elizalavelle | (no subject)

Gah I read far too many books when I was little. So, readers on my friendslist, does anyone remember the following book:

I want to say that it has "Mr. Blunder" in the title but a vast amount of Google-ing has prooved me wrong...

There are two modernday children (a boy and a girl) who live with their mother and one day she gets summoned to a law office (which I thought was run by Mr. Blunder... again I'm probably totally off with the name which is where the problem lies) where she learns she's been left a house by some relative or other. The family is quite poor so they take the home.

Once there the two kids run into two ghost children outside, I think somewhere in their gardens possibly by a garden seat of some kind... anyways they go back in time with the two other children (also a boy and a girl) and somehow there's some plot which involves killing the children from the past to get money (perhaps a step mother storyline..) and the kids are often locked in the attic.

Somewhere in here the lawyer (Mr. Blunder or whomever) turns up and it turns out that somewhere he's to blame for the death of the two children and he was luring the other modern day children there to prevent what he did wrong.

I think there's a fire...

and that's all I can come up with. The thing is that I know SOMEWHERE I have the book, it's just a matter of pulling out all of my boxes of books and searching for it. Which I have to do as I get packed to move but that wont be for a few months :S For sure it had an odd title of some kind... and the cover I had wasn't very exciting because it's one of those books that I loved but everytime I came across it I'd forget that I love it, not so remarkable on the outside...

I realized tonight that I read a lot of books when I was younger that involved traveling through time somehow... clearly I liked that idea. I still do infact :)

**ETA** woohoo, I found it, and it appears the BBC made a movie of it as well.

IMDB entry The Amazing Mr. Blunden (I was close :) )

I don't see this one on Amazon.com which is a shame... of course I must now buy this movie. Hullo mission. I also want a Region one version of Swallows and Amazons and I'm so buying The Coot Club and The Big Six which I did not even know were made into movies.

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Nice work tracking down that book/movie. :)

There's a Swallows & Amazons movie? I just read that last year for Children's Lit... *heads over to IMDB*

There is indeed, I could only find the Swallows and Amazons movie on DVD for Region 2, I have it taped off of tv from when I was little but I'd like a DVD copy... eventually I'll just get a region free dvd player and have done with it.

Those books I love. My mom gave me her set of them when I was about 9 I think and I've read every one in the series now over and over and over. They're such great books.

Since I've only read S&A, which one would you recommend me to read next? (Possibly We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, 'cause it's got the same kids in it and I enjoy the title? Lol)

I believe the rough order is

Swallows and Amazons
Swallowdale
Winter Holiday (still one of my favourites!)

ummm Peter Duck is in that box set as well but it's more of a stand alone.

Then you get into
We Didn't Mean to go to Sea (which is also a good one)
Secret Water
Missie Lee (or Missy Lee, I can't remember)

I shall link you here: amazon site for the books (http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/104-3181799-8799961?node=170812) because they show what volumes they are and that's the intended order lol I'd for sure read at least Swallowdale and Winterholiday before getting into any of the others because they set up the foundation of characters... well Peter Duck as well but I remember that one being trickier to get into when I was young, I'd have to reread it again to know how relevant it was.

I read that book too!!
But, the book isn't called The Amazing Mr. Blundem, it's called "The Ghosts"

The Ghosts on Amazon

I actually had that book up until quite recent;y when I did the big house purge to move back here!

You are awesome! My copy was called the Amazing Mr. Bluden, soooo weird, there must have been a title change in there somewhere, but thank you SO much for finding that for me, I may need to update my copy :)

Ew. I watched Swallows & Amazons when I was little. I found it boring as crap. But meh. I never read the book either. Bad news is that if it's such an old movie from the UK, chances are there is no R1 version. You oculd always buy it, rip it with your computer, and then re-burn it as R1.

That would be the plan, however it did just come out on DVD recently and the other Swallows and Amazons movies are in R1 so it could happen :D I am happily delusional ;)

Or else I'll just take your solution :D

I loved the books, and I think because the movie isn't fast paced if you don't already love the characters it's much harder to enjoy.

Ah, well, if they've been released then chances are good!