Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Hamish Hamilton (2010), Paperback, 208 pages
Description
"Hooper had known, from the very first moment he had looked into Kingshaw's face, that it would all be easy, that he would always be able to make him afraid." This tragic tale of two isolated children explores the nature of cruelty and the power of evil.
Media reviews
In I'm the King of the Castle , Hooper, the unnervingly heartless 10-year-old bully, has short choppy sentences, the rhythm beating out menace poised on the edge of childish simplicity. For Kingshaw, his victim, Hill writes in longer, more meandering sentences with heightened vocabulary, conveying
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his anxiety and the intensity of a child's feelings. "Unlike many women writers, she shows a real understanding of how men's and boys' minds work," adds Eric Anderson, a family friend and provost of Eton College. "She doesn't patronise the boys in King of the Castle, which is why it's still so popular in schools. The story is told honestly through their eyes." Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member bhowell
I was so fortunate to find this old penguin paperback, first published in 1970, at a used bookshop today. Susan Hill's Simon Serrrailler detective series has been very popular, but other than "Woman in Black" which is a classic, it is difficult to find her previous books. When I checked Amazon, I
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found that Penguin is doing a re-issue of this book in 2010 with an introduction written by Esther Freud. I wonder if they have plans to re-issue more. Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
A psychological masterpiece illuminating the often terrifying dynamics of the minds of children in a way that I think Lord of the Flies is meant to. But I couldn't read past the first few pages of that one. THIS one grabbed me and kept me hooked right to the bitter inevitable end. Edmund Hooper is
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11 years old; he and his father live alone in a big dark house where he feels quite content and settled, until his father hires a housekeeper for the summer. Mrs. Helen Kingshaw is a young widow with a son Edmund's age who is intended to be his companion. Despite the adults' misguided hopes, these two boys are NOT meant for each other. Edmund does not want anything to change--he doesn't mind the lack of a woman in the house, nor does he miss having a friend. "I don't want anything to be done about it, nobody must come here" he often thinks to himself. For his part, Charles Kingshaw is no happier with his new circumstances. He does not want to make himself congenial to Mr. Hooper or to Edmund; he is frightened of many things, not the least of which is revealing his fears to anyone. He had been comfortable at school, though, and simply wishes to be left alone to amuse himself until he can go back there. But he can see that it is no good; his mother and Mr. Hooper blindly insist that the boys are certain to get along and benefit from each other's company. They are the dimmest, most selfish and insensitive of adults. And Edmund is wickedly, cruelly tuned in to Charles's weaknesses. The only option for Charles is to leave when the opportunity presents itself. AND THEN....nope, you'll have to read it for yourself. Show Less
LibraryThing member soniaandree
The story is very good and sad at the same time; it is about loss, children and sibling rivalry. Annotated, without being academic, this book is sure to please teenagers and adults alike, who may want to find this an suitable alternative informative novel to just plain text. There is no moral to
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the story, there are just life situations that allow a child to finally grow up in an adult world. The movie with Jean Rochefort also transcribes well the mood of Susan Hill's novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
'he could not have imagined the charm it afforded him, having Kingshaw here, thinking of things to do to him',, November 16, 2014
This review is from: I'm the King of the Castle (Kindle Edition)
An absolutely riveting, heart-rending read, that I got through in one afternoon. Totally gets into the
When 11 year old Charles Kingshaw and his widowed mother go to live and keep house for wealthy Mr Hooper and his similarly aged son, it seems (to the adults) an ideal arrangement. But young Edmund Hooper's relentless mental bullying of this boy he sees as an intruder is brilliantly depicted.
I started this thinking it was well written but couldn't quite see how it justified being a GCSE text - but as I got further into it, this became very evident. Fantastic read.
This review is from: I'm the King of the Castle (Kindle Edition)
An absolutely riveting, heart-rending read, that I got through in one afternoon. Totally gets into the
Show More
mind of young children - the pleasure for the bully and the inescapable torment for the victim - mocked if he is seen to cry, disbelieved by his elders...When 11 year old Charles Kingshaw and his widowed mother go to live and keep house for wealthy Mr Hooper and his similarly aged son, it seems (to the adults) an ideal arrangement. But young Edmund Hooper's relentless mental bullying of this boy he sees as an intruder is brilliantly depicted.
I started this thinking it was well written but couldn't quite see how it justified being a GCSE text - but as I got further into it, this became very evident. Fantastic read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member stevierbrown
What a really beautifully written book.
But oh, how bleak and depressing and unfortunately, how shocking and true.
Although a young adult book, and indeed a book that really should be read by every boy in their early teens, it is also a story that we only 'get' when viewing from the perspective that
But oh, how bleak and depressing and unfortunately, how shocking and true.
Although a young adult book, and indeed a book that really should be read by every boy in their early teens, it is also a story that we only 'get' when viewing from the perspective that
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life experience and adulthood can allow. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carolinejyoung
Not comfortable with the topic of bullying.
Subjects
Awards
Somerset Maugham Award (1971)
Lost Man Booker Prize (Longlist)
Language
Original publication date
1970
Physical description
208 p.
ISBN
0141041943 / 9780141041940
Local notes
Telling the story of two boys forced to live together by their widowed parents, it is a chilling portrayal of childhood cruelty and persecution, of parental blindness and of our own ambivalence to what are supposed to be the happiest days of our lives.