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Summary
Summary
Newbery Medalist Avi weaves one of his most suspenseful and scary tales--about a ghost who has to be seen to be believed and must be kept from carrying out a horrifying revenge.
The time is 1872. The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen.
Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora.
Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.
Rich in detail, full of the magic of early photography, here is a story about the shadows, visible and invisible, that are always lurking near.
Author Notes
Avi was born in 1937, in the city of New York and raised in Brooklyn. He began his writing career as a playwright, and didn't start writing childrens books until he had kids of his own.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Avi's gothic tale (HarperCollins, 2008) about a young man, raised by abolitionist parents in New York City in 1872, who becomes apprenticed to an unscrupulous and prejudiced photographer is ably realized by narrator Stephen Boyer who captures the initial innocence of Horace Carpetine and then his growing awareness and skepticism about his boss who is trying to convince a wealthy patron that he has captured the image of her deceased daughter, Eleanora, in a photograph. To Harrison's amazement, he learns through the wrongly treated servant, Pegg, that Eleanora was not the VonMacht's daughter and was never loved, except for her money. Boyer captures the moods of all the characters and the tension of the tale. Pegg and Horace's hushed conversations reflect the humanity of the story as they realize that the once sweet Eleanora is now a twisted spirit bent on revenge against those who wronged her. Their growing desperation to save the VonMacht's, who don't deserve their kindness, is also well captured. The afterward nicely pulls all of the loose ends together. This suspenseful, frightening tale will haunt listeners long after it is over.-Edith Ching, Washington Latin Public Charter School, DC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Medalist Avi (Crispin: The Cross of Lead) sets this intriguing ghost story in 19th-century New York City, where a photographer's apprentice has a horrifying run-in with a spirit bent on revenge. In the fall of 1872, 14-year-old narrator Horace Carpetine reluctantly becomes involved in his employer's scheme to dupe a superstitious client, wealthy Mrs. Von Macht. The plan is to make a tidy profit by producing a double exposure and offering her an unusual portrait, one incorporating a superimposed image of her dead daughter, Eleanora. Events depart from the expected when the ghost of Eleanora literally enters the picture, and Horace discovers his ability to capture departed souls on film. Suspense builds as the Von Machts' servant, Pegg, reveals secrets about the Von Macht family and explains that Eleanor's angry spirit, brought back into the world through the camera lens, may want revenge on both Mrs. Von Macht and her husband. Mirroring both the style and themes of gothic novels of the period, the story takes ghastly and ghostly turns that challenge Horace's belief in reason. Details about photographic processes add authenticity, while the book's somber ending will leave spines tingling. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) When fourteen-year-old Horace becomes an apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, society photographer, he joins the growing ranks of juvenile protagonists (Annie Grey from How It Happened in Peach Hill, rev. 3/07; Maud Flynn from A Drowned Maiden's Hair, rev. 11/06) engaged against their will in spiritual fleecing. When the wealthy Mrs. Von Macht asks Mr. Middleditch to take her picture so that she can place the portrait at her deceased daughter's gravesite, he decides to try some photographic sleight of hand. Mr. Middleditch plans to superimpose an image of Eleanor in the mother's portrait and instructs Horace to use a miniature camera to photograph any likenesses of the dead girl in the Von Macht home. Short chapters with tantalizing cliffhangers heighten the suspense as Horace begins to doubt the authenticity of Mrs. Von Macht's grief (as Eleanor's devoted companion Pegg suggests), and that suspense comes to a head when Horace's photographs not only capture images of Eleanor but also unleash her vengeful ghost. Set after the Civil War in New York, this dandy mystery re-creates and stays within its historical period while also introducing characters confronting timeless questions of personal honor. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In 1870s New York, at the intersection of scientific advances in photography and post-Civil War superstition, sentimentality and mourning, Horace's father apprentices him to a spirit photographer. He discovers that, while his employer is a swindler, Horace himself is a "seer" on whose photographs genuine ghostly images appear. In this way, he discovers the ghost of a young heiress whose ill treatment at the hands of her adoptive parents has led to her death. When her angry spirit returns seeking revenge, Horace tries to put her ghost to rest and save lives. Avi portrays a complex main character who is torn between his impulse toward honesty and rational thought, his love of the new technology of photography and his need for employment. This tale proves that the time-honored ghost story, capably researched, well-paced and fusing the Gothic elements of mystery, madness and romance, can still thrill in the hands of a skilled craftsman. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Horace, apprenticed to a shady photographer in New York City in 1872, is placed in an awkward position when his employer decides to take advantage of a wealthy lady who tells them that her daughter has recently died. Sent to photograph pictures of the child so that her ghostly image can be superimposed on the mother's commissioned portrait, Horace befriends a black girl who works in the lady's household. From her he learns that his employer is not the only one trying to hoodwink others. In an intriguing twist, the lad learns that he has a supernatural power that draws ghosts into his world, a power he cannot control. Avi's latest is a fast-paced, yet haunting portrayal of an upright boy trying to make his way in a world that has suddenly gone strange and dangerous. Written from the point of view of Horace as an adult, this engaging novel has great immediacy and strong narrative drive.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2008 Booklist