Other editions of book Vice Versa

Mr. Bultitude is unmoved by the pleading of his fourteen-year-old son Dick that he be spared from returning to Grimstone's tortuous boarding school. During his harangue on the free and easy life of youth, Mr. Bultitude unwisely expresses the wish that he himself might be a boy again - whilst clutching the magical Garuda Stone, which is all too ready to oblige by transforming his outward appearance into that of his son's. To add insult to injury, Dick swiftly seizes the stone - and with it, the opportunity not only to assume his father's mature and portly form, but also gleefully pack Mr. Bultitude off to the hellish halls of Grimstone's...

First published in 1882, Vice Versa, subtitled A Lesson to Fathers, is an excellent comic novel written by Thomas Anstey Guthrie under the pen name F. Anstey.The plot of the novel takes place in Victorian England and it centers on the life of a successful businessman called Paul Bultitude and his son, Dick who is just about to leave home in order to go back to his boarding school at the beginning of the novel. Dick is clearly afraid to return to school, but his father does not understand his feelings, what's more, he explains the boy how he wishes to be a schoolboy again. This is when events take a magical turn - due to a magic stone that grants its owner one wish and is now in Dick's possession, Paul and Dick exchange bodies. Despite his father's demands to return him to his own body, Dick decides to carry on in his father's body, sending his father to the boarding school. After lots of adventures and lots of learning, both father and son return to their own bodies, but the situations they were faced with while dwelling a different body have made their relationship deeper and more understanding.The theme of exchanging bodies might not be new to readers in our times, but it was considered to be a very novel and creative idea at the time the book was first published and also an unusual way to explore the relationship between father and son and the difficulties of life as a teenager. It is interesting to note that neither Paul, nor Dick perform well in their new environment, the plot shedding light not only on the differences between generations, but also on the nature of hardships they must face. Vice Versa is a charming book that can be read on many levels, giving food for thought to teenagers and parents alike. Note this is an mp3 Audio book

There is an old story of a punctiliously polite Greek, who, while performing the funeral of an infant daughter, felt bound to make his excuses to the spectators for "bringing out such a ridiculously small corpse to so large a crowd." The Author, although he trusts that the present production has more vitality than the Greek gentleman's child, still feels that in these days of philosophical fiction, metaphysical romance, and novels with a purpose, some apology may perhaps be needed for a tale which has the unambitious and frivolous aim of mere amusement.