posted on 26 Feb 2018

Framed by Margrit Dahn

As in the best children’s story tradition, this one begins by giving the reader a detailed description of a cosy and comfortable life before it is disrupted by events. Ten year old Cathy and her brother seven year old Jake are lucky enough to stay in a rather beautiful London flat during the school holidays. It belongs to Mrs Raines, one of those excellent grandmothers who always provide children with exciting outings to the zoo and theatre and delicious home cooked food. She  is affectionately known to her grandchildren as ‘Granny Greeneyes’  because of spectacles that she used to wear as a child and, although she no longer wears them, she has retained an ability to see things that others might not notice and possibly possesses some supernatural powers as well. She always has lots of interesting friends dropping by who keep the children entertained but one day she is visited by the not so nice Mr Woodfine who soon reveals himself to be an evil hypnotist and magician who casts a spell on the children. Cathy is turned into a little girl wearing large mittens, Jake is turned into a dog and then they shrink dramatically in size and are trapped inside a picture frame which hangs on the parlour wall.

Once this spell has taken effect, Granny Greeneyes has the wit to hide the picture away from nasty Mr Woodfine by making it vanish in order that that she can puzzle out how they might be released. It mysteriously reappears amongst the belongings of Dr Owen Fairwood who is a renowned psychiatrist in the process of moving his practice from Harley St. He discovers it as he is packing his boxes and he is charmed by the rather sad picture of the little girl with her dog. Once he is organising his possessions based at his home, he decides to give it pride of place in his new consulting room. During the first night, a huge grey moth appears, touches the picture and somehow releases the children from the confines of the frame. They follow it into the doctor’s kitchen and there thy witness a very strange scene which is described in verse form, presumably to emphasise the magical hallucinatory quality. This unusual formula is repeated throughout the book as every time something magical occurs, there is another piece of verse and this gives a familiar fairy tale like structure to the story.

The children return into the picture frame and the next day we are introduced to Mr Robin Brunswick, a regular patient of Dr Fairwood. The two children watch and listen as this elderly professor of linguistics recounts his latest dream in verse form and the doctor offers him some wise practical advice.  And so begins their unusually privileged perspective on how the world of adults works. Jake is a dog and so cannot express himself too clearly but Cathy is anxious to be released from the enchantment although she recognises some value in being able to spy unseen. In doing so, she learns not to make hasty judgments about people and to take time to value their individual qualities and needs.

Subsequent chapters introduce the girl next door Claire, who is having problems with her maths homework; Dr Seabourne who seems to have a great desire to be beside the sea but doesn’t want to get wet; and Charlotte Doyle who is a young woman referred to Dr Fairwood by Mrs Raines. All of these visitors help to undo the spell in small ways but Charlotte  is the most significant link. Without giving too much away we learn that Mrs Raines chose the hiding place because ‘the environment of a good and honest doctor acts like a shield and weakens the charlatan’s spiteful endeavour.’     

 I enjoyed reading this curious little story set in Victorian London which is the first children’s book written by this London based German author. I liked the way in which she conjured up a fantastical scenario with just enough menace to give it momentum with echoes of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. I think that it would appeal to children aged eleven and above who like a challenging plot and are able to make sense of the sometimes mystical concepts and language. I look forward to reading more of her interesting  work in the future.

 

Karen Argent

February 2017