This book is part of the Tales of Schwartzgarten series. It’s a deliciously dark tale about a Locksmith boy who lives in a city called Schwartzgarten, ruled by a tyrant named Emete Talbor. The citizens are terrified of Talbor, who takes pleasure in killing people. He wears the noses of those that he kills around his neck like a trophy. He is protected by The Vigils – his own private guards who dress as Ravens with black feathers and beaks. Talbor uses The Vigils to spy on the people of Schwartzgarten.
The Locksmith boy kills a Raven, for food, in the forest. This is a privilege for only the tyrant. Unknown to him Talbor is riding through the forest with his soldiers. He runs for his life and goes into hiding. Talbor tells The Vigils to find him. Almost caught, he runs and jumps into the icy river clinging to a coffin. The river carries him to Prince Alberto’s summer palace. Where he is found by two people and given the name Kalvitas. He is taken to the summer palace where the imperial family live. He becomes Prince Eugene’s chef, who because of his love of sweet pastries, cake and chocolate is a very fat boy.
Talbor is invited to the summer palace and is insulted when presented with a giant chocolate palace with the imperial standard flag hanging. He also recognises Kalvitas and declares war. Nearly all Prince Eugene’s men are killed in battle. Leaving only the cowardly prince, and brave Kalvitas and Elka. They find a secret door in the forest, leading to Talbor’s palace. Kalvitas slices off Talbor’s head with a guillotine. They take his head back to the summer palace, making a chocolate mould of his head as proof of his death.
Prince Eugene gets even fatter from eating puddings, becoming so fat that he can’t sit on his horse, so he is made a mechanical horse. Volkoff (a relative of the imperial family) is a spy for his own gain and wants power, framing Kalvitas for the murder of the Dowager Princess.
The main characters are Kalvitas who is small and brave; the cowardly Prince Eugene who enjoys poetry, eating sweet pastries and chocolate; Emete Talbor, a terrifying and unpleasant man with a cold black heart; the cunning Volkoff; the Dowager Princess who hates her son Prince Eugene; Princess Euphenia, Prince Eugene’s wife, who designs coffins; and the brave straight talking Elka who ends up marrying Kalvitas.
The author has made the characters very believable, describing them in such detail. You can close your eyes and picture exactly what they look like. I like Prince Eugene, I imagine him with his ‘fair hair’ and ‘long delicate fingers’. ‘Over fond of cakes and pastry,’ I imagine that overall he is very, very fat.
Christopher William Hill uses lots of detail and is very descriptive in his writing style, which really helps me to imagine the story. The Lily Livered Prince is also written as if someone is telling you a story that was passed to them and really draws the reader into this great book which is full of suspense.
Set somewhere in Europe (I think Germany) this is a great book for readers aged 8 and over. If you like historical stories full of adventure and war with plenty of twist and turns, then you must read this. You won’t want to put it down.
-
Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
