In ["Heartsease"], Mr. Dickinson has returned to the situation which he used so effectively in ["The Weathermonger"]: England in the grip of the ideas and superstitions of the Middle Ages. But although the setting is the same the mood is not and the humour and originality which characterised "The Weathermonger" have been replaced in "Heartsease" by a more serious and straightforward attempt to examine life in a society dominated by fear of machines and adherence to ancient superstition.

The story concerns a group of children who rescue an American spy from death by stoning and smuggle him out of the country. It is an exciting story and Mr. Dickinson tells it well but the plot is less interesting than the background and the characterisation of the children themselves is less effective than that of the adults who are their enemies.

There is no weathermongering and no Merlin in...