MISS BIANCA

Miss Sharp should have resisted the temptation to write a sequel to The Rescuers (1959- p. 617) for that was a tour de force which had a very special quality of absurdity and satire which Miss Bianca fails to duplicate. One can scale down the extravagances of a super adventure story to mouse size and make it a vehicle of commentary on human foibles- and get away with it once. But when Miss Bianca, as chairman of the Mouse Prisoners' Aid Society, organizes the women members to rescue an orphan girl from the diamond castle of the great duchess- and gets left alone there- the analogies seem to break down of their own weight. Of course the rescue is ultimately achieved, a home found for the orphan child, Miss Bianca reunited with her rather dull gallant, and the deserting members allowed to get away with it all. But it is strictly on child level this time. A poor second.