This book explodes like a firework in the brain, or perhaps like one of the thirteen volcanoes that encircle the misappropriated lake of the title. The ideas, the plot, the situations go beyond the merely outrageous and into the sublimely wonderful. This is a masterpiece of children's fantasy, and Dido Twite must surely be one of the great heroines of children's literature.Dido is travelling back to England on the Naval steamer The Thrush, which is diverted to South America, or, as it is known in this alternative universe, Roman America, by the Admiralty, to the country of New Cumbria, established centuries before when the Romans and the British fled Saxon invaders, crossed the Atlantic and found the New World. Yes. All is not well, however, and as Dido and her companions traverse rivers and jungles and mountains to answer the summons of the Queen, they dodge kidnappers and ferocious beasts and encounter plots and mysteries by the score. Missing children, sinister dressmakers, giant flying birds, horrible hunts, steam-powered revolving silver castles and, yes, a stolen lake, whose provenance must be one of the wildest, maddest, most original ideas I've encountered in ages. Aiken's measured style keeps things anchored, as does the incomparable Miss Twite, her good-natured, big-hearted, curious, stubborn, loyal, common-as-muck and ferociously intelligent protagonist, who speaks fluent street-cant as though it were lyric poetry, and whose common sense and indefatigable moral compass keeps the whole fabulous contraption firmly on the ground.I honestly think this is the most purely enjoyable thing I've read in ages, of any genre, for any age-group, and I've read some pretty enjoyable stuff lately. I will definitely and absolutely be reading more of this series.
On their way from Nantucket to England, Dido Twite and the crew of the Thrush are summoned to aid the tyrannical Queen Ginevra of New Cumbria. A neighboring king has stolen the queen’s lake and is holding it for ransom. The queen needs the lake because her husband, King Arthur, can only return to her by crossing it. Dido and crew enter a world of revolving palaces, witches who are also court dressmakers, and an infernal country with a noticeable lack of female children. They must face fire, flood, execution, wild beasts, and even an apocalyptic volcanic eruption to get the lake back.
What do You think about The Stolen Lake (2005)?
I love this series so much, I'm just sad I didn't know it was a whole series when I was a child. This one takes the same world and characters and adds even more madness to it: I love the whole concept of stealing a lake and who the characters turn out to be. It's surreal, sure, and definitely verging into the realms of steampunk, but at the same time the characterisations are spot on and the whole world is so perfectly built that you're just like, 'WELL OBVIOUSLY IT WORKS LIKE THAT', which I love in a fantasty-esque world. In fact, I'm adding another star. BE TOLD.
—Samantha
Another story in the continuing adventures of Dido Twite. In this installment, Dido is put in more danger than ever before, as she and the crew of the Thrush receive summons to New Cumbria in Roman America (South America in our world). The queen is tyrannical but nonetheless a British ally, so Dido and the crew must find a way to retrieve the queen's stolen lake. As always, things are even more complicated than they at first seem, and Dido makes some fantastic and gruesome discoveries before the story's end.
—Kirsten
This is MUCH longer than the previous three in the series. Dido Twite has many adventures on her trip while she is attempting to get back to England. She must be VERY tired of being kidnapped by the end of this one. Yet while I did enjoy this, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the others so far. Some of the characters were very unpleasant and some of the adventures were unpleasant as well. I do still think Dido Twite makes quite a good hero, though, and I look forward to reading more of Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles!
—Luann
