posted on 22 Jan 2024

Groosham Grange, The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz, adapted by Maxe L’Hermenier and illustrated by Clement Lefevre

This successful series of books about a very unusual school has already been made into a movie and now has new life as a graphic novel. The enticing illustration of a Hogwarts style turreted castle on the front cover immediately appealed to my seven year old grandson’s imagination. He did point out that the boy pictured in the centre of the page looked rather worried and we guessed correctly that this might be a rather scary story.

As is so often true in the long tradition of children’s literature, we meet David Eliot, a boy with parents that need to be disposed of quickly if the story is to be exciting. They don’t even seem to like him very much. This might be because he keeps getting into trouble at every school he goes to and has just been expelled from Beton, a public school with some absurd rules:

‘I don’t like wearing a top hat and tails and having to eat standing on one leg just because I’m under thirteen!’

His father decides to punish him by cancelling Christmas which produced a howl of outrage from my grandson, surely he couldn’t be so cruel? But then everything changes when he receives a curious letter inviting him to send David to Groosham Grange, ‘a school that could lick your son into shape’.

After a strange phone call to the Headteacher, David is despatched immediately to Liverpool Street train station ( echoes of Harry Potter again). On the train he meets Jill and Jeffrey who are also bound for the mysterious school, having received an equally mysterious invitation. On the journey they become firm friends and resolve to help each other settle in, even though David is determined to run away at the first opportunity.

They are met by the ghoulish figure of Gregor, who drives them to the ferry as the school is on an island. As they arrive they see the imposing building soaring through the mist and their adventures begin.

I am not going to reveal all the horrors that follow as you will want to discover them for yourself. But be warned that they include vampires, werewolves, mummies, writing in blood, voodoo dolls, vanishing children and secret passages. The three new pupils also discover that they are all the seventh child of a seventh child - what could this possibly mean?

The author and illustrator succeed in producing an atmospheric, tense but often very funny story with a strong protagonist who knows what he wants and is prepared to be both brave and generous. The graphic novel format gives the reader’s imagination plenty of space with the narrative growing through different frames without lots of text cluttering the page.

Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get a copy of this thrilling story from your local independent bookshop - who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have a copy on their shelves.

 

Karen Argent

January 2024