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The Thief Lord
Cornelia Funke ISBN: 0439404371 Scholastic Inc. 2002
The Thief Lord is a modern fairy tale in an urban setting, an adventure story about getting what you wish for. Role reversals and the balance of power between adults and children, and reversals of fortune are themes of this unevenly paced bestseller. The motif of orphans who fend for themselves in a cruel, adult world is patently borrowed from old fashioned fairy tales; it is also the one that leads critics to inaccurately herald The Thief Lord, penned by Cornelia Funke, a Dickensian tale and heir to the Harry Potter throne. A simple wish-fulfilment fantasy at heart, the book is rife with tropes common to fairy tales: bad adults versus good children; villains resplendent in wealth pitted against the virtuous poor; incredible journeys and runaway orphans. The heroes of The Thief Lord are poverty-stricken orphans; they are helpless, young, and loveable. They are good by virtue of their powerlessness in the face of those who control their fates. Street urchins who have been saved from a life of complete squalor by the titular Thief Lord, they are comic book lover Riccio; brawny Mosca; Hornet, the only girl, a bookworm and money-handler; Prosper, and his little brother Bo. Lastly, we have the Thief Lord himself, a mysterious orphan named Scipio. With the proceeds from Scipio's grand thefts--a Doge's palace one week, another mansion the next--the children manage to buy food and some necessities to live on. With the exception of the Thief Lord, or Scipio, who reputedly sleeps in a church at night, the children make their home in an abandoned movie theatre called the Stella. They live and sleep among the dilapidated cushions and curtains and the accoutrements of their own humble existence: blankets, toys, books, and the discarded junk of the more affluent citizens of Venice. We are introduced to Victor Getz, a somewhat grumpy private detective with a penchant for fake moustaches, at the beginning of the book. He is visited by the Hartliebs, the wealthy aunt and uncle of Prosper and Bo. Prosper and Bo ran away to Venice after their beloved mother died to escape the clutches of Esther Hartlieb. Esther disapproves of how her late sister romanticised Venice, causing the boys to find refuge there. Moreover, she only wants the angelic Bo and is ready to send Prosper to an orphanage. Against his better judgement, Victor takes on the case, musing, "'Parents like that are still better than no parents at all, right?'" For all his eccentricities, Victor is no fool and it is not long before he spots Prosper outside a shop and finds out where the children are living.
The copyright of the article 'How Different Wishes Can Be' : 'The Thief Lord' by Cornelia Funke in Children's Literature is owned by Irene Tanner-Yuen. Permission to republish 'How Different Wishes Can Be' : 'The Thief Lord' by Cornelia Funke in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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