Other editions of book John Diamond

The adventure of 12-year-old William Jones’ lifetime begins when he hears his father’s footsteps, pacing back and forth late at night across the floor of the bedroom beneath his own - even though his father is dead. To stop the restless pacing of his father’s ghost, William goes to London to find John Diamond, the son of the man his father cheated two decades earlier. In a strange, shadowy world of thieves, swindlers, and cutthroats, William tries to make amends for the sins of his father - before someone with a 20-year-old grudge kills him!

'My father, that stern and upright man, was nothing but a swindler and a thief!'What is the matter with old Mr Jones? Endless footsteps and low groans can be heard from his room in the dead of night. Only his son William knows the a terrible secret: his father betrayed his business partner Mr Diamond, and swindled him out of a great fortune. William resolves to go to London, find Mr Diamond and make amends. But the murky big city, with its sinister characters and treacherous back streets, is no place for a boy of twelve. And Mr Diamond's own son is not the sort of person to forgive and forget. Danger and deceit lie waiting...Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can find out more about the wonderful author and learn some Cockney rhyming slang!Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

A Whitbread Award-winning mystery about a young boy lost in Victorian London, pursued by bloodthirsty thieves, desperate to solve the mystery of the man his father wronged What is the matter with old Mr. Jones? Endless footsteps and low groans can be heard from his room in the dead of night. Only his son William knows the a terrible secret: his father betrayed his business partner Mr. Diamond, and swindled him out of a great fortune. William resolves to go to London, find Mr. Diamond and make amends. But the murky big city, with its sinister characters and treacherous back streets, is no place for a boy of 12. And Mr. Diamond's own son is not the sort of person to forgive and forget. Danger and deceit lie waiting. Exclusive material in the back of the book teaches young readers more about the wonderful author and as well as how to have fun with some Cockney rhyming slang.

Young William Jones is on a desperate search through darkest London for John Diamond, the son of a man his father apparently once cheated badly. Will he find him? Originally published in the United States as Footsteps, John Diamond "combines a cast of remarkable eccentrics with superb sensory descriptions" (The Horn Book). The title was a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

Young William Jones is on a desperate search through darkest London for John Diamond, the son of a man his father apparently once cheated badly. Will he find him? Originally published in the United States as Footsteps, John Diamond "combines a cast of remarkable eccentrics with superb sensory descriptions" (The Horn Book). The title was a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

IF EVER I LEARNED ANYTHING DURING THAT NIGHT, IT WAS THAT, IF YOU SHOULD HEAR THE NOISE OF RUNNING FEET, YOU SHOULD NOT BE ANGRY, BUT THINK THAT SOMEBODY DOWN BELOW MIGHT BE GASPING AND GROANING AND STRUGGLING TO SAVE HIS LIFE. IF YOU SHOULD SEE A BOY RAISE HIS FISTS AS IF TO BANG ON YOUR DOOR AND THEN STUMBLE AWAY, IT IS NOT BECAUSE HE S A DIRTY LITTLE RUFFIAN, BUT BECAUSE HE S JUST CAUGHT SIGHT OF SOMEBODY COMING ROUND A CORNER WITH A TERRIBLE HOOK. REALLY, SAID LEON GARFIELD, WHAT I TRY TO WRITE IS THAT OLD-FASHIONED THING THE FAMILY NOVEL, ACCESSIBLE TO THE TWELVE-YEAR-OLD AND READABLE BY HIS ELDERS. THIS CLASSIC TALE OF A BOY WHO SETS OUT TO RIGHT THE WRONGS COMMITTED BY HIS SWINDLER FATHER DEMONSTRATES HOW EXTRAORDINARILY SUCCESSFUL LEON GARFIELD WAS AS A STORY-TELLER. HIS WORK TRANSCENDS ALL GENERATIONS. FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1980, JOHN DIAMOND WON THE WHITBREAD AWARD THAT YEAR, AS THE BEST CHILDREN S STORY BOOK, AND ALSO THE PRESTIGIOUS BOSTON GLOBE-HORN HONOR BOOK AWARD. THE HORN BOOK WROTE: NARRATED WITH THE VERVE AND PACE OF A PICARESQUE NOVEL, [JOHN DIAMOND] COMBINES A CAST OF REMARKABLE ECCENTRICS WITH SUPERB SENSORY DESCRIPTIONS...A SERIES OF HEART-STOPPING PURSUITS THROUGH THE TWISTING LONDON STREETS, NARROW ESCAPES, ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DENIZENS OF WHITEFRIARS, FOXES COURT, AND HANGING COURT ALLEY MOVE THE STORY AT A PRECIPITOUS RATE TOWARD A THOROUGHLY SATISFYING AND SURPRISING RESOLUTION. THE PLOT IS AS CONVOLUTED AS WILLIAM S SEARCH - PACKED WITH UNEXPECTED TURNS, VAIN HOPES OF TREASURE, FALSE CLUES, AND MASKED IDENTITIES...RICHLY IMAGINED AND AUDACIOUS IN ITS BALANCE OF HUMOUR AND SUSPENSE, THE BOOK IS AS ABSORBING AS IT IS COMPELLING.