Wood, Maryrose. The Hidden Gallery (Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, #2). Balzer & Bray, 2011.Armed with only a peculiar guidebook, teen-aged governess Penelope Lumley and the three Incorrigible children brave a perplexing and strangely sinister London. Remember the mysterious hidden room at Ashton Place and the person or persons unknown who are trying to sabotage the Incorrigibles? Are you wondering about the origins of those charming but feral children, not to mention that of Miss Lumley herself?
In this second installment of the series, The Plot Thickens. Judge Quinzy has a cameo that appears freighted with meaning (but what meaning remains unclear), Old Timothy is as enigmatic as ever, and Lady Constance outdoes herself with childish fits of temper. Luckily, Penelope meets a kind young man who becomes an ally, and Miss Mortimer of the Swanburne Academy makes an unexpected and welcome, yet puzzling, appearance; this fine woman apparently Knows More Than She is Telling.
Miss Penelope Lumley's pluck and common sense (she's a Swanburne girl through and through, after all) carry her through all sorts of sticky situations, with the Incorrigibles right beside her, howling, reciting Robert Burns, and attacking the guards of Buckingham Palace. That she keeps her aplomb makes sense; after all, she once took a class at the Academy called "Do Not Panic: A Swanburne Girl Always Keeps Her Wits About Her."
Fans of the first book The Mysterious Howling will delight in this second installment and will slaver for the third. May there be many more to come. For ages 9 to 12.
I'd like to meet this author if she comes to LA--what a funny sense of humor she has. I'm looking forward to the third installment.
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