The Rinaldi Ring - Softcover

Nimmo, Jenny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405211415 ISBN 13: 9781405211413

Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd, 2005

Synopsis

Sent away to live with his cousins, the Pipers, after running away from his father for the third time, Eliot is having trouble coping with the death of his mother. But at the Pipers' he is haunted by a presence from the past, a strong ghost that tears up his room, throws books at his cousins, and brings with it a strangely strong smell of flowers. Gradually, Eliot uncovers a strange story from the war, about Mary-Ellen, imprisoned in his room and ultimately threw herself off a bridge, supposedly to be mad at the death of her lover, Orlando Rinaldi, in the trenches. The sinister Freya Greymark stalks the village, holding the Rinaldi Ring, inherited from Orlando's brother, Olive, but rightfully Mary-Ellen's. The haunting gets more intense until the Pipers call Eliot's father to take him away. Running from the car, Eliot at last finds someone who can tell him the real story. The brother who died at the front was Oliver, not Orlando, but Mary-Ellen found Orlando in hospital, wounded beyond recognition, and he died before she could save him. Their baby survived, and was Eliot's grandfather. Opening up the story from the war finally allows Eliot and his father to talk about the death of his mother, and they, and their ancestors, can now rest at peace.

About this title

Review

At the heart of The Rinaldi Ring is the story of Eliot--an American teenager. The book begins with his mother's death at the hands of muggers and continues with Eliot's relocation to England to stay with cousins. His upheaval is as much for his father's need to escape the ghosts of his past as for his son's need to get over some highly erratic behaviour caused by the death of his mother.

However, from the moment Eliot arrives at his new home in the rolling English countryside, he is struck by a ghostly visitation of his own--a presence that he is unable to define. The house holds many secrets and Eliot is powerless to resist his spiralling involvement in local feuds that date back to the Great War. He finds himself the target of violent visitations from a spectre he believes to be Mary Ellen Flowers--a young woman who went mad through grief after her fiancé's death in battle. Eliot becomes obsessed with finding out the truth about Mary's reputation. Meanwhile, his obsession for a ring that he thinks holds the answer to all his questions leads him into more trouble--and reveals more about his own family's involvement in the affair.

The Rinaldi Ring is a book with many layers. Part-love story, part-historical insight, part-family drama, Jenny Nimmo's novel of war deserved its place on the 1999 Carnegie Medal shortlist for its amazingly lyrical prose alone. Told in an outstanding style that is easy to read and absorb--despite the deeply emotional and tragic situations tackled--the book is truly compelling and feels like the kind of modern classic that will be around on bookshelves for many years to come. (Age 12 and over) --John McLay

Review

'the book is truly compelling and feels like the kind of modern classic that will be around on bookshelves for many years to come' (John McLay)

About this edition

• Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1405211415
• ISBN 13: 9781405211413
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192