Secret History of Tom Trueheart
“‘You’ll need courage,’ is what the crow had said, courage. That meant he would really have to face danger and trouble, and he was frightened of danger, and he was frightened of trouble. But they seemed to have come calling anyway, both for him and his brothers.”
Our “once upon a time, long ago” story begins with Tom Trueheart on the brink of turning 12, the age when he’ll be eligible to follow in the footsteps of his six brothers–Jack, Jacquot, Jacques, Jackie, Jackson, and Jake. His brothers “were very tall, very beefy, very brave, and very noisy young men”; they are all famous adventurers in the Land of Stories.
Just before Tom’s birthday, his brothers are all called away on their respective adventures which all turn out to be familiar stories such as Cinderella, the Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Jack and the Beanstalk. So off they go with promises to return in time for Tom’s birthday celebration while Tom remains behind with his mother (his father has been lost somewhere in the Land of Stories long ago which just cries sequel doesn’t it?).
Left behind as usual, Tom suffers from bad dreams about scary adventures, diffidence in himself, and worries about a secret he keeps locked up tight inside–”He was not at all brave“. When his brothers do not return, however, he is forced to confront his fears.
The normal way of things is that the Story Bureau assigns the adventurers a story with a beginning and the adventurers enter the Land of Stories to complete the tales. Unfortunately, this time Tom’s brothers have not returned because of the diabolical scheming of one Story Bureau writer, Julius Ormestone. Ormestone decides that he’s sick and tired of creating beginnings for which the adventurers get to complete the stories and he takes drastic measures to change things (i.e., kidnapping assorted adventurers with the last name Trueheart).
Fortunately, the Master of the Story Bureau appoints Tom to his brothers’ rescue. When the Story Bureau assigns a Trueheart a story, a Trueheart steps up to the task and discovers an ending for the tale. So Tom enters the Land of Stories where he will need all of the courage he can muster in order to save his brothers from the man who is trying to destroy his family and the Land of Stories itself.
The Secret History of Tom Trueheart is full of adventures and adventurers, of familiar tales and new twists, of nefarious plotters with wicked schemes and helpful comrades with ready aid, of evil and of good, of greed and of generosity, of cowardice and of courage. For those who enjoy The Secret History of Tom Trueheart, the sequel, Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories, was published on March 06, 2008 in the UK and the US edition will be available May 27, 2008. Read the Times Online review for more on the sequel.
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Listen to the tale below to hear the story of how a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster find freedom from mistreatment (and the axe) by using their wit, their talents, and the strength of friendship.
