The Door in the Wall (1949)

Set in England during the medieval era, young Robin, son of a nobleman, loses the use of his legs. His father goes off to fight in a war, while his mother is called to London to serve the queen, leaving Robin in the care of servants. But when plague takes several of the servants and the others abandon him, he alone and unable to care for himself.
Enter Friar Luke, a monk who takes Robin on his back and carries him to his monastery, where he cares for him and teaches him how to overcome his adversity. Later a minstrel joins the monk and boy on a journey to another castle, where Robin will be taken in until one of his parents returns.
That castle is then attacked by enemies, and the inhabitants would all be eventually starved out or die of thirst, except that Robin finds a way to slip out and summon aid. Soon after the enemy at the castle is vanquished, Robin's parent's both return, and one presumes, they live happily ever after.
This is a nice enough tale, though it feels old fashioned, even for a medieval historical novel. The antiquated dialogue grew somewhat wearying after a while. When the climactic moment comes, that the besieged castle is saved, de Angeli zips through the entire battle in less than one page, leaving me feeling I'd been cheated out of some of the action. Friar Luke and Minstrel John are both appealing characters, and once he starts to learn some of his lessons, Robin is as well. ( )

Not bad, for a 70-year-old children's book. It's not a favorite, but I can see why it won the Newbery Award for its year and why it is a classic. It holds up as far as what it is, but you can't truly compare it to a contemporary book. ( )

Not as good or well-written as I remembered, but still a good read. ( )

Ex-lib. Geneva Free Library. ( )

Christian - 3 stars
Julia - 2 stars

I thought it had a lot of good historical content and growth in the main character's maturity. The kids found it slow and tedious at times. I enjoyed it but was glad to be finished since they gave me such a hard time. I liked it though. ( )