The Otterbury Incident
 1st edition | |
| Author | Cecil Day-Lewis |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Edward Ardizzone |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Putnam & Company (UK) Viking Press (US) |
Publication date | 1948 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 148 pp |
The Otterbury Incident is a novel for children by Cecil Day-Lewis first published in 1948 with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Day-Lewis's second and final children's book, the novel is an adaptation of a French screenplay, Nous les gosses (Us Kids) which was filmed in 1941.
The novel is set in the immediate post-World War II period in the fictional English provincial town of Otterbury. The town was largely untouched by the war apart from one accidental hit from a mis-targeted bomb which destroyed a few buildings near the centre of the town; schoolboy Nick Yates was pulled from the rubble and his parents were killed. The bombsite is known locally as the "Incident" of the book's title, and is used as a site for war-games by two rival gangs of boys from the local King's School: Ted's Company, led by Edward Marshall, whose second-in-command is George, the narrator, which includes Nick, Charlie Muswell and Young Wakeley, and the 'enemy' Toppy's Company, led by William Toppingham and his side-kick Peter Butts, and including the ghastly Prune.
After a battle during the school lunch-hour in which Ted's Company have been declared victorious, the boys are wildly kicking a football to each other on the way back to school when Nick accidentally kicks it through one of the school windows. He is ordered by the headmaster - a character much feared by the boys - to pay for the damage out of his own pocket. The sum concerned amounts to several pounds, which would have been a reasonable weekly wage for an employed adult at the time and is far beyond the means of a mere schoolboy. Moreover, Nick is an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle who have no children of their own; they resent the unlooked-for responsibility and do not treat him well. He has no means of paying himself and cannot face confessing to his aunt and uncle for fear of their reaction.
Ted arouses a sense of collective responsibility amongst the boys of both companies for Nick's plight, as they were all involved in the irresponsible football-kicking, and they resolve to raise the money themselves to pay for the damage. To this end, Ted and Toppy sign the Peace of Otterbury temporarily ending hostilities between the gangs and they join together to launch Operation Glazier; over a bank holiday weekend they launch a variety of money-making schemes such as busking (led by Charlie Muswell), shoe-shining (with some illicit spraying of dirty water via a flit gun to increase trade), window-cleaning (Kwik-Klean Co), an acrobat troupe, and lightning sketches by Toppy's sister (Miss E Toppingham R.A.) to raise the money.
Operation Glazier exceeds its target, but the money mysteriously disappears whilst in the charge of Ted and his grown-up sister, Rose, who looks after him. Toppy initially accuses Ted - who is ostracised by all but George and the ever-loyal Nick Yates - but then realises the real culprits are the deeply unpleasant local spiv Johnny Sharp and his seedy accomplice known as "the Wart". The boys turn detective in order to try to recover the money, stalking the Wart (who is much the weaker character of the two) and trying to extract a confession from him, but Johnny Sharp interrupts the proceedings, threatens the boys with a cut-throat razor, and locks them in the tower of the local church.
The boys escape and rethink their strategy to expose Sharp and the Wart; they have seen the men hanging out with a local merchant named Skinner and suspect that the missing money might be on Skinner's premises. Ted and Toppy lead a well-planned raid on Skinner's warehouse where they uncover evidence of far more extensive criminal activities, including trading in black-market goods and production of counterfeit coinage. Skinner, Sharp, the Wart and a fourth accomplice (an 'unshaven type') return unexpectedly while Ted and Toppy are inside the warehouse. Toppy escapes but Ted is trapped and taken prisoner by Johnny Sharp. The rest of the boys are still outside the yard, poised to attack: George is sent off to get the police while the other boys start a pitched battle to rescue Ted, in which The Wart and Skinner are over-powered and trussed up. Ted is saved thanks to Nick, who bravely attacks Sharp and is seriously injured in the process. Sharp escapes on foot, pursued by the boys, and by this time, also the police - his attempt to get away in a dinghy up the river is brought to a prompt end by Peter Butt who launches a firework at the dinghy and capsizes it.
The book ends at School Assembly with the boys being simultaneously castigated for their illegal raid on Skinner's premises and their "disreputable" money-raising schemes, which are considered by the headmaster to be detrimental to the image of the school, and lauded as heroes for uncovering the criminals' operations by Inspector Brook. The headmaster relents in the light of Inspector Brook's praise and says that the school will pay for the broken window (the missing money not having been recovered). The boys promise to leave any future criminal detection to the police.
The book is written in the first person of George, a subordinate "officer" in one of the "armies" of the war games.
Day-Lewis's second and final children's book, the novel is an adaptation of a French screenplay, Nous les gosses (Us Kids) which was filmed in 1941. There is also a Swedish film adaption; Kvarterets olycksfågel from 1947, which takes place in Sweden.