The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
£2.18
Ghosts are no match for little boys - Dr. James Harrison, FRS, MP, D.Phil, OBE, writer of The Life Cycle of a British Beetle is a pirate of the Seven Seas, first conqueror of the earth s highest peak, captain of a World-Cup-winning football team and professional hole-digger. In short, he is a normal boy. And if in his made-up adventures windows get broken, cups shatter and his arm gets stuck in a grate - well that s not really his fault, is it? No matter what his father, mother and, sigh, sister think.After moving into an old house, James discovers that he is sharing a room with a literate poltergeist,Thomas Kempe, who resorts to banging doors and hiding glasses for attention. Of course, it is James who gets blamed and whose allowance has to pay for damages. Things take a turn for the worse for James when Kempe, a sorcerer, leaves notes all over the place offering his magicks and accusing people of witchery. Can he successfully exorcise Thomas so that he can finally eat dessert and not have to be sent to his room all the time?Penelope Lively takes us to a time in our lives when the world was bright and wide, when every nook, cranny and hole can yield buried treasure and unfettered possibilities. Through James we remember climbing trees, running through grass, cartwheeling, and of course, telling ghost stories among friends. We also remember times when we couldn t ask adults for help because they wouldn t believe us and sadly, neither did our bestfriends.This is the perfect reading material for children who will certainly know what it s like to be James and for adults who want to be like James again - at least for a short time.
The Ghost Of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively - This is a fantastic story. I did not come across it during my younger years, but my class of 10 year olds have loved it. It is very well written and we have found it hard to put down.
the ghost of thomas kempe - I read this book as a child and absolutely loved it...so much infact that I bought it recently and reading it again, even after all this time none of the magic has been lost! Set in Oxfordshire. It s the story of the Harrisons and their 10 year old son James, who move into to a draughty old cottage where creaks and strange bumps in the night become the norm. Ten year old James is about to discover they have an unwelcome guest...Thomas kempe a seventeeth century sorcerer who has materialized in East End Cottage in the form of a meddlesome and malicious poltergiest. Intent on making James his new apprentice Thomas Kempe becomes more and more mischievious to the point where drastic measures must be taken! Funny and nicely written I love the way this book brings back memories of childhood, long summer days and apple orhards. A real gem of a book!
Thomas Kempe - Book Review on “The Ghost of Thomas Kempe”“The Ghost of Thomas Kempe” by Penelope Lively is a children’s ghost story. It involves a boy called James who, with his mother, father and sister, moves to a quiet town, Ledsham, in the Oxford country side. James soon discovers a poltergeist, Thomas Kempe, in his bedroom that causes many problems. With the help of a local builder, though, James manages to overcome these problems and send the poltergeist back where he came from. I thought Thomas Kempe was an arrogant ghost because if anyone did any of his old jobs he got cross with them and turned James’ house upside down – “…when the cup jolted, tipped, hung at an angle of forty-five degrees, and turned over. Tea flowed into the saucer, and then in a cascade onto the Vicar’s trousers.” Also he thinks he is the boss and threatens people when he doesn’t get his own way – “Goe and tell they that are diggynge for treasure in the Lammas Fields that they must give me one halfe of what they finde for it is I who tell where gold may be found in these partes. Doe this at once or it will be the worse for thee.” I thought Thomas Kempe was a bit tedious because he always got cross in the same way – he slammed doors, broke bottles and his actions became guessable and childish – “There was a crash. The barometer had leapt off the wall and lay on the floor, the glass cracked.”An incident in the book that moved me was when Thomas Kempe burned down Mrs Verity’s house. I think I was moved by this because I felt so sorry for Mrs Verity. She’s just a friendly old woman who liked to know the news and suddenly she doesn’t have a house any longer! I felt Thomas Kempe was very cruel to burn her house, and he clearly didn’t regret it in his note – “I have burned downe the wytches house.” He’s pleased with himself for having got rid of her! This made me feel annoyed with Thomas Kempe because it isn’t Mrs Verity’s fault he thinks she’s a witch. A theme I thought was important in the novel was time and the past. I think this is so because James thinks about what it was like to be a young boy, Arnold, who lived in the 19th century. There is also a museum on at James’ school about 100 years of life in Ledsham. Thomas Kempe is a ghost, so he is from the past as well, and that is to do with time. It made me think about what it would be like to live when my mum was small, and when my gran was small. It made me think about how things have changed since Arnold’s time, for better and for worse. All in all I found this book a very enjoyable read. It gripped me on every page, and I found every character different, with a very specific personality, Thomas is tedious, James has a wild imagination and Mrs Verity is very inquisitive. I would recommend this book to people because it had a very well thought out plot and was a real page turner. It made me think about the last generation, as time is the key theme in the book. This is one of the most fabulous children’s books I have read, and I am now inspired to read more books by Penelope Lively!
Atmospheric - I know I know, this is a childrens book... But as a thirty-something I really loved it. It s kind of old-fashioned (written in the 70s) but Penelope Lively has a great art of creating an atmosphere. I liked James and felt that he coped very well against the odds. It s mainly a ghost story with a bit of history and childishness thrown in for good measure. If you have a spare afternoon, reading this would be a good way to fill it.