The Canterville Ghost

Book Overview

“An accessible abridgement of this amusing classical tale from Oscar Wilde. Perfect for schools!” The Wishing Shelf

About the Book

The ghost of Sir Simon has been haunting Canterville Chase since his disappearance three hundred years ago. He terrifies all who come there determined to not let anyone live in peace. However, this ghost has not dealt with the tough American family who have taken residence. Will the ghost be able to terrify the American family full of eccentric individuals? Or will the world be finally rid of this spectre known by everyone in England as ‘The Canterville Ghost?’ Who will win this battle of horror: the ghost, the American family or someone else? Read The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde expertly abridged for children of ages 7-12 by authors Fiza Pathan and Michaelangelo Zane. The book contains twenty-one B/W illustrations conceived by Fiza Pathan and executed by the illustrator Farzana Cooper. This is the sixth book in our Rare Classics Series.

Reviews

TITLE: The Canterville Ghost
AUTHOR: Oscar Wilde, abridged by Fiza Pathan and
Michaelangelo Zane
Star Rating: 4
CATCHY QUOTE
“An accessible abridgement of this amusing classical tale from Oscar Wilde. Perfect for schools!” The Wishing Shelf

REVIEW
As a high school English teacher, I’m often looking for new abridgements of classical texts. They can be an enormous help in accessing the writer’s work and then analysing it at a level suitable for the children. I was, for the most part, very impressed by the work of Fiza Pathan and Michaelangelo Zane who have not only shortened the text but have also offered the readers a wonderful array of line drawings to help illustrate it and improve understanding.

Having worked with a number of abridgements in the past, I suspect this book would work well with 10 –13 year olds. Personally, I wouldn’t market it to younger children as the story in itself demands a level of maturity to understand the many comical nuances. The Canterville Ghost is a wonderfully amusing story (possibly one of Oscar Wilde’s best) with excellent comic timing throughout. I think the two editors have worked hard to keep this comic timing alive, at the same time developing the small group of central characters.

To sum up, I’m very happy to recommend this book to schools and to any library looking for a solidly written and cleverly crafted abridgement of this classic text. The drawings do add a lot to the story, and I think most children will, after closing this book, not only understand the story, but will also have fully enjoyed Oscar Wilde’s dry sense of humour.

A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review