Romilly is meant to be home schooled, but has no real curriculum or structure. However, beneath the wonder and wildness of Romilly’s childhood there was no certainty or parental boundaries. Tobias was such a huge character with incredible creativity, one moment painting quietly in his shed while the next moment he was a whirlwind of activity creating giant metal mobiles in the field. The idea of tiny little illustrations inside the bigger ones of the story really brought my childhood back to me, because my brother and I loved the What-a-Mess books by Frank Muir where whole worlds could happen between the grasses of the main illustration. The descriptions of Tobias’s works were stunning and so detailed I could really see them. This was such a visually rich book that I really took my time to drink it all in. When her dad’s memory starts to fail, Romilly wonders if all these clues are for her, or are they triggers for her dad’s memory? More importantly, I was starting to wonder who would look after Romilly and what had torn this close family apart? Her dad gives her a puzzle box he’s made, which starts to tick when it’s her birthday releasing a memento or object that’s important to her - Monty’s silver bell, a pink feather.
Where does her friend Stacey go when she is missing for weeks? Who is the beautiful, pink costumed circus lady she meets who knows her father? She notices differences in the way she’s drawn in the book and also a very faintly painted lady in the background often with her head in her hands. She hasn’t seen her mum for so long she’s largely forgotten her and they have no other family. Romilly can see secrets of a different kind in the pages her father has drawn, but she’s used to secrets. The public fall in love with the books and the idea grows that there is some sort of treasure hunt contained in the pages leading to trespassers at Bräer and some horrible encounters with reporters and photographers. Romilly loves looking for the tiny little additions to his main illustrations - a tiny mouse holding a forget-me- not, two miniature hares boxing, and sometimes Romilly herself being chased by a animal. She is preserved forever as a 9 year old in her patchwork dress and her red hair flying behind her.
Featuring his original illustrations, the books follow Romilly and her Siamese cat Monty through a series of adventures at the circus, in a windmill and at Christmas. Romilly and her father live alone and struggle for money, when Tobias has an idea for a children’s book based on his daughter. This situation reminded me of a classic favourite I Capture the Castle, but Romilly’s story is much more than a coming of age tale. Romilly Kemp lives in the run down Bräer House with her father Tobias, an artist who is both inventive and eccentric in equal measure. This beautiful and original book hit me straight in the heart and I was reading the last few pages with a massive lump in my throat.
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