After the murder of Abigail's immortal faery mother, the young woman is sold into slavery by her all-too-human father. Purchased by a wealthy landowner named.
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My other quibble lies in the manner in which the cruelty of the world is sanitized. One might gather, from the narrative's approach, that nuns abusing children to the point of crippling was very common place, de rigueur in this world, so why bother making much of it? This is probably a function of the novel's style, which is meant to mimic an older storytelling approach where stuff like cruelty is no big deal. Except to my modern sensibilities, it is a big deal.
I mean, one of the nuns literally shoved one of the children down a flight of stairs, breaking his legs and then denying him adequate health care, resulting in him being permanently disabled. And yet, the supposed good nun, Sister Kate, is devoted to St. Winnifred's and does nothing to temper the violent inclinations of Sister Bruga and others. Sister Kate, of course, turns out to be an asshole in her own right and too-stupid-to-live , so perhaps that's the point.
But my complaint is that the story and technically, the narrator never seems to take a position on all this. Child abuse is wrong. The reader doesn't need to be told that 'least, I hope not. But usually, there's an underlying sense that the storyteller knows this too, that at least some judgement is laid on the villains.
Here, it's like all the attention is focused on the toddler who burned down the house, all while ignoring the parents who left her alone with only matches as toys. My guess is that the story's theme may actually be that humans do far worse to each other than the likes to The Bagman, but it gets sort of lost in the non-judgmental, simplistic depiction of the nuns.
Instead, there's a point where Sister Kate lectures Abigail, telling her that everything that has gone wrong is Abigail's fault, all caused by her selfishness. And I was like, "Whoa, she's a fifteen-year-old kid trapped in an abusive system, and labelled 'the evil twin. But the underlying darkness of themes jars against the almost sweet, childlike tone of the novel's voice.
On that note, The Bagman might make a delightful read-aloud story for younger children who aren't afraid of a few scares. Especially since younger readers aren't likely to dissect the storyline as this fussy adult did. Mar 13, Lady Entropy rated it did not like it. Jun 28, Rachel rated it really liked it Shelves: Review originally posted here It's been a while since I read a book that was in this kind of setting, mood and plot-type. Generally, books that I tend to pick are set between the Victorian era and the 20's, a medieval setting, present day or future time periods.
This book was a good one to read to get back to the culture that was present during WWII without dealing with the war a lot. Sometimes it's fine, but sometime I want something different to read about It took me a few chapters to get into The Bagman but once the pace picked up and the Game started, that was it. The plot was so intriguing, I just needed to find out what happened next. The characters were engaging and fun to read about, and the plot was completely unpredictable which is a good break from other books I've been reading lately. Once the story got set up and I read through the first few chapters, the pacing was just right for me.
Fast enough to keep me excited to read more, but not too fast that I couldn't think about what was happening.
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Another thing that was done well in The Bagman was the rotating perspectives that some chapters had. Most of the chapters were from Abigail's point of view as she is our protaganist and a very good one at that! The whole idea of the Bagmen was one of the things that made me want to read the whole book. I didn't completely understand the Bagmen at the beginning, and I wanted to know more about them so bad that I had to keep reading.
Originally, a Bagman is: Slang A person who collects money, as for racketeers. Chiefly British A traveling salesman. The bagmen in The Bagman do collect things, although it is a bit more serious than money. They are also, in a way, traveling salesmen, but these salesmen are ones that you really don't want to have to deal with, and not just because they'll try and guilt trip you into buying their newspaper or watch or whatever.
And yet, the Bagman repeatedly made my feel sympathetic for him and root for him even though he was completely nasty. The characterization of the Bagman was perfect for the concept. He was mean, cruel and calculating, but still clever and, in a somewhat creepy way, patient and charming. Everything that the Bagman did fit right along with his character and what he was supposed to be. He made a villain that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.
Another thing that I liked was the lack of romance. Usually I like a bit of romance in my books, but it was nice to have something to read that had a completely different focus so the characters had different motivators. It was the perfect mix of answers and new problems to keep me happy with what I had read and keep me excited to read the next book. A favourite quote from the book: Bentley's gut was on the large side. Somewhat slow to start The Verdict: Jun 29, Michelle rated it liked it Shelves: I was rather excited to get into this book, the synopsis was really interesting and I was looking forward to a good middle grade book with a scary story, however that is not what I got.
Now don't get me wrong I actually enjoyed this book. I loved the main character Abigail and I really felt bad for her but she was suppose to be a 16 year old girl but I felt more like she was Most of the girls in the orphanage seemed a lot younger than My Review: Most of the girls in the orphanage seemed a lot younger than they were suppose to be. Abigail's twins sister Tabitha I wasn't very fond of at all, she was spoiled whiny and I thought she was very mean to her sister and how she treated her.
Abigail was an orphan because her aunt picked Tabitha to live with her and didn't take both girls however Tabitha thought nothing wrong with this, I understand they were young but that just seems mean to me. I really like all the kids in the books but unless they are going to explain in the next book it kind of left them up in the air. I really would like to know what happens to them. The Bagman was suppose to be this scary guy who feed off the fears of the kids but I wasn't getting scary from him. He seemed rather confused or conflicted which kind of left me not really having a connection with him, not sure I was suppose to or not but he just wasn't the bad guy I was hoping for.
I still was rather confused about what he really was suppose to be for.
The Bagman (The Abigail Cobble Trilogy, #1) by Rachael McKay
Like why was he there? I would be willing to read the next one in this series just to see if it wraps up a lot of loose ends. I started with a pretty good 4 but as the story progressed I kind of felt things started to fall apart and seemed unresolved so I knocked it down a half. This was a decent read with some interesting characters and a quick moving story, totally would give it a shot and I think I might try the second one sooner rather than later just to see if it helps the unresolved parts of the story.
Oct 21, Nikki Bennett rated it it was amazing. When I first started reading this, I thought of Neil Gaimon. The creepy, sinister feel to it was very similar, and one I enjoyed very much. The Bagman is a very original and fun story, well-told and with some great characters, especially the Bagman. I loved the despicible nuns. When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading stories about ghastly, horrid adults who abuse kids but end up getting their comeuppance although the comeuppance here is very ambiguous, which is smart.
The orphanage setup is great. The kids are quirky, sad, strong and unique. I enjoyed the old-fashioned feel to this book I especially liked the chapter titles which really gave me a feel for the World War II time period. The one spot that gave me trouble was the age of the characters—this feels more like a middle grade story than a young adult one, and I think the characters would be a bit more believable as twelve or thirteen year olds than sixteen.
Regardless, I loved the story. Nik's Picks Book Reviews www.
Oct 24, Rachel rated it really liked it. This was a good, fast-paced read. I enjoyed the unique setting of World War II. Not many children's or young adult fiction books are set in that era - however, I would have actually liked to have gotten just a little bit more period detail though, given that for most people at that time, the world was about discerning good and evil, and the lines between the two.
Hopefully this will This was a good, fast-paced read. Hopefully this will be further developed in the books that follow. The book has a lot to say about good and evil in people as individuals.
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Abigail is a Cobble, and Cobbles have been born in pairs for generations. Of each set of twins, upon turning sixteen, one is destined to become the good twin and one the evil twin. They are destined to help keep the balance of good and evil in the world. Abigail and her twin Tabitha have been separated - Tabitha has been adopted, and Abigail has been shuffled from orphanage to orphanage.
While Tabitha struggles with the twins' upcoming 16th birthday and its implications, Abigail is determined that they be reunited in time to accept their destinies. I think the magical elements of book were very original. The Bagman lives in a parallel world, but ventures into our realm to prey on the fear, bitterness, and sadness of children in the orphanage he inhabits.
He seeks out tenacious children to engage in a high-stakes game of wits, where lives are won and lost. The idea of the Bagman is well-developed, with some interesting parameters, and excellent character and environment descriptions. I think this book was an excellent set up for a trilogy. It had a satisfying conclusion, but left enough questions unanswered to segue into the rest of the series.
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I would definitely check out the upcoming books as well. Feb 01, A B rated it liked it. I am a fan of the Oxford comma. This book is not. I'm not trying to sound petty, but it really did make the book a strain to read at times. There were also a lot of commas placed in, at, random, times, that, drove, me, nuts. It's a cool little story though. Abigail Cobble deliberately misbehaves and gets thrown around England, bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, with the hope of one day getting placed in a town near her twin sister. She gets her wish.
The orphanage is an awful place, plus it comes I am a fan of the Oxford comma. The orphanage is an awful place, plus it comes with a mysterious boogeyman known only as the Bagman. We don't get much in the way of descriptions of him other than he carries a bag of something.
Abigail winds up in a competition of wits against the Bagman. If she wins, she gets her sister back. If not, she goes in the bag. There are some delightful elements to the story, such as the multi-directional door and the nun who tries to teach geometry by having the orphans cut sandwiches. However, I wasn't wild about the Bagman's cheating and the lack of background information say what, there are more Bagmen?
There were too many unresolved and unexplored plots - seriously, a ghost shows up for a total of maybe 5 sentences and no one bats an eyelash. I also thought Abigail was maybe 8 or 9 at a stretch, but she's The narrative made it seem like she was much younger. I think this is a good example of the problems with the publishing industry. A nifty story like this just needs a little bit of professional polish and you'd have a 5 star book. Instead, it's stuck in the self-publishing world not that that's a bad thing; it is just that the audience is limited because it just cannot get the publicity is should.
Dec 29, Jennifer rated it really liked it Shelves: It still may be hint, hint. Reading the story, evoked for me, memories of Neil Gaiman, but since for me NG sometimes crosses that line of "creepy I'm enjoying this" to "creepy Also, the story presents a new otherworldly character, a new take on the "Boogie man" as it were. And the world building is so creditable that you begin to question your memory Bagmen, they were a thing before right?
Because it's exactly the sort of frightening thing that people tell kids to make them behave. This Begman is like a big fear mosquito, and he entraps people into playing his game, they get a certain amount of wishes, and he always looks for the catch, the loophole in the wish to make it go wrong.
To win the game you have to outsmart the Bagman. The girl hooked into this game, is in an orphanage, a twin. Whose sister lives a good life in town. Though it's not fully explained, they inherit lockets and one of them will be a good twin, and one will be a bad twin, and only this locket business will keep things balanced.
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That part was a little fuzzy, and it's not resolved in the first book. Though the author did nicely leaving some closure on events, no terrible miss-use of cliffhangers here, while also promising some new stories for the next book. Jun 01, Harmony Kent rated it really liked it. Meet Abigail Cobble, who has just been sent to an orphanage for the naughtiest of naughty children.
She was separated from her twin following the death of their mother, and has deliberately gotten herself sent to St Winnifreds in order to be nearer to where she knows her sister is. What she doesn't plan for is The Bagman. He thrives on fear and despair, and is as cunning as they come. Abigail is unwittingly pulled into his sinister game, and quickly discovers that you have to be VERY careful wha Meet Abigail Cobble, who has just been sent to an orphanage for the naughtiest of naughty children.
Abigail is unwittingly pulled into his sinister game, and quickly discovers that you have to be VERY careful what you wish for. The narrative pulled me in immediately, and held my attention to the end. Although there are a few loose ends by the end of the book, the plot was well presented with no gaping holes. I could identify with many of the characters, especially The Bagman, and yet--somehow--Abigail herself fell rather flat. There is a need for further proofreading to weed out errors such as using 'too' instead of 'to' and innapropriately placed apostrophes.
The editing needs revisiting too, as the writing style has passive elements, and hyphens have been used where en or em dashes are needed and would make the separations much clearer. Normally, with a work that includes a lot of 'was' 'were' and 'ing' constructions, I would rate it at three stars. However, the rest of the writing was such that I felt it deserves a soft four stars. This is a book aimed at YA, and is a gentle and entertaining read. I would recommend this author.
Jun 11, L. Dark Fairy Tale The Bagman is a dark fairy tale reminiscent of monsters under the bed and the boogeyman. Never had the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' been so relevant. Raised in London, evacuated to the Dorset countryside, and reaching adulthood in Narnia, they are the four main characters. In one chapter, Father Christmas arrives to endow those present three Pevensies and two beavers with a feast, weapons, and magical items. After the restoration of Narnia, a Tetrarchy is established with the four siblings as the rulers. The house that shelters the Pevensie children is run by a Professor, staffed by servants, and frequently toured by historians.
The magical land of Narnia is populated by talking animals, mythological species, and sentient flora. Shortly before the Second World War many children were evacuated from London to the English countryside to escape bomber attacks on London by Nazi Germany. On 2 September three school girls, Margaret, Mary and Katherine, [7] [8] came to live at The Kilns in Risinghurst , Lewis's home three miles east of Oxford city centre. Lewis later suggested that the experience gave him a new appreciation of children and in late September [9] he began a children's story on an odd sheet that has survived as part of another manuscript:.
How much more of the story Lewis then wrote is uncertain. Roger Lancelyn Green thinks that he might even have completed it.
In September Lewis wrote in a letter about stories for children: The plot element of entering a new world through the back of a wardrobe had certainly entered Lewis's mind by , when he used it to describe his first encounter with really good poetry:. In August , during a visit by an American writer, Chad Walsh, Lewis talked vaguely about completing a children's book he had begun "in the tradition of E.
But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time. Apart from that, I don't know where the Lion came from or why he came. But once he was there, he pulled the whole story together, and soon he pulled the six other Narnian stories in after him. The major ideas of the book echo lines Lewis had written fourteen years earlier in his alliterative poem The Planets:.
This resonance is a central component of the case, promoted chiefly by Oxford University scholar Michael Ward , for the seven Chronicles having been modelled upon the seven classical astrological planets, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe upon Jupiter. After the meal Lewis read two chapters from his new children's story to Green. Lewis asked Green's opinion of the tale and Green said that he thought it was good. Lucy Barfield received it by the end of May. Lewis's publisher, Geoffrey Bles, allowed him to choose the illustrator for the novel and the Narnia series.
Lewis chose Pauline Baynes , possibly based on J. Baynes had greatly impressed Tolkien with her illustrations for his Farmer Giles of Ham However, Baynes claimed that Lewis learned about her work after going into a bookshop and asking for a recommendation for an illustrator who was skilled at portraying both humans and animals. In December , Bles showed Lewis the first drawings for the novel, and Lewis sent Baynes a note congratulating her, particularly on the level of detail. The British edition of the novel had 43 illustrations; American editions generally had fewer.
The popular United States paperback edition published by Collier between and , which sold many millions, had only 17 illustrations, many of them severely cropped from the originals, giving many readers in that country a very different experience when reading the novel. All the illustrations were restored for the worldwide HarperCollins edition, although these lacked the clarity of early printings. Lewis very much enjoyed writing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and embarked on the sequel Prince Caspian soon after finishing the first novel.
He completed the sequel by end of , less than a year after finishing the initial book. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had few readers during and was not published until late in , so his initial enthusiasm did not stem from favourable reception by the public. At the time it was fashionable for children's stories to be realistic; fantasy and fairy tales were seen as indulgent, appropriate only for very young readers and potentially harmful to older children, even hindering their ability to relate to everyday life.
Some reviewers considered the tale overtly moralistic or the Christian elements over-stated — attempts to indoctrinate children. Others were concerned that the many violent incidents might frighten children. Nevertheless, the novel and its successors were highly popular with young readers, and Lewis's publisher was soon eager to release further Narnia stories. A survey by the University of Worcester determined that it was the second most common book that UK adults had read as children, after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Adults, perhaps limited to parents, ranked Alice and The Lion fifth and sixth as books the next generation should read, or their children should read during their lifetimes.
Lewis wrote that "The Narnian books are not as much allegory as supposal. Suppose there were a Narnian world and it, like ours, needed redemption. What kind of incarnation and Passion might Christ be supposed to undergo there? The main story is an allegory of Christ's crucifixion: Aslan is killed on the Stone Table, symbolizing Mosaic Law , which breaks when he is resurrected, symbolizing the replacement of the strict justice of Old Testament law with redeeming grace and forgiveness granted on the basis of substitutional atonement, according to Christian theology.
The significance of the death contains elements of both the ransom theory of atonement and the satisfaction theory: Aslan suffers Edmund's penalty satisfaction , and buys him back from the White Witch, who was entitled to him by reason of his treachery ransom. Professor Kirke is based on W. Kirkpatrick , who tutored a year-old Lewis. Narnia is caught in endless winter that has lasted a century when the children first enter. The dwarves and giants are found in Norse mythology ; fauns , centaurs , minotaurs and dryads derive from Greek mythology.
Father Christmas, of course, was part of popular English folklore. There are several parallels between the White Witch and the immortal white queen, Ayesha, of H. Rider Haggard 's She , a novel greatly admired by C. The Story of the Amulet written by Edith Nesbit also contains scenes that can be considered precursors to sequences presenting Jadis, particularly in The Magician's Nephew. The freeing of Aslan's body from the stone table by field mice is reminiscent of Aesop 's fable of " The Lion and the Mouse. Later in the story, he gnaws through the lion's bonds after he has been captured by hunters.
It is also reminiscent of a scene from Edgar Allan Poe 's story " The Pit and the Pendulum ," in which a prisoner is freed when rats gnaw through his bonds. Themes other than religion are uncommonly researched. Many scholars focus on the theme of religion and seldom are other themes discussed. One scholar, Roger Chapman, focuses on the underlying theme of the Cold War. It is speculated [ by whom? The characters are on a quest to help Narnia, much like the west was doing; launching a quest against communism.
The trials many of the children face in Narnia are comparable to those children faced in resilience to communism, which Chapman compares to a spiritual testing. Chapman points out that C. Lewis was a fan of the novel Animal Farm , which spread the anti-communism ideology. When Lucy enters the land of Narnia, she meets Tumnus who explains that the world is always winter and how they never have Christmas.
This correlates with how the Cold War was perceived, with the cold symbolizing a negative political ideal. The cold and freezing temperatures were also the stereotypical image of Russia. There is also this hint of atheism with the lack of Christmas, which the Soviet Union was associated with.
Narnia is full of secret police and spies, much like Nazi Germany and Russia. Chapman points out that Lewis names chapter fourteen "The Triumph of the Witch", which he claims is an obvious play of words for the Nazi film "Triumph of the Will". Then, with the arrest of Tumnus it resembles Stalin's purges, or Stalinization. Chapman claims that the similarities to Narnias totalitarian government is undeniable and was something many children connected to during the time of the Cold War.
Then, the White Witch's description matches what many Westerners thought of the Iron Curtain and the lives behind it; where she shuts out others, isolating herself and those under her rule, and making them incapable of moving from under her rule. This leaves many inhabitants, much like Mr. Beaver, awaiting freedom and help from someone else. That someone else being Aslan. Aslan is not only a representation of Christ in the religious aspect, but also the United States. The President of the United States of the time was described as "a kind and magnificent lion who can roam wifely and do great deeds" Chapman 7.
Which correlates to Aslan being a lion as a symbol of the United States. One of the biggest themes seen in C. Various aspects of characters and events in the novel reflect biblical ideas from Christianity. The lion Aslan is one of the largest examples, as his death is very similar to that of Jesus Christ. Jane Whitmore switched identities with her best friend. When Gabe finally finds Jane and learns the truth, his belief in happily-ever-after staggers under the weight of her deception. Should he fight her for custody of his future child or cling to the promise of true love?
Abhean, the fae harper, is exiled to the mortal realm until he finds the other half of his heart. When he steps in to save reluctant bride, Gwyneth Riley, he could lose more than his heart—he could lose his immortality. This is the final story in the Faerie Reign series. You can get the first three books individually in digital or trade paperback, or a boxed set at a special price for the digital version.
Abhean, the fae Harper, is exiled to the mortal realm until he finds the other half of his heart. A marriage based on duty to family and convenience, she has no pretensions about love. It takes the magic touch of a poor musician to open her heart to the possibilities. Three couples torn apart by the Fae and then offered a second chance in a different lifetime. All they have to do is find each other again and repeat the binding vow.
Just remember, without the words, history is doomed to repeat itself. For the first time, all three books in the Faerie Reign trilogy are available as a digital boxed set at a special price.