"Finally he had an idea. He found a pin in the lapel of his jacket, stuck it through the three bills, then through the envelope, and then through the suit lining. He had pinned his money down, so to speak. Well then, he thought, nothing can happen to it now."
Emil and his mother live in Newtown. Emil's father has died and his mother is struggling. She works as a hairdresser from her own home but money is always tight. Emil feels a great responsibility towards his mother. As the story opens Emil heading off to catch a train to visit and stay with his grandmother in Berlin. Mrs Tischbein has saved some money, quite a large amount, and Emil is entrusted to keep it save and deliver it. At first the train carriage is crowded but for the final hours Emil finds himself alone with a man wearing a bowler hat. Emil is so worried about the money which he has 'hidden' in his inside coat pocket so he decides as an added security measure to pin the money to his pocket. Emil tries so hard to stay awake but eventually he falls asleep and his haunted by a terrible nightmare. In the play Emil is offered a drink while in the book the man offers Emil a chocolate. I did wonder did this contain a sleeping potion. When Emil wakes up the money is gone. He sees the man in the bowler hat and so he jumps off the train and sets off after him.
It is clear Emil cannot confront this robber alone. Luckily a group of kids offer to help him and what a team they are.
"Bad luck is bad luck, any way you cut it. But having a few pals to help you out always makes things better."
They organise food, money and communications. I was thrilled that in the play they used an old rotary telephone and were not tempted to employ a mobile phone.
It is so awful when the money is stolen but the scene I enjoyed the most (in the book and the play) was when the gang capture the thief and Emil is able to identify his money because the notes have those pin holes.
You can read more about the plot and some of the controversy around the English translations:
Emil and the Detectives is one of those classic books that people of my generation probably remember reading. I certainly thought I had read this book as a child (the blue cover above seems very familiar) but perhaps I hadn't because I read it yesterday and most of the plot was new to me. This book was published in 1929 and translated into English in 1931.
I needed to read this book because today I saw the theatre production by Slingsby Theatre (from South Australia) written by Nicki Bloom. I am so glad the plot was fresh in my mind because it added another dimension to the play. How amazing to write a seventy minute play with just two actors and manage to give us the illusion of the gang of children, the city of Berlin, tram and train travel and the edge of the seat thrill of the chase as Emil and his new friends work together to capture the thief. The lighting in this show is especially effective and brilliantly done. Watch this interview with the artistic director - Andy Packer. Here is a fabulous set of teacher's notes to use with this production which will be performed in Melbourne in 2020. This is one of the best examples of theatre for children I have ever seen but I do think children in the audience need to be familiar with the book and I would suggest it is suitable for ages 10+.
Image source - Sydney Opera House December 2019
Watch this video where several famous authors discuss this book and the National Theatre production in London.
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