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The New Cut Gang #1
Thunderbolt's Waxwork
The New Cut Gang is a group of urchins ranging from 6-year-old Sharkey Bob to 13-year-old Bridie Malone. They inhabit the streets around Lambeth Walk and the New Cut. In 1892, it is a place full of gangsters, bookies, pickpockets, swindlers, horse thieves and the occasional tentative policeman.
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 1994
About the author
Philip Pullman
256 books24.7k followersAs a passionate believer in the democracy of reading, I don't think it's the task of the author of a book to tell the reader what it means.
The meaning of a story emerges in the meeting between the words on the page and the thoughts in the reader's mind. So when people ask me what I meant by this story, or what was the message I was trying to convey in that one, I have to explain that I'm not going to explain.
Anyway, I'm not in the message business; I'm in the "Once upon a time" business.
Philip Pullman is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. In 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He lives in Oxford, England.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 20, 2020
brief synopsis:
The new cut gang fulfills a hot-chestnut man's dream and takes down a smasher in the process.
setting:
Lambeth, London
named personalities:
Samuel 'Sam, Sammy' Dobney aka Thunderbolt - a mild and scholarly youth
Harry Fitchett - a boy in Thunderbolt's class
Neptune - a king
Benny Kaminsky - the leader of the New Cut Gang; a stocky, dark-haired boy of eleven
Bridie Malone - a fierce, red-haired girl
Sharky Bob - Bridie's little brother
Dippy Hitchcock - a chestnut vendor; mistakenly referred to as M Hisspot, M Twitchlock, M Fishdock, M Hitchpot, and Mr Hicky Dipstock by Professor Dupont
Thompson brothers - purveyors of removals, funerals, and seaside excursions
Mr Paget - the Gentlemen's Outfitting manager
Roger Rummage - proprietor of Rummage's Emporium; a bully
Angela Peretti - a fierce, sharp-witted Italian angel
Zerlina Peretti - another fierce, sharp-witted Italian angel; Angela's twin
Victoria - a queen who appears on the sixpence
Johnny Hopkins - a whiskered gent
Frederick William Dobney - Thunderbolt's pa, purveyor of novelty and fancy gifts
Sam - Thunderbolt's sailor uncle
Charles the Second - a monarch whose father was beheaded
Nelson - an admiral who lost sight in one eye
Crusher Watkins - a Lower Marsh Gang member who'd disrespected Thunderbolt's ma
Michael 'Mikey' - Bridie and Sharky Bob's pipe-smoking, ginger-eyebrowed uncle from Limehouse
Jasper - a bad-tempered horse
Professor Dupont - Waxworks Museum proprietor
Jezebel - a stable dog
Ionides - a costermonger
Graham - a butcher
Stamper Billings - a smasher
Arthur - a thin old man
Sefton - a racehorse
Mrs Malone - Bridie and Sharky Bob's ma
Sexton Blake - a great detective
Ron - a terrier
Snake-Eyes Melmott - a local bookie
Grover - an extremely dingy private detective
Cohen - ditto
Paddy Phelan - a Spoon Dancer
Molly Tomkins - a mad but completely harmless citizen
J Beazley - a scrap-metal dealer
Tommy Glossop - a Lamb and Flag patron
Napoleon - presumably Napoléon Bonaparte
Amelia Price - another Lamb and Flag patron
Lady Macbeth - a fictional character in the play Macbeth
Moses - a prophet who parted the Red Sea
Fanny Blodgett - Excelsior Tea and Coffee Rooms proprietress
Patrick 'Paddy' - Bridie and Sharky Bob's tin whistle-player uncle
Mary - Bridie and Sharky Bob's sister
African Sam - presumably a kid with a legendary temper
Chippin - a greengrocer
Sid the Swede - possibly a little skinny man
Charlie Maggott - a mare owner
Ted - Dippy's Newbury cousin
Wilkins - Mr Paget's assistant
Jellicoe aka Jelly-Belly - a police constable
Septimus - a small, nauseating boy with a piercing voice
Sweeny - a fiddle-player
Rags - a suspicious-natured cur
Fred Hipkiss - a grocer
Ernest - a young man
Ethel - Ernest's best girl
Gaston Leroux - a parfumeur; maker of the finest, the most exquisite, perfumes and scents in the weurld
Edmund Fitzwilkins - a Surrey Theatre actor
Edgar Allan Poe - an American writer
I've been meaning to read this for the longest time but this fell to the Frank Zappa category.
I love the illustrations, too!
The new cut gang fulfills a hot-chestnut man's dream and takes down a smasher in the process.
setting:
Lambeth, London
named personalities:
Samuel 'Sam, Sammy' Dobney aka Thunderbolt - a mild and scholarly youth
Harry Fitchett - a boy in Thunderbolt's class
Neptune - a king
Benny Kaminsky - the leader of the New Cut Gang; a stocky, dark-haired boy of eleven
Bridie Malone - a fierce, red-haired girl
Sharky Bob - Bridie's little brother
Dippy Hitchcock - a chestnut vendor; mistakenly referred to as M Hisspot, M Twitchlock, M Fishdock, M Hitchpot, and Mr Hicky Dipstock by Professor Dupont
Thompson brothers - purveyors of removals, funerals, and seaside excursions
Mr Paget - the Gentlemen's Outfitting manager
Roger Rummage - proprietor of Rummage's Emporium; a bully
Angela Peretti - a fierce, sharp-witted Italian angel
Zerlina Peretti - another fierce, sharp-witted Italian angel; Angela's twin
Victoria - a queen who appears on the sixpence
Johnny Hopkins - a whiskered gent
Frederick William Dobney - Thunderbolt's pa, purveyor of novelty and fancy gifts
Sam - Thunderbolt's sailor uncle
Charles the Second - a monarch whose father was beheaded
Nelson - an admiral who lost sight in one eye
Crusher Watkins - a Lower Marsh Gang member who'd disrespected Thunderbolt's ma
Michael 'Mikey' - Bridie and Sharky Bob's pipe-smoking, ginger-eyebrowed uncle from Limehouse
Jasper - a bad-tempered horse
Professor Dupont - Waxworks Museum proprietor
Jezebel - a stable dog
Ionides - a costermonger
Graham - a butcher
Stamper Billings - a smasher
Arthur - a thin old man
Sefton - a racehorse
Mrs Malone - Bridie and Sharky Bob's ma
Sexton Blake - a great detective
Ron - a terrier
Snake-Eyes Melmott - a local bookie
Grover - an extremely dingy private detective
Cohen - ditto
Paddy Phelan - a Spoon Dancer
Molly Tomkins - a mad but completely harmless citizen
J Beazley - a scrap-metal dealer
Tommy Glossop - a Lamb and Flag patron
Napoleon - presumably Napoléon Bonaparte
Amelia Price - another Lamb and Flag patron
Lady Macbeth - a fictional character in the play Macbeth
Moses - a prophet who parted the Red Sea
Fanny Blodgett - Excelsior Tea and Coffee Rooms proprietress
Patrick 'Paddy' - Bridie and Sharky Bob's tin whistle-player uncle
Mary - Bridie and Sharky Bob's sister
African Sam - presumably a kid with a legendary temper
Chippin - a greengrocer
Sid the Swede - possibly a little skinny man
Charlie Maggott - a mare owner
Ted - Dippy's Newbury cousin
Wilkins - Mr Paget's assistant
Jellicoe aka Jelly-Belly - a police constable
Septimus - a small, nauseating boy with a piercing voice
Sweeny - a fiddle-player
Rags - a suspicious-natured cur
Fred Hipkiss - a grocer
Ernest - a young man
Ethel - Ernest's best girl
Gaston Leroux - a parfumeur; maker of the finest, the most exquisite, perfumes and scents in the weurld
Edmund Fitzwilkins - a Surrey Theatre actor
Edgar Allan Poe - an American writer
I've been meaning to read this for the longest time but this fell to the Frank Zappa category.
I love the illustrations, too!
September 5, 2011
This is a joint review for both books in the New Cut Gang series by Philip Pullman
In Thunderbolt's Waxwork we are introduced to the New Cut gang, a rag tag group of mischievous children who want to be detectives. In their first "case" they are determined to track down the person behind a spate of counterfeit coins doing the rounds in Lambeth. Thunderbolt's dad has been arrested but they are sure it couldn't be him who was making the coins - can they find a way to prove it and have him released from prison?
The Gas-Fitters' Ball continues the adventures of the New Cut gang, this time they are on the hunt for a burglar - someone has stolen the Gas-Fitters' silver trophies and the gang are intent on finding out who. Can they beat the police to find the burglar?
I absolutely loved the characters that make up the New Cut gang. You have leader Benny who has an imagination that often runs away with him and comes up with crazy plans bound to get them all in trouble, then there is Sam (AKA Thunderbolt) - he is the smart and studious one, Bridie is the hot tempered red head with a heart of gold who is always looking out for the others and her little brother Sharkie Bob who was probably my favourite. A lot younger than the others he tags along wherever they go eating everything in sight. You can't forget the Peretti twins Angela and Zerlina who may look like angels but you wouldn't want to end up on their bad side.
The stories themselves are fun and lighthearted adventures that had me laughing out loud as I read them. They're perfect for bedtime reading and will be enjoyed by both children and adults. The Victorian setting is well done and I loved the use of British slang. I read on Philip Pullman's website that there were originally going to be 6 stories about the New Cut gang and I really hope he gets time to write the remaining 4 - I'll be first in the queue to buy them if he does!
In Thunderbolt's Waxwork we are introduced to the New Cut gang, a rag tag group of mischievous children who want to be detectives. In their first "case" they are determined to track down the person behind a spate of counterfeit coins doing the rounds in Lambeth. Thunderbolt's dad has been arrested but they are sure it couldn't be him who was making the coins - can they find a way to prove it and have him released from prison?
The Gas-Fitters' Ball continues the adventures of the New Cut gang, this time they are on the hunt for a burglar - someone has stolen the Gas-Fitters' silver trophies and the gang are intent on finding out who. Can they beat the police to find the burglar?
I absolutely loved the characters that make up the New Cut gang. You have leader Benny who has an imagination that often runs away with him and comes up with crazy plans bound to get them all in trouble, then there is Sam (AKA Thunderbolt) - he is the smart and studious one, Bridie is the hot tempered red head with a heart of gold who is always looking out for the others and her little brother Sharkie Bob who was probably my favourite. A lot younger than the others he tags along wherever they go eating everything in sight. You can't forget the Peretti twins Angela and Zerlina who may look like angels but you wouldn't want to end up on their bad side.
The stories themselves are fun and lighthearted adventures that had me laughing out loud as I read them. They're perfect for bedtime reading and will be enjoyed by both children and adults. The Victorian setting is well done and I loved the use of British slang. I read on Philip Pullman's website that there were originally going to be 6 stories about the New Cut gang and I really hope he gets time to write the remaining 4 - I'll be first in the queue to buy them if he does!
May 29, 2014
Read in May 2014, Singapore
Enid Blyton-ian in its setting, Richmal Crompton-ish in its characters, and with just a whiff of P.G. Wodehouse in its plot, this book, set in 1894, is a beautiful nostalgia trip!
My first taste of Philip Pullman, and I'm hungry for more.
Enid Blyton-ian in its setting, Richmal Crompton-ish in its characters, and with just a whiff of P.G. Wodehouse in its plot, this book, set in 1894, is a beautiful nostalgia trip!
My first taste of Philip Pullman, and I'm hungry for more.
June 15, 2017
Just read the first of these two adventures from the 1890s. I thought they might have been a warm-up for his Sally Lockhart stories – since they’re both set in the Victorian era – but most of those were written BEFORE this. Not as gripping as the Sally L stories, but then it’s comic rather than serious. And I’m never really gripped by comic stories. But the characters are fun and it is – as are all his books – beautifully written.
May 3, 2024
De kinderen vonden het eerste hoofdstuk een beetje vies en wilden niet meer verder luisteren, dus luisterde ik dan maar alleen (er is altijd genoeg te doen in het huishouden voor een leuk audioboek). Ik snap dat deze eerste kennismaking met de auteur hen niet meteen veranderde in grote fans, ook al komt zijn naam heel vaak terug als ik leestips voor de zoon vraag aan andere ouders. Persoonlijk vind ik dat de eindbestemming van het zelfgemaakte wassen beeld alleen al het hele boek de moeite waard maakt ;)
September 26, 2017
Ho un debole per i romanzi per ragazzi, questo in particolare è frizzantissimo e si fa leggere con piacere.
Stessa Londra vittoriana della serie di Sally Lockhart ma molto più spensierata e decisamente meno cupa.
Stessa Londra vittoriana della serie di Sally Lockhart ma molto più spensierata e decisamente meno cupa.
November 18, 2018
Laugh out loud children's story. Loved it!
March 27, 2019
Great story for children.
May 7, 2020
Not that great. Simply written.
July 11, 2020
Darn good kid's fiction! Read it as an audiobook from BorrowBox, great nighttime soporific.
January 4, 2021
Definitely good enough to enjoy as an adult. There's no fantasy like His Dark Materials; it was very similar to the Sally Lockhart books.
August 17, 2022
A children's mystery series set in London in the 1890s. Very light-hearted and quite funny, with a likeable gang of ordinary children. Like a Sally Lockhart novel minus all the dangerous stuff and from the point of view of kids.
In London in 1894, Thunderbolt is about 12 and the story is about him and his friends, who have their own gang, the New Cut gang, pretty much led by Benny. Fake coins are turning up all over Lambeth. Thunderbolt's father is an inventor and when he gets arrested Thunderbolt thinks he's been down there making fake coins. Meanwhile, he and his friends make their own waxwork model of their friend Dippy (40s) who sells chestnuts and try to get it into the waxwork museum. And people are sniffing around Thunderbolt's house trying to steal their model (because the head is made of ambergris).
In London in 1894, Thunderbolt is about 12 and the story is about him and his friends, who have their own gang, the New Cut gang, pretty much led by Benny. Fake coins are turning up all over Lambeth. Thunderbolt's father is an inventor and when he gets arrested Thunderbolt thinks he's been down there making fake coins. Meanwhile, he and his friends make their own waxwork model of their friend Dippy (40s) who sells chestnuts and try to get it into the waxwork museum. And people are sniffing around Thunderbolt's house trying to steal their model (because the head is made of ambergris).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2024
Falskmyntnersaken er en barne- og ungdomsbok satt til London i 1894 og er første bok i en The New Cut Gang-serien. Nå består riktignok serien kun av to bøker, så veldig lang er den ikke. Pullman virker glad i å skrive om 1800-tallets England,- også i bøkene om Sally Lockhart er satt til denne tidsperioden. Det er en interessant tid og jeg synes det fungerer veldig fint, gjør det kanskje ekstra spennende. I Falskmyntnersaken må Lynet, Benny og resten av New Cut-gjengen forsøke å løse mysteriet med de falske myntene som sprer seg i nabolaget. Hvem er det som lager disse myntene? Lynet mistenker sin egen far og er livredd for at det er han som står bak. En underholdende bok om unge, nysgjerrige detektiver!
August 29, 2014
The first of Philip Pullman's two late 19th century set children's novels, likeable and easy going, but there's little to suggest Pullman would be capable of writing "His Dark Materials." A group of kids are on the trail of crooks passing counterfeit coins.
September 8, 2014
This was definitely a children's book for a younger audience than "Northern Lights" - in fact it's almost hard to believe it was written by the same author. I did enjoy it, especially the adult references that were thrown in there.
April 20, 2023
4.5 stars
I had to use all of my strength not to burst out laughing in the train the whole time I was reading this!!
Phillip Pullman is, in my humble opinion, the best storyteller out there.
I had to use all of my strength not to burst out laughing in the train the whole time I was reading this!!
Phillip Pullman is, in my humble opinion, the best storyteller out there.
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March 17, 2018A fun listen
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews