Review: A Legend Of Firdous By Petra Delahunty

This new book for children is intriguing insofar as it echoes so many other works. The opening scene with three hags offering a prophecy to a king hints at the ‘Scottish Play’. The hero, James, is constantly criticised by his parents just as Harry Potter is not appreciated by his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Transported through a portal (not a wardrobe but not far off) into a magical world, James discovers that he too has magical powers (though no scar and no explanation) and the description of Hallensfield with its unusual array of shops, parallels that of Harry’s first visit to Hogsmeade.

A group of travellers, each given their own introduction and embarking on a quest, yields a Lord of the Rings feel, similar to the tea party hosted by Bilbo in the opening chapter of The Hobbit. Cleo’s sad situation with a wicked stepmother is pure fairy tale: Snow White or Cinderella, take your pick. There, perhaps, the likenesses end, although it was quite entertaining to see how many allusions to other tales you could find.

This is a long novel and, at times, more than a little confusing (thank goodness for the blurb). Without doubt it is well written, although at times the grammatical inaccuracy makes the tone something less than naturalistic. A few errors missed by the editor sprang out and a distinct lack of commas irritated this pedant. I have always felt that children’s literature needs to be particularly precise and commas aid reading comprehension; the lack thereof cannot be ascribed to publishing house style.

I am not sure I can give you a clear outline of the whole story even having read it, but the gist is straightforward: a group of travellers is gathered to undertake an heroic quest in a magical world, during which adventure they, or at least James, will discover an inner strength, hitherto unknown. The names are imaginative and the world of Firdous is clearly borne of fantasy. The different time scale on Earth and in Firdous is alluded to frequently so the reader understands James will not be gone long enough to be missed but even so, their time in Firdous becomes a little tedious, with regular accounts of the devouring of snacks (hot chocolate and bottles of Fire-Fudge smack of Blyton’s ‘lashings of lemonade and ginger beer’) without the author realising the opportunity for truly lavish descriptions.

The book has clear messages. The quest to save Firdous is just one of James’ tasks; the other is to overcome his personal weaknesses and return to Earth a stronger person, so conveying the laudable notion that we all have ‘it’ in us as long as we can find ‘it’. The novelist’s polemic - ‘the expectation of power can often turn men into beasts’ could almost be translated into ‘power corrupts and absolute power, corrupts absolutely’, or, referring again to Macbeth, ‘ambition is not always healthy’, but Delahunty’s ‘privileged people rarely face the consequences of anything’ sounds just a little more bitter.

In an age of equality, it is disappointing to see gender stereotypes emerge: Jill makes the dinner while Sam holds ‘important discussions’. The King and the Emperor are at odds, endangering the peaceful life of all, while the wicked Queen strikes wicked poses and the villainous child snatcher turns out also to be female. The main protagonist is an heroic male but at least he has some female help. I am still not sure what part Barney Nelson plays in Firdous but I think the bully got his come-uppance and that’s good enough for me!

At the end, the Emperor tells James that he will no doubt return to Firdous one day, leaving the portal open for a sequel which younger readers may well enjoy.


A Legend of Firdous is published by Writersworld