It's hard to ask for more than this: an old-fashioned story that starts with an orphan, includes a mystery, and ends happily. In 1867 Germany, young Boniface Schroll is taken away from his aunt, who has been deemed incompetent to raise a boy, and sent to live with his uncle, a well-to-do mayor in the far off village of Graab. At first, Boniface's uncle seems to be a cold and orderly man of the law, and Boniface isn't sure he belongs under his care. He chronicles his adjustment to his uncle and the village community through an amiable, perceptive narrative. Boniface experiences some of the pitfalls of the provincial life through his secret friendship with an outsider, Christian Knapp, the son of a notorious robber; the Robber Knapp is a wrongfully persecuted man, and Boniface holds the key to his innocence. When Boniface shows his brave and upstanding character, his uncle makes a believable turn as a father figure. This is a sophisticated read, for those who like to escape to times past and lands far away, with a translator's note to provide context. (glossary) (Fiction. 12-14)
