DORP DEAD

Dorp Dead

by

Julie Cunningham

7/1/09

From http://www.amazon.com/

Gilly hides his brilliance so he will fit in and not attract attention at the orphanage. One day he discovers that he has been apprenticed to the town ladder maker. His excitement at finally having a home soon turns to horror. Will he be able to escape the terror that Kobalt, the ladder maker, plans for him?

A reissue of the novel that dramatically changed children’s literature in the 20th century.

Julia Cunningham’s ground-breaking novel, first published in 1965 and unavailable in any edition for a decade, is reissued for a whole new generation of readers to call their own. “Here . . . is the story of a boy who discovers himself, who basically comes to grips with that most contemporary of problems, the isolation of the individual. It is told within the near-classic framework of the story of the orphan who survives and escapes maltreatment to find love, but it is told in frank, literate terms in the lingo of today’s youngsters. And it has, as an additional dimension, a touch of the Gothic tale, a tinge of terror and a shade of romanticism.” (The New York Herald Tribune)
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**** (4 Stars) I waited for this book for two years on Paperbackswap.com and it was well worth the wait. I first encountered this book in 1977 when I was in 6th grade. Ms. P, my teacher at the time, used the book as a read-aloud. Though I only remembered two elements of this story (the cage being built for the boy and the words “Dorp Dead” being written on the cottage door), it must have left a big impact on me at the time because I never had never forgotten it.

Gilly, the highly intelligent young man in the story, is orphaned at the age of 10 with the passing of his grandmother. He is placed in the village orphanage where he never quite fits in (and purposely chooses not to). On a walk through the woods, he finds a special place he can go to for solitude and one day encounters The Hunter, a mysterious stranger. Upon returning to the orphanage one afternoon, the head mistress informs Gilly that he is being fostered out to the town ladder maker and shall live and work as his apprentice. Gilly is hopeful to have a purpose in life and makes a new friend through Mash, the dog, who lives in the home too. But soon, Gilly learns that the man he lives with is sinister. He is building a cage to keep Gilly in. Gilly escapes the cottage by climbing one of the ladders up through the chimney and hides in his secret place in the forest. The ladder maker comes after him, however, Gilly is saved by The Hunter and Mash, the dog.

What makes this 90 page book so wonderful is the emotion and style the author, Ms. Cunningham, uses to covey the story. This book could easily be a fairy tale or a gothic horror story. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Gilly had run into Red Rose or Snow White in the forest where he hid. This is a MUST READ for anyone who loves classic children’s stories. Good luck finding it….after 32 years I am not letting this book go.