The wolves of Greycoat Hall by Lucinda Gifford
Young Boris Greycoat is a wolf and lives with his aristocratic parents in a fancy mansion with twenty-three turrets. Several generations ago their ancestors moved from Scotland to the principality of Morovia, somewhere in eastern Europe. Here humans and wolves happily coexist, although the cakes are rock hard, made with pig fat and taste of old coconut!
Usually, the Greycoat’s holiday in France but Scotland has decided to reintroduce wolves. So, they decide to holiday in Scotland instead. The Greycoats are sophisticated and well educated and rather taken aback when the Scots are scared of them and not keen on accepting them on equal terms. The Greycoats have a different understanding of ‘reintroduce’ to the Scots, who consider it a process of bringing back wild animals.
Boris is keen to study the history of the Greycoat family and the family explore their ancestral homeland. Boris’ father is very wrapped up in immersing himself in Scottish culture. Boris quietly suffers these amusing experiments. His mother uses her smile to their advantage. Alongside this is a ruthless real estate developer intent on destroying Scottish heritage and the natural environment. Boris becomes involved in a community campaign to stop the development.
This was a wholesome, funny story with marvelous black and white illustrations. Boris’s parents are delightfully eccentric and loving. Boris is quietly heroic with admirable values. There are many funny incidents when the wolves become ‘undignified’ when they get hungry. Gifford plays around with wolf related language such as, Wolfemina Hall and Sir Luther Fangdolph! There’s also an opportunity to learn about Scottish traditions. It has the same lovely tone as a story like The 27th Annual African Hippopotamus Race by Morris Lurie. Therefore, it would be a great read aloud to share with Junior Primary aged students. A new book in the series is due in 2023.
Themes: Scottish culture, Wildlife conservation, Preservation of heritage.
Jo Marshall