'The Letter for the King' by Tonke Dragt

On the verge of becoming a knight, Tiuri answers a call for help and ends up carrying a letter through many dangers to the king of a neighbouring kingdom. This quest teaches him about what the world, and he himself, has to offer, both kindness and cruelty, both friendship and betrayal. This book is exciting, thoughtful and written with a clarity and immediacy that makes it a pleasure to read. A sequel, The Secrets of the Wild Wood has just been translated into English (the books were published in Dutch in the 1960s) – I am looking forwards to reading it as the bedtime story soon.

Nov '15