Author Notes
Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 21, 1925. She graduated from Bedford College, London with a degree in physiology in 1945 and the University of Durham with a degree in education in 1965. Her first book, The Great Ghost Rescue, was published in 1975. She primarily wrote children's book and romance novels for adults and young adults. Her other works include The Secret of Platform 13, The Star of Kazan, Which Witch?, Island of the Aunts, Dial-a-Ghost, The Ogre of Oglefort, A Company of Swans, and A Song For Summer. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Journey to the River Sea. She died on October 20, 2010 at the age of 85.
(Bowker Author Biography)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Abandoned as a baby, Annika is found and adopted by Ellie and Sigrid, cook and housemaid for three professors. Growing up in early-20th-century Vienna, she learns to cook and clean and is perfectly happy until a beautiful aristocrat appears and claims to be her mother, sweeping her off to a new life in a crumbling castle in northern Germany. Annika is determined to make the best of things, and it takes a while for her to realize that her new "family" has many secrets, most of them nasty. With the help of Ellie, Sigrid, the professors, and friends old and new, Annika escapes from a ghastly fate and learns to face the truth about her relatives. Winding like a braid through this story is a mystery involving a chest of worn costumes and junk jewelry left to Annika by an old woman she has befriended. This is a rich saga in the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett, full of stalwart friends, sly villains, a brave heroine, and good triumphing over evil. Annika's determination to do the right thing is both laudable and utterly frustrating, especially when readers realize that her loyalty is misplaced. Almost every character is distinct, but the ones that stand out are the "regular folk," individuals whose sense of decency propels them into amazing acts of courage. Vienna itself is colorfully portrayed, brimming with pastries, coffee, and dancing Lipizzaner horses. An intensely satisfying read.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Although there are no ghosts at large, this fairytale-like novel set in Vienna during Franz Joseph's reign features the same unique blend of bigger-than-life adventure, sparkling wit and intricate plotting that characterizes Ibbotson's previous novels (The Secret of Platform 13). Annika, a foundling, has been lovingly raised by two servant women working in the household of three professors in the heart of the city. Annika has enjoyed a happy childhood there, surrounded by friends. Even snooty Loremarie Egghart redeems herself by unwittingly forging a friendship between the heroine and Loremarie's great-aunt, who was once a theater attraction in Paris and whose health is ailing. Still, Annika wonders about her past and dreams of some day meeting the mother who abandoned her as a baby. Then one day a stately German woman named Edeltraut von Tannenberg claims Annika as her long lost daughter and promptly whisks her off to Spittal, a gloomy, rundown estate up north. More at home in the kitchen than in the drafty dining room, Annika finds that the only people she can relate to are the servants, especially free-spirited Zed, a gifted horse handler who plays a key role in uncovering the ulterior motives of Edeltraut and rescuing Annika from a dangerous situation. Readers will never doubt for a moment that Annika will rediscover happiness. But following the twisting path (of carefully planted details) that leads to her complicated rescue proves to be a fun-filled trip full of surprises. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In turn-of-the-century Vienna, an infant girl, abandoned at birth, is taken into the household of three eccentric professors to be raised by the cook and housekeeper. As Annika grows up, she dreams of the mother she never met, befriends an elderly woman who moves in next door with her snobby neighbors, and learns the art of Viennese cooking. It's almost impossible to think about this book in terms other than culinary: it's filled with cucumber salad and vanilla, nougat and freshly ground coffee, and all manner of earthly edibles. Luckily, narrator Connolly sounds as if she would relish a good dollop of hazelnut cream, and her mature voice is as comforting as custard. She reads with great verve and carefully delineates each character through alterations in tone rather than vocal tricks. Add to Connolly's expert performance the sudden appearance of Annika's long-lost, aristocratic ""mother,"" a mysterious inheritance, and a daring rescue...and you've got a winning audio combination. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Ibbotson, master of the "poor orphan makes good" tale, offers another eminently satisfying example, this one wrapped in a valentine to Vienna, the author's natal city. Raised by servants to be "a person who was interested in doing things, not having them," 11-or-so-year-old foundling Annika sees a dream come true when lovely, regal Edeltraut von Tannenberg appears at the door one day, joyously announcing that she's her real mother. Blinded by adoration, Annika barely notices how badly in need of repairs is her fortress-like new home, or how poorly she fits in with her spoiled and predatory new "family." Readers will, though, as piece by piece, the author reveals an elaborate, clever fraud involving faked documents, smoothly plausible lies, and a hoard of supposedly imitation jewelry that Annika has inherited from an elderly neighbor. Creating suspense by letting readers into the scheme long before Annika and her friends, Ibbotson also paints a vivid picture of pre-WWI Vienna, from its delectable pastries to the famed show horses of the Spanish Riding School. Along with this beguiling atmosphere and expertly developed plot, readers will long remember the admirable Annika and cheer her eventual, well-deserved, triumph. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 10-13) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-8. Ibbotson's latest is a galloping historical novel set in the Austro-Hungarian empire. Abandoned as an infant, 12-year-old Annika lives in Vienna with the cook and housemaid who discovered her as well as their employers, a sibling trio of eccentric professors. Annika helps with the housework and grows up comfortably in the warm house on a beautiful square, surrounded by friends. Still, Annika dreams of reuniting with the unknown parents who abandoned her, and when an elegant, charismatic woman appears, birth certificate in hand, Annika embraces her as her long-lost mother and agrees to move to the family's remote northern castle. The grand estate isn't what she expected, though, and she fights waves of homesickness as troubling clues begin to emerge about her new family. Ibbotson leads her characters through a delightful, breathless adventure that skillfully enfolds deliciously cruel villains, crumbling aristocratic families, stolen jewels, and a cast of lovable, intrepid professors and children determined to rescue Annika from danger. Viennese-born Ibbotson layers her suspenseful story with exquisite details that contrast the city's cozy clamor with the bone-chilling northern landscape, beautifully echoing Annika's plight. Masterful entertainment in the tradition of Joan Aiken's The Wolves of Willoughby Chase 0 (1962) ,0 this will please Harry Potter readers, too. Hawkes' lively black-and-white drawings extend the adventure and nostalgic flavor. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist
