Linda Buckley-Archer
Q: What inspired you to create the Gideon Trilogy?
A: I happened to turn on the radio when an expert in the criminal underworld of eighteenth-century London was painting a picture of a city I scarcely recognized. It was a dangerous and exciting and fascinating London—and it sent my imagination soaring. It was a world of cutpurses and highway men, plumpers and anglers, link-boys and moon cursers. I remember that just the words got me excited! I suddenly had a vision of a flawed hero, a cutpurse who would be central to the story, and Gideon Seymour popped into my head fully formed. He’s been with me for seven years and now that I’m nearing the end of the trilogy, I’m not looking forward to saying good-bye.
Q: When you wrote the first book, The Time Travelers, did you envision it would be the first in a series?
A: I knew from day one that it would be a trilogy. Book one looks at the eighteenth century through the eyes of two twenty-first-century children; Book two looks at our century through the eyes of an eighteenth-century villain, and Book three-well, it all gets a bit apocalyptic actually.
Q: Your books all offer so many twists and turns that they are real page-turners, yet all of the angles come together. How are you able to keep everything straight as you write these books?
A: Strong coffee! I also think it’s partly due to the scriptwriter in me—I plan ahead and work backwards some of the time. And I mostly try to design scenes rather than plunge right in and start writing and see what happens. I do enjoy working with parallel stories—it allows you to end a chapter on a note of tension and then move on to something else. Anticipation is all.
Q: Do you have to do much research for writing Gideon?
A: Yes. Even though the Gideon Trilogy is a fantasy, there is also a significant historical dimension to the books, and it is important to me that I get it right. I think this is partly because I use facts to fool myself when writing that this is a “real” world. However, the research soon becomes addictive and can easily get in the way of the story, so it is a double-edged sword. I must admit that I do enjoy sabotaging all my good work by showing history a little less respect from time to time—for instance, it was fun having Queen Charlotte quote from a Spielberg film: “E.T. phone home.”
Q: Tell us a little bit about the villain in the Gideon Trilogy, the Tar Man?
A: I have a huge soft spot for the Tar Man. Just as I wanted a flawed hero, I did not want a simplistic villain. He had to be complex, intelligent, and compelling—a fitting adversary for Gideon. He’s called The Tar Man because he was hanged for a crime he did not commit but was fortunate enough to be cut down whilst still alive and in those days they would often cover the hanged man in tar and display him on the village green as a warning to other wrongdoers. And that’s how he got his name. The experience left him with a grudge against the world and an appetite to do better for himself. He is an unpredictable and scary man but I hope readers will enjoy getting to know him. There is a lot more to the Tar Man than meets the eye. He certainly likes the twenty-first century.
Q: What do you find most intriguing about the eighteenth century? And why did you choose this time period to write about?
A: There are so many reasons. It was a time of great contrasts: unbelievable excess and extravagance coexisted with terrible poverty; most people were illiterate in the eighteenth century and yet it was an age that produced some of the most sophisticated literature ever written; superstition and ignorance were rife but this century was also rightly known as the Age of Enlightenment, and it produced two revolutions whose aftermath is still felt today. I love the rhythm of eighteenth century language, I love the clothes and the carriages and the different types of criminals and how it was important to have bottom (courage). Sometimes I grow tired of living in an age so prone to risk assessment and litigation and anxiety.
Q: If the ability to time travel truly did exist, what time period would you like to be “zapped” to and why?
A: The eighteenth century without a doubt—I would so like to see in the flesh all the things I have imagined. How I should love to witness Dr. Johnson holding forth in the Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street and to see the macaronis strut their stuff at court. If a quick trip to Versailles could be arranged too, I could ask for no more.
Q: In reviewing Book One of the Gideon Trilogy, School Library Journal said “Linda Buckley-Archer may very well give J.K. Rowling a run for her money.” How did that make you feel and are you a fan of Harry Potter?
A: Hugely flattered! My whole family is Harry Potter fans. I was ill for a while over the summer and my daughter, who is fourteen, read Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows to me in installments. Whenever I worry that my own plots are becoming a little complex, I reassure myself that in a post—Harry world children can cope!
Q: Can you give us a sneak peak into book three of the Gideon Trilogy?
A: Hmm. Let’s put it this way, I hope that THE SPLINTERING OF TIME will surprise, delight and upset but not necessarily in that order. Dr. Pirretti turns out to have been right all along the universe can’t cope with time travel and really bad things start to happen. Kate and Peter (particularly Kate) are in big trouble in book three. Gideon has a big part to play in the story, as does the Tar Man, and one way or another they are just going to have to resolve their differences. Oh, and this time some of the most important action takes place in America. The English version of the book is called LORD LUXON which might also give you a clue about the story’s direction.
The first chapter is called: “Manhattan-In which Lord Luxon takes a fancy to New York and contrives to meet a talented young American.”
Contributor: Simon & Schuster
Reviews
Gideon the Catpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy
Linda Buckley-Archer
How better to learn history than to actually visit your topic of study? But when Kate Dyer and Peter Schock find themselves suddenly transported back to 18th century England, studying is the last thing on their minds. Caught in the energy of the anti-gravity machine in Kate’s father’s office, the two children are hurled back through time to 1763. There, they narrowly escape the clutches of the Tar Man and are helped and joined in their adventures by Gideon Seymour, gentleman and cutpurse, whose journal entries record the adventures in the book. The narrative moves back and forth between the adventures and mishaps of the time-travelers, with Gideon and assorted new acquaintances in old England, to the present day where the adults in Kate and Peter’s modern lives struggle to understand what has happened to them. The mystery of the anti-gravity machine’s ability to time-travel unravels with the trajectory of the children as they race toward a fateful meeting with the Tar Man and Gideon. The final pages point to the second installment of the three-part series, aptly named the “Gideon Trilogy.” This well-crafted narrative blends the panorama of history with the sophisticated attitude of modern childhood, using both to educate and comment on the evolution of humanity (which does not always equal progress). Thoughtful evaluation of old and modern mores is whisked into a fast-paced adventure that is well-plotted and populated with characters that are credibly and completely developed. Although Gideon the Cutpurse is a book of fiction, it would be a good addition to a study of European history, as well as a satisfying assignment in the literature of science fiction. 2006, Simon & Schuster, $17.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Hazel Buys (Children's Literature).
Rich loner Peter (12) has just met farm girl Kate (whose dad is a scientist) when an anti-gravity machine accidentally transports them to 1763. Their unorthodox arrival is witnessed by Gideon, the 20-something hero, and his nemesis, the ruthless Tar Man. Befriended by Gideon, the children are immersed in clothing, food, transportation, and more from 200+ years before their time. Meanwhile, in present-day, parents fret; Kate’s dad tries to figure out what happened; and the police and NASA get involved. Throughout the story, Kate and Peter experience the odd sensation of “blurring,” in which they dissolve from past to present and vice-versa. Although it is painful remaining in the 21st century, they leave traces and hints behind. They also learn to blur deliberately; a nifty trick when they need to escape (although Gideon usually comes to their rescue). As the tale comes to a head, Kate’s dad finds her in 1763, and Gideon is falsely imprisoned and sentenced to death. After the kids help rescue him, they return to the anti-gravity machine…but Peter is left behind, while Kate and her dad return to the present--along with Tar Man! This time travel/historic fiction hybrid (first in a projected trilogy) is intriguing, convoluted, repetitive, and ultimately disappointing. Gideon is the most proactive, likeable character; Tar Man, while an original villain, appears very little. The most effective moments are when the children’s future knowledge lends poignancy to 1763 events and characters. The present-day scenes, in contrast, are disruptive and jarring. Recommended for patient mixed genre fans only. 2006, Simon & Schuster, $17.95. Ages 12 to 14. Reviewer: Naomi Milliner (Children's Literature).
Twenty-first-century twelve-year-olds, Peter and Kate, are flung from their middle-class lives into 1763, landing hard on the same Derbyshire ground as that from which they were accidentally launched by a NASA-funded anti-gravity machine. Confused, near panic, and ignorant of the fact that their arrival has been witnessed by the ne'er-do-well Tar Man, they stumble around until falling asleep, finding themselves the next day in the protective care of Gideon, a character resembling a younger version of Eleanor Updale's Montmorency of Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman (Scholastic, 2003/VOYA June 2004). Buckley-Archer's tale spinning, however, is not derivative of either Updale or the time traveling in Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series, although readers of those series will love this book. The England of 1763 is fully fleshed-and odiferous-while parents, investigating police, and NASA scientists back in the future (after all, Peter and Kate have apparently disappeared) are emotional and distrusting of any alliance they should form. Gideon takes the children to his new employer, a gentlewoman with her own children and troubles, and the bulk of the tale involves a long and dangerous eighteenth-century road trip that Peter, Kate, Gideon, a sanctimonious parson, and a few others make from Derbyshire to London. Historical detail here is both excellent and engagingly intertwined with what would be adventure in any era: highwaymen, royalty, prison, and a corrupt judiciary. As the first in The Gideon Trilogy, this tale ends on just the right note of suspense-if you're not Peter, who finds himself still suspended in the long-gone past. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2006, Simon & Schuster, 400p., $17.95. Ages 11 to 15. Reviewer: Francisca Goldsmith (VOYA, June 2006 (Vol. 29, No. 2)).
Best Books:
- The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2007 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
- Book Sense Children's Picks, Fall 2006 ; American Booksellers Association; United States
- Children's Books 2006: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2006 ; New York Public Library; United States
- Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
- Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to Ninth Edition, 2007 ; H.W. Wilson Company; United States
- School Library Journal Book Review Stars, July 2006 ; Cahners; United States
- Branford Boase Award Shortlist 2007 United Kingdom
- Beehive Award, 2007-2008 ; Nominee; Young Adult; Utah
- Lone Star Reading List, 2007-2008 ; Texas
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1525-6
Gideon the Cutpurse
Linda Buckley-Archer
The year is 1763 and Gideon Seymour, the pickpocket, is hiding in some shrubbery from the nasty and ugly Tar Man. Suddenly two oddly dressed children, Peter Schock and Kate Dyer, fall out of a hole in the sky. Peter and Kate are in a world of trouble, having used an anti-gravity machine from the 21st century to travel back in time. Then Tar Man steals the device, leading Peter, Kate and Gideon on a wild chase through London. Will they recover the machine in time? n.d., Recorded Books, Unabridged Cassette - Library Edition; 98474, $74.75. Reviewer: Recorded Books (Recorded Books, LLC.).
ISBN: 978-1-42811068-7
ISBN: 1-42811068-2
Gideon the Cutpurse
Linda Buckley-Archer
Read by Gerard Doyle
It's hard to believe that this book is a debut novel. In the first of a trilogy two adventurous 12-year-olds from the twenty-first century find themselves trapped in London circa 1763. Packed with distinct characters and loaded with great historical details about eighteenth-century London (and its rampant criminality), this novel offers a wild mix of history, adventure, suspense, and fantasy. Gerard Doyle is ideally cast as narrator. As he did in ERAGON, Doyle brings a carefully detailed world to life with rich accents and varied voices. Parents will find this sophisticated children's audiobook a welcome alternative to the attractions of an Xbox or Game Boy. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine 2006, Simon & Schuster Audio, Ten CDs, $39.95. Ages 8 up. Reviewer: Rich Stim (Audiofile, April/May 2007)
ISBN: 978-0-74355558-6
ISBN: 0-74355558-9
Gideon the Cutpurse
Linda Buckley-Archer
The year is 1763 and Gideon Seymour, the pickpocket, is hiding in some shrubbery from the nasty and ugly Tar Man. Suddenly two oddly dressed children, Peter Schock and Kate Dyer, fall out of a hole in the sky. Peter and Kate are in a world of trouble, having used an anti-gravity machine from the 21st century to travel back in time. Then Tar Man steals the device, leading Peter, Kate and Gideon on a wild chase through London. Will they recover the machine in time? n.d., Recorded Books, Unabridged CD - Library Edition; C3841, $108.75. Recorded Books (Recorded Books, LLC.).
ISBN: 978-1-42811073-1
ISBN: 1-42811073-9
Gideon the Cutpurse
Linda Buckley-Archer
Read by Gerard Doyle
In this meticulously worked-out fantasy, Kate Dyer and Peter Schock inadvertently travel back in time from modern-day England to the year 1763, where they encounter such erudite men of letters as Dr. Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin, find themselves in the company of wags, dandies, and macaronis, and fall in with one Gideon Seymour, a pickpocket with principles. Breakneck plotting, pungent descriptions studded with vivid period details (like the carpet of lice on the floor of Newgate prison), and the desperate plight of the two children trapped in another century give Doyle ample opportunity to display his dramatic skills. The last-minute change of heart that sets up the sequel in the final moments will leave listeners anxious for more. 2006, Recorded Books, 10 cass./10 CDs, $71.75 and $104.75. (Intermediate, Middle School) Reviewer: Kristi Elle Jemtegaard (Horn Book Audio Reviews, January/February 2007).
ISBN: 1-42811068-2
ISBN: 978-1-42811068-7
The Time Thief
Linda Buckley-Archer
In this second book of the “Gideon Trilogy,” Kate and her father, Mr. Dyer, safely return from their time travel trip to 1763 London. Tragically, however, young Peter has not returned with them. In his place is the Tar Man, an evil man who barely escaped hanging in the 18th century. While Kate is determined to travel back to 1763 in order to rescue Peter, the Tar Man easily adjusts to life in modern London. He quickly begins stealing and harming others in order to create a comfortable lifestyle for himself. Soon, however, this is not enough and once he learns of the existence of another time machine, the Tar Man devises a cunning plan to travel back in time in order to change history for his own selfish reasons. Meanwhile, Kate and Peter’s father, in their attempt to rescue Peter, mistakenly return to the year 1792 and do not recognize an adult Peter. Their situation is further complicated when the time machine does not work and they must search for an 18th century scientist qualified to repair the machine’s 21st century technology. All the while, the hazards of traveling between the centuries and the danger in altering history create a dilemma that becomes increasingly real. Two stories co-exist and intertwine in this exciting, adventurous, and well-written book. 2007, Simon & Schuster, $17.99. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Denise Daley (Children's Literature).
This is the second title of the “Gideon Trilogy” and once the reader catches up with what has been going on, it is a fast-moving time travel/mystery/coming-of-age novel. In the first title, two British twelve year olds use a brand new “antigravity” machine and get transported to 1763, but only one of them--Kate Dyer--comes back. Peter Schock has been trapped by Time and is stuck over 200 years ago! Now Kate is determined to travel in Time once more, find him, and bring him back. Peter’s father decides to go with her. The reader now learns something that Kate does not know--the machine has been tampered with and the target time has been changed. They are back in the past, but in 1792. Peter has grown up; he is nearly middle-aged, has made his peace with being in the wrong century, and has just about given up any hope of being rescued. Right now, he is happy where he is. Neither Kate nor his father recognizes him and he decides to leave it like that--after all, his father has come looking for a twelve year old. He swears his closest confidants to secrecy and, after all, no one else will be interested, right? Well, not exactly. The police are very interested. An 18th century criminal has come back with Kate and Mr. Schock. The Tar Man does not even try to hide who he is--a desperate man sentenced to hang for a crime he may or may not have committed, a brilliant man who quickly realizes the possibilities the 21st century holds for the criminal mind. Now things start to get rather peculiar and a little confusing, although for fans of the genre not unexpected. Apparently, jumping through time creates alternative realities in which those other choices that people have made become true. The end is not really an end but a cliffhanger leading to the next title. Recommended for fans of the genre. 2007, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, $17.99. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Judy Silverman (Children's Literature).
Fine writing is coupled with a grand sense of adventure as Buckley-Archer keeps up both the momentum and fully fleshed characterizations introduced in Gideon the Cutpurse (Simon & Schuster, 2006/VOYA June 2006). After a twenty-first-century time machine exported two British twelve-year-olds to 1763, only Kate was restored to the present time. As this book opens, Kate and the father of the lost child, Peter, remake the journey to the eighteenth century. But things go awry: Instead of 1763, Kate and Peter's father arrive in 1792, and they are not the only time travelers. The arch villain from Gideon's era, the Tar Man, has found his way to twenty-first-century London. Raised by the gentleman Gideon since being stranded in 1763, the adult Peter wrestles with the ethics of revealing his identity to his father who is now his junior and the childhood friend who is still a child. Other ethical dilemmas faced by this wonderful cast of characters are the consequences of bringing the future into the past, the new code for being an outlaw that Tar Man learns in modern London, whether to become involved in the French Revolution, and how to seek practical help in child recovery without involving the (modern) police. Readers of the initial volume will not be the least disappointed in all that unfolds here. Because of the prologue from Gideon's diary and the opening drama in this volume, new readers can jump aboard quickly. The cliff-hanger ending is pitch perfect. Much happens here, but there is clearly much more to come. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2007, Simon & Schuster, 512p., $17.99. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Francisca Goldsmith (VOYA, February 2008 (Vol. 30, No. 6)).
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1527-0
ISBN: 1-4169-1527-3
The Time Travelers — Book One in The Gideon Trilogy
Linda Buckley-Archer
Even though time travel has been used over and over again, this book takes a fresh approach. One moment Kate and Peter stand next to her father’s colleague’s last invention, an antigravity machine, then they find themselves in 1763. In the blink of an eye, a weirdly dressed, strange man kidnaps their machine and gives a strange address as to where to find the machine. Now they are trapped in time with no apparent means of escape. As shock wears off the children encounter a kind soul by the name of Gideon who helps our heroes to a safe home where they orient themselves to the time period. Not resigned to staying in the past, Kate and Peter decide to venture back into London and find their machine, with the help of many friends, past and present, throughout their journey. Will the teenagers find a way back home where they belong, or will they have to learn a new way of life that does not include their families? The author, Linda Buckley-Archer, penned an original adventure that takes these young people into all kinds of mischief. The characters feel real and older then the cover portrays them. Even though I felt cheated at the end when the adults play such a big role in their rescue, I appreciated the plot-driven story and how Kate and Peter grow as they resolve many of their problems. This is the first book in “The Gideon Trilogy” series and was previously published as Gideon the Catpurse. 2006, Aladdin, $7.99. Ages 9 to 13. Reviewer: Julia Beiker (Children's Literature).
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2006: Modern-day 12-year-olds Peter and Kate suddenly are transported to England in 1763, courtesy of an accident with Kate’s father’s anti-gravity machine, which also makes the trip. The Tar Man, a ruthless criminal, steals the machine, and Peter and Kate must accept the help of Gideon, a former thief himself, if they want to have any chance of returning to their own time. As the three travel from Derbyshire to London, encountering highwaymen and King George III, among other interesting characters, Peter and Kate learn all about 18th-century life, from foodstuffs like calf’s head pie to the horrors of Newgate Prison. Meanwhile, back in the 21st century, their parents are frantically trying to locate them. The end of this first volume in a trilogy finds the Tar Man transported back to Peter’s era--and Peter stranded in 1763. Readers will be eager for the sequel to this exciting time travel adventure, which features lots of danger, action, and humor as well as a carefully detailed evocation of life in another time. (The Gideon Trilogy, Book One). (Previously published as Gideon the Cutpurse) Category: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2006, Simon & Schuster, Aladdin, 404p., $7.99. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, November 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 6))
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1526-3
ISBN: 1-4169-1526-5
Added 04/24/08
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