''The Thuggery Affair'' is the sixth in a series of novels about the modern Marlow family by children's author

Antonia Forest Antonia Forest (26 May 1915 – 28 November 2003) was the pseudonym of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, an English writer of children's novels. She is known for the Marlow series. Life Forest was born to part Russian-Jewish and Iri ...

, first published in 1965. It is preceded by '' Peter's Room'' and succeeded by ''

The Ready-Made Family ''The Ready-Made Family'' is the seventh in the series of children's novels about the Marlow family by Antonia Forest, first published in 1967, and set in that period. Although most famous for her school stories, it is the third in a row in t ...

''.

Plot introduction

''The Thuggery Affair'' is unusual in terms of the wider Marlow saga, in being a boy-dominated story. The main characters are Peter and Lawrie Marlow and their friend and neighbour Patrick Merrick. Nicola, the usual heroine of the series, is visiting her friend Miranda in London and Ginty is visiting her French grandmother. The action is set mainly in Colebridge, the nearest town to the Marlow family's home at Trennels, during spring half-term.

Plot summary

Miss Maudie Culver, a local landowner, employs a gang of juvenile delinquents to help her look after her pigeons. Patrick Merrick incurs her wrath when his falcon kills two of the birds. Peter notices that one of the pigeons is carrying a drug capsule. Patrick sneaks into Miss Culver's dovecote (a huge stone edifice) but is apprehended by the thugs. A scuffle breaks out, a gang member is stabbed to death and the thugs flee. Jukie, the gang leader, requisitions Miss Culver's car and attempts to escape, taking Patrick with him. They discuss Catholicism, Jukie's childhood and the

H-bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

. The car swerves as Patrick attempts to stop them hitting a police roadblock. Jukie is killed when the car hits a tree but Patrick is thrown clear.

Reception

''The Thuggery Affair'' was relatively unsuccessful compared to other books in the series, being printed in only one hardback and one paperback edition during Forest's lifetime; it was finally reprinted by Girls Gone By in 2005. Commenting on the book, Antonia Forest explained it was, 'written during that long-dead period when teenagers talked self-invented languages, incomprehensible to any other age-group. Unfortunately, I think I was the only person who did understand what my characters were saying.'Forest, Antonia in introduction to, ''The Thuggery Affair'', Girls Gone By Publishers, 2005. p.25

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thuggery Affair 1965 British novels British children's novels Novels about organized crime Novels set in England Catholic novels Works about organised crime in the United Kingdom Faber and Faber books 1965 children's books Novels by Antonia Forest The Marlow Family series