In early-eighteenth-century Cornwall, Digory Beale sets off to Plymouth to see if he can find his sailor father, who has gone missing after a storm. His little brother joins him, but once in Plymouth, the boys are falsely accused of theft. The eccentric inventor Henry Winstanley, who was one of the most famous persons in England during his lifetime, rescues the brothers from the gallows, and Digory is hired as Winstanley's apprentice. All seems well until a huge storm threatens Winstanley's greatest creation, a lighthouse on a dangerous reef, and Digory joins his employer in a dangerous fight to save the amazing landmark that has rescued so many sailors. Woodruff is best at capturing the perilous existence of the impoverished people on the Cornish coast, adding authenticity with many colorful local expressions. Readers who look for action and suspense will find it here, and they'll connect with Digory, who struggles to find the courage to save his illustrious boss and his famous creation.

In 1703, Digory sets out to search for news of his father's fate after a terrible storm sinks his ship. Confronted by swindlers and thieves, Digory is rescued by the "Jester of Littlebury," builder of England's Eddystone Lighthouse. Digory's adventure, in which he ultimately becomes indispensable in his benefactor's quest to save sailors' lives, is filled with excitement and intrigue. Bib., glos.

Woodruff spins a labored but engrossing tale around a lighthouse, its builder and a cataclysmic storm—all three drawn from history. Penniless and starving in Portsmouth in the wake of the sinking of their father's ship, Digory and his little brother Cubby are rescued by Henry Winstanley, a well-to-do merchant and inventor who has built the first lighthouse out on Cornwall's treacherous Eddystone Reef. A close rapport quickly develops, so that when Winstanley heads out to make repairs on the lighthouse in the teeth of a gale aptly dubbed the "Storm of the Century," Digory overcomes his fear of the sea and follows with a shipment of candles. The author lays portents and warnings into the plot with a heavy hand, builds to a wild and devastating climax and then wrenches events around to a more or less happy ending. Winstanley was a fascinating individual who doesn't get his due here, but Digory, despite his continual fretting, is a protagonist who actually seems to be his given age, and there's enough natural and human drama to carry readers along. (afterword, map) (Historical fiction. 10-12)

Gr 5-8 Life for Digory, 11, and Cubby, 9, is hard on the Cornwall coast in the late 1600s. After hearing that their father's ship has been lost, they are sent by their aunt to Plymouth 100 miles away to discover if their father survived. Without his income, she cannot afford to keep them. They receive discouraging news but are rescued by a fascinating man named Henry Winstanley of Littlebury, who is known as a jester due to his marvelous, somewhat whimsical inventions. Winstanley believes, however, that his greatest accomplishment is the lighthouse he designed and built on the Eddystone Reef, which was responsible for a tremendous loss of life and ships before the light was erected. Word comes to Winstanley that the light is in need of repairs and supplies so he and the brothers journey back to Plymouth only to discover that the worst storm of the century is approaching. This fascinating, well-written story is closely based on the life of the real Henry Winstanley. It introduces one of the leading inventors of the day and provides a glimpse, through the young brothers, of harshness of life for the common people during this period. The characters are finely drawn and the action is nonstop. Many of the short chapters are cliff-hangers, making the book a great read-aloud. Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

Plagued by a recurring nightmare of a ship smashing into a reef, young Digory Beale wakes one morning to learn that his father's ship has wrecked in a storm. Because news travels slowly in eighteenth-century England, Digory's aunt dispatches him to Plymouth for news of his father's fate. After several narrow escapes en route, Digory makes it to Plymouth and learns that no one has survived the shipwreck. Orphaned and penniless, he nearly loses his own life when he is falsely accused of stealing. A fine gentleman steps from the crowd and offers to buy Digory's freedom. Digory suddenly finds himself apprenticed to Henry Winstanley, mad inventor and gadgeteer. Among Winstanley's many projects is a lighthouse constructed fourteen miles out to sea on the Eddystone Reef, known as the Widow Maker for the fifty ships it claims each year. Word arrives that the lighthouse is in dire peril with the storm season approaching. Winstanley and Digory embark on a dangerous mission to save the building, during what turns out to be the storm of the century. An author's note reveals Henry Winstanley to be a real historical figure, carefully researched by Woodruff. Although told from Digory's point of view, the story's clear focus and Woodruff's attention is Winstanley. Unfortunately Digory never becomes a fully developed, realistic character, a flaw that will make the book a difficult sell to its middle school audience. It nevertheless might appeal to fans of historic adventure stories.-Amy Fiske.