The Thief Lord
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This article is about the novel, for information about the movie see The Thief Lord (film)
| The Thief Lord | |
| Author | Cornelia Funke |
|---|---|
| Original title | Herr der Diebe |
| Translator | Oliver Latsch |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German, English, Spanish |
| Genre(s) | Children's Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Chicken House Publishing Ltd. |
| Publication date | 2000 |
| Published in English |
2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 345 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-439-40437-1 |
The Thief Lord (original German title: Herr der Diebe) is a 2000 children's book by German author Cornelia Funke, whose books have been published in many other languages. It is available in English from Chicken House Publishing, Ltd. It was published in German in 2000 and translated into English by Oliver Latsch in 2002 for The Chicken House publishing company. It was also adapted into a film in 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
Scipio Massimo: Scipio is also referred to as Scip, but only by Bo, unless you want an icy stare in response. He is a 13 year old boy that helps a poor group of orphans find a safe place to live, which, in this case, is an abandoned theater called the Stella. Scipio has long hair that is as sleek and black as a raven, and is tied into a ponytail with a ribbon. He also wears black, high-heeled boots a few sizes too big for him to make him seem taller. However, Scipio is shorter in height (and in muscles) than his cohort, Mosca. He wears a long, black, trench coat. He is known as the "Thief Lord," and he also wears a black masquerade mask to hide his famous identity. Scipio is very mature for his age, and he hates his father and being rich. Thus, in an effort to escape his father, Scipio wishes to be an adult. Throughout the book, he lives a double life. He tells fictional tales about his past, about an abandoned church and a mentor who taught him to steal. He's a sort of an actor. He rides the mystical merry-go-round and becomes a young adult. He works for Victor after he changes, and never goes home again, only sending a letter to his father saying that he is well.
Prosper: People call him Prop, sometimes. A 12 year old orphan, who's the brother of Boniface(Bo). His mom died a few months ago, and he has to take care of his brother all by himself. He has wavy brown hair that had to be cut short in the middle of the "The Thief Lord." He befriends Scipio, Hornet, Mosca, and Riccio and they lead him to safety in the abandoned Stella. He has a horrible relationship with his uncle and aunt, Esther and Maximilian Hartlieb. He is very protective of Bo, and he doesn't trust someone fast.
Boniface: Everyone calls him Bo. A very cute 5 year old, that escapes the clutches of his aunt and uncle. He has angelic curly blonde hair, and an angelic face. In the middle of "The Thief Lord", he must dye his hair black. Then his aunt dyes it back. He enjoys adventures with Scipio, and he is very close to his older brother Prosper. His one desire is to go on one of Scipio's raids.
Caterina "Hornet" Grimani: Prefers the name Hornet over her real name. She is slender and has brown hair worn in a long braid to her hips. It looks like a hornet's stinger (hence the nickname). She is a very clever girl, and she always has her nose in a book. She always bugs Scipio, almost like his sister. She cares for Bo, this may be because she is the only girl in the group. She also shows concern for Prosper's safety on more then one occasion which may mean that she has a crush on him.
Riccio: Sometimes called Hedgehog, or Riccio the hedgehog. He is a scrawny boy and smaller then Prosper. He has brown hair that sticks out everywhere. He loves food and comic books. He has horrible teeth. His bed is stuffed with stuffed animals. His mattress is covered with comic books. Scipio found him when Riccio tried to steal something off him. He caught him immediately.
Mosca: He is a tall, muscular boy of African descent. He likes boats and tinkering with his radio.
Victor Getz: A detective looking for Bo and Prosper.
Ida Spavento: A nice lady who looks after the kids for a while. Also she has the Conte's wing.
Esther: Prosper and Bo's snobby, rich aunt. She only wants to keep Bo because he looks like an angel and decides to send Prosper to boarding school and can only see Bo once a month. Also hires Victor to find the two boys and ends up adopting Barbarossa.
Barbarossa: Sometimes referred as the "Redbeard". An extremely cheap antique dealer that loves to rip people off. He ends up riding and breaking the Merry-Go-Round and gets stuck at an age a little younger than Bo. Scipio has a crazy idea that actually works and makes Esther adopt him in the end. On one of Riccio's and Prosper's visits to his shop they find out that Barbarossa's beard is dyed.
Conte: The old man that Scipio, Mosca, and Prosper met in a confessional while planning to steal something for him. He is the Thief Lord's first client asking for something to be stolen and says that he will give him a large amount of money (5 million lire). The money turns out to be counterfeit.
[edit] Plot
The Thief Lord is a magical tale about two young boys who run away, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice, Italy, after being orphaned.They become orphaned because of the death of their parents and have to go live with their aunt and uncle, Esther and Max Hartlieb. The only problem is their aunt and uncle want to keep only Bo, not Prosper. The brothers decide not to split apart because they love each other. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins; their names are Mosca, Riccio, Hornet, and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. The children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective, Victor. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past – a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself… Bo is left outside in St. Mark's Square with Riccio and Hornet, where Bo is spotted by Victor. The detective manages to talk to Bo, and, in his childish innocence, Bo divulges that he lives in a disused cinema. Victor's investigation of this lead reveals far more than the reader expects and shatters the children's fragile attempt at surviving in the adult world, whilst their commission from the Conte leads them and the novel into a magical and fantastical ending.
The group soon discovers that the "Thief Lord" was actually the son of a wealthy man, and had stolen all of his items from his father. The group feels betrayed to know that Scipio was not who they believed. While the orphans stalk Ida's house and prepare for the theft, Victor finds the location of the Star Palace. He is then captured and becomes a prisoner to the gang, and becomes friends with Mosca and Bo. After the detective escapes and threatens to snitch if the children continue their heist, the orphans still sneak in to Ida's house to find the valuable wing for the Conte. Instead, they are caught and Ida reveals the story of the wing, which was actually part of a magical merry-go-round that can change a person's age. The group decides to team up with Ida, and give the wing to the Conte. On the night of the trade, Hornet and Bo stay at the Stella while the others trade the wing in. After they make the trade with the Conte and his sister, the Contessa, they follow behind on Ida's boat where they find the Conte's island. Meanwhile, Hornet and Bo are found out by police. Hornet is taken to an orphanage while Bo is returned to Esther.
Prosper is in despair, and decides to leave with Scipio to go to the island. Meanwhile, Bo is with his aunt and uncle, where he throws tantrum after tantrum, eventually running away. He goes to Ida's home to find that Prosper is not there. Meanwhile, Prosper and Scipio reach the island. They meet a younger version of the Conte and Contessa, and Scipio demands a ride on the merry-go-round, so he can grow up, and move out of his home and away from his father. He successfully manages to age correctly, but Barbarossa shows up and demands to see the Conte's treasure. They trick him into riding the merry-go-round and he is turned into a baby. In an attempt to stop, he breaks the wing, effectively rendering the Merry-Go-Round useless, and making the age changes irreversible. Soon Scipio and Prosper return with baby Barbarossa, where Prosper learns that Bo is no longer wanted by their aunt. Hornet has also been able to escape with the help of Ida.
Soon afterwards, Barbarossa leaves with Prosper's aunt after tricking her into adopting him by acting like a sweet, innocent, helpless child, but when he got to her house he started to steal everything in sight. Tearfully Esther sent him to boarding school where he became the biggest bully, known as the Thief Lord. Prosper, Bo, and Hornet decide to live with Ida, while Riccio and Mosca go off to live their own mostly honest life. Scipio however decides to stay with Victor to become a detective, only sending his father a note to tell him he is well.
[edit] Sales
The Thief Lord is a New York Times bestseller, as well as a USA Today bestseller and a Book Sense bestseller.
