The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke
**Overview of "The Return of the Twelves" by Pauline Clarke**
"The Return of the Twelves" is a children's novel by Pauline Clarke that tells the story of Max Morley, an eight-year-old boy who discovers twelve toy soldiers in his new Yorkshire home. After bringing them to life by playing an old Ashanti drum, Max earns their trust and becomes a guardian figure to them, known as one of the Genii. The story explores themes of imagination, friendship, and respect for all beings, regardless of their size. As Max and his siblings navigate challenges with the soldiers, including attempts to keep them safe from a nosy reporter and the world outside, they learn valuable lessons about responsibility and empathy.
The narrative is enriched by connections to the Brontë sisters, with hints that the soldiers were once cherished by the famous authors, leading to a deeper exploration of literary history. Unlike other tales of living toys, Clarke’s work presents a more solemn tone, focusing on the significance of small lives and the bond between children and the tiny beings they encounter. The book has received critical acclaim, winning prestigious awards such as the Carnegie Medal and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Its blend of adventure, myth, and the celebration of childhood resonates with readers, making it a distinctive addition to the genre of children’s literature.
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Subject Terms
The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke
First published: 1962, in Great Britain as The Twelve and the Genii (U.S. edition, 1964); illustrated
Type of work: Fantasy
Themes: Family, friendship, and religion
Time of work: The mid-twentieth century
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: The countryside near Haworth, childhood home of the Brontes, Yorkshire, England
Principal Characters:
Butter Crashey , ,Stumps , ,The Duke of Wellington , ,Crackey , ,Tracky , ,Monkey , ,Cheeky , ,Bravey , ,Gravey , ,Sneaky , ,Parry , andRoss , the Twelves (the Young Men), twelve toy soldiers originally belonging to Branwell, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne BronteMax Morley , an imaginative eight-year-old who brings the Twelves back to life, thus becoming one of their protectors, or GeniiJane Morley , Max’s elder sister who also becomes a GeniiPhilip Morley , the eldest child of the Morley family, a practical fourteen-year-old who is determined to learn the truth about the TwelvesMr. Howson , a neighborhood parson, nicknamed “Mr. Rochester” because of his great interest in the BrontesSeneca Brewer , an American professor who wants to locate the soldiers once belonging to the Brontes
The Story
Initially,The Return of the Twelves seems similar to a number of stories about little people or toys that come to life. As the novel progresses, however, it explores the nature of imagination and the importance of respecting all life, no matter how small. Shortly after moving to Yorkshire, England, eight-year-old Max Morley discovers twelve toy soldiers hidden behind a loose board in the attic of his house and brings them to life by beating on an old Ashanti drum. Eventually, he wins their confidence and is accepted as one of the Genii, the guardian spirits who protect them. When the soldiers, or “Twelves,” explore the Morley living room, Max watches over them, rescuing them from the family cat and quenching their thirst with drops of sherry. Despite Max’s efforts, one of the Twelves, Stumps, wanders off and is lost. Max soon discovers that he can see the Twelves’ adventures in his mind. He is thus able to locate Stumps on the vine outside his bedroom window. At this point, Max comes to respect the Twelves, assuming the role of their god yet recognizing that he must not do everything for them.
Max, his brother Philip, and his sister Jane meet Mr. Howson, the neighborhood parson. Mr. Howson, a great fan of the Brontes, who grew up at nearby Haworth, tells the Morley children about twelve soldiers once owned by the famous writers. Apparently, the Brontes created many adventures for the toys, some of which appeared in “The History of the Young Men.” After Jane accidentally discovers that the Twelves are alive, Max takes her into his confidence. The children soon realize that the soldiers are the ones Mr. Howson described.
When their brother, Philip, comes to the same conclusion, he writes to an American professor who has offered five thousand pounds for their recovery. When the professor plans to come to England to examine the Twelves, Philip tells Max what he has done. At the same time, rumors circulate in the neighborhood that the Morley children have the Brontes’ soldiers, prompting a nosey reporter to investigate. Max and Jane decide to confide in Mr. Howson, but the Twelves disappear before he can advise them.
Afraid of being taken to America, the Twelves flee into the countryside, using one of Max’s roller skates as a carriage. After Max pictures in his mind what has happened to them, he and Jane locate the soldiers, rescuing Stumps from a nearby stream. Throughout their journey, the Twelves are compared to the children of Israel after they fled Egypt. When the children launch the Twelves down the river in a toy canoe, they are seen by Philip, who finally discovers their secret. After Butter Crashey is captured by a dog and then returned by a neighboring farmer, the three children and Mr. Howson oversee the Twelves’ return to Haworth, which is now a Bronte museum. There they remain on display in the nursery, coming to life at night or when Max comes to visit.
Context
The most famous of Clarke’s many children’s books, The Return of the Twelves has received many awards, including the Carnegie Medal, German Jugend Buchpreis, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. In some ways it resembles Five Dolls in a House (1953), Five Dolls and the Monkey (1956), Five Dolls in the Snow (1957), Five Dolls and Their Friends (1959), and Five Dolls and the Duke (1963), which Clarke wrote under the pen name, Helen Clare. These books for younger readers are also about living toys. In the first of them, five dolls named Vanessa, Amanda, Jane, Lupin, and Jacqueline, each with a distinct personality, are helped by a girl named Elizabeth.
Critics have also compared The Return of the Twelves to novels about toys and little people by other writers, such as T. H. White’s Mistress Marsham’s Repose (1946), Mary Norton’s The Borrowers (1952), and Edward Eager’s Knight’s Castle (1956). All these books are, to some extent, concerned with the importance of small, seemingly powerless creatures. In each case, it is a child who discovers and most closely relates to the tiny creatures. Like The Return of the Twelves, which draws on the Bible and on “The History of the Young Men,” both Mistress Marsham’s Repose and Knight’s Castle are very literary works, borrowing characters from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe (1819) to create their plots.
Clarke’s story of the Twelves, however, differs from all these books in many ways. Max is more solemn and serious than the children they present, showing more respect for the tiny beings he encounters. The lives of the Twelves are also more closely connected to Max himself, who gives them life and creates their adventures. As a result, The Return of the Twelves is more mythic, the Morley children metamorphosing into deities. The twelve soldiers, however, emerge as very real, individual beings who evoke the reader’s sympathies. With its almost mystical treatment of the soldiers and its celebration of childhood play, this novel seems to anticipate books such as Lynne R. Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard (1980) and Elizabeth Winthrop’s The Castle in the Attic (1985), more recent tales about toy figures that come to life.