The Clockwork Three

The Clockwork Three
Author(s)	Matthew J. Kirby
Cover artist	Brian Despain
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Historical fiction Children's fiction
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	October 1, 2010[1]
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	400[2]
ISBN	ISBN 0545203376

The Clockwork Three is a 2010 novel by American author Matthew J. Kirby. Set in America in the late 19th century-early 20th century, it follows three children: Giuseppe, Hannah, and Frederick who work to solve each other's problems.

Origins

The idea for The Clockwork Three came to Kirby when he read a story of a boy named Joseph in a newspaper from 1873.^[3] Joseph had been kidnapped from Italy and had to play a fiddle in New York City's streets to earn money for his master, until he eventually escaped.^[3]

Plot

Giuseppe, a boy who has to collect money for his padrone, one day finds a green violin from a shipwreck. The beautiful sound the violin makes possesses people into loving it and may just earn him enough money for his secret stash to eventually buy a ticket to his native country, Italy. Meanwhile, Frederick works on his automaton which hopefully will promote him out of apprenticeship, and a girl named Hannah works as a maid where she hears of hidden riches in the hotel where she works. Shortly after, she becomes the personal assistant of a strange guest, Madame Pomeroy. Two weeks later, Giuseppe then saves Frederick from being bullied, and the two become friends. Madame Pomeroy asks Frederick to construct an automaton for her, and Frederick and Hannah shyly meet. Stephano discovered Giuseppe's secrets and pursues him, but Giuseppe escapes and hides out in a park.

Hannah discovers that a man named Mister Stroop supposedly left the treasure in the suites at the top of the hotel. She later sees a map that hints it may near a pond in the park. She runs to look for it when she desperately needs money for her sick father's medicine. There she meets Giuseppe, and the two look for the treasure but it is not there, though she receives some herbal medicine from a woman who worked as a gardener in the hotel. Hannah's father tells her where the treasure is hidden in the hotel, having worked for Stroop in the past.

The next day the three children all meet for the first time and Frederick shows the other two his automaton. The three agree to help each other out with their problems. Giuseppe mentions that he saw a clockwork head— Frederick's only missing piece— in a museum. The three sneak into the museum so Frederick can inspect the head, but they are interrupted by guards and forced to flee. Frederick escapes with the "borrowed" head, which was made by Albertus Magnus. Hannah also accidentally took a small piece of clay belonging to a golem, which she inserts into the clockwork man's chest. This, coupled with the Magnus head, gives him near-human intelligence.

Hannah discovers that Mister Stroup's treasure is actually his will, witnessed by the hotel's owner, Mister Twine. She and Frederick talk to him, but Hannah refuses to take the money because it would cause the park to be destroyed. Mister Twine promotes her to the chief of maids, and gives her quite a bit of money for new dresses, a portion of which she gives to Giuseppe for his ticket. A law was passed that the padrones no longer had legal control over their buskers. Enraged, Stephano tries to kill Giuseppe, but they are saved by Madame Pomeroy, who lets Giuseppe travel with her to play his green violin for kings and queens. Frederick eventually makes journeyman, and Hannah's father's health improves.

Characters

• Giuseppe is an 11-year-old boy who has lived in America for six years. His parents are dead, but his siblings still live in Italy. He keeps a stash of money in a graveyard to save up for a ticket to Italy that he gets from a green violin.
• Hannah is a 12-year-old girl who had to abandon school to work as a maid in a hotel. She loves reading and used to own seven books, but had to sell six of them. She has two very young twin sisters, a mother, and a father who used to be a fine stonemason but is currently sick with apoplexy and in need of help. Hannah became Madame Pomeroy's personal assistant. It is hinted she has feelings for Frederick.
• Frederick is a 13-year old apprentice clockmaker who wishes to work on his own. His father died and his mother left him due to illness when he was young and he spent time in an orphanage before a clockmaker discovered his talent and employed him as an apprentice. He is secretly building an automaton and hopes it will promote him to his own business. He seems to feel nervous around Hannah and possibly has a crush on her.
• Madame Pomeroy is a large woman who employed Hannah as her personal assistant after Miss Wool loses her temper and yelled at her, thus saving Hannah from being fired. She is quite rich and can also communicate with the dead.
• Stephano is Giuseppe's abusive padrone.
• Master Branch is the clockmaker who employed Frederick as an apprentice. He greatly cares for Frederick and sticks up for him.
• Pietro is a small boy whom had trouble making money for Stephano by playing his tin whistle. Giuseppe cares for him.
• Miss Wool is a woman who is chief of the maids at the hotel. She is after the treasure and shows Hannah no mercy. She is fired at the end by the hotel's manager, Mister Twine, and Hannah is offered her position.

Critical reception

Publishers Weekly gave The Clockwork Three a starred review, saying "debut novelist Kirby has assembled all the ingredients for a rousing adventure, which he delivers with rich, transporting prose."^[4] The website Kidsreads also gave the book a positive review, saying "With plenty of steampunk elements and more than a few hints of violence, The Clockwork Three is, in many ways, as dark and menacing as its hard-edged setting."^[5] Another review came from Deseret News, praising the imagery.^[6] Kirkus Reviews was more mixed, calling it "an interesting concept" but thought the ending was too obvious and the children became less interesting as the story went along.^[7]

References

1. ^ Kirby, Matthew J. (25 January 2010). "Release Date". Kirbside, Matthew J. Kirby's blog. http://matthewjkirby.com/kirbside/?p=1032. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
2. ^ "Amazon.com:The Clockwork Three". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Three-Matthew-J-Kirby/dp/0545203376. Retrieved 12 November 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Piehl, Norah (October 2010). "Interview with Matthew J. Kirby". Kidsreads.com. http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-kirby-matthew.asp. Retrieved November 7, 2010. 
4. ^ "The Clockwork Three Review". Publishers Weekly. October 2010. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/reviews/single/60273-the-clockwork-three.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+Children%27s+Bookshelf&utm_campaign=065cf2686b-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
5. ^ Piehl, Norah. "Review: The Clockwork Three". Kidsreads.com. http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/9780545203371.asp. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
6. ^ Harrision, Jessica (25 September 2010). "Imaginative 'Clockwork Three' has a classic feel". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700068322/Book-review-Imaginative-Clockwork-Three-has-a-classic-feel.html. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
7. ^ "The Clockwork Three review". Kirkus Reviews. 10 September 2010. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/childrens-books/matthew-kirby/clockwork-three/. Retrieved 16 January 2011. 

External links

• The Clockwork Three at the Scholastic website.
• Kirbside, Matthew J. Kirby's blog