really liked most of the story, especially the practical aspects of how awful some of the magic’s consequences turned out to be (very similar theme to Five Children and It, which I know I read once long ago). I found the ‘Uglie Wuglies’ more curious than horrifying, but for some reason the parts about the statues coming to life, and having a wonderful meal with the Greek (or was it Roman) gods in the garden, did not interest me much. And the part at the end where they had some odd experience swamping their minds with answers to everything, just felt incomprehensible. I did like that the little side story about the French governess finding her lost love turned out how I had suspected (the children in the book didn’t see what was coming, but I did!)
