Norman Vallery, by W.H.G. Kingston.
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This book has a strange theme, but it is very well carried out. Norman
Vallery is a small boy, about seven years old or less. His father has
insisted that he should be brought up to believe that he should be
allowed to do exactly whatever he wished. The result was a totally
unpleasant child, unkind to animals, to his sister, and to all others
around him. This is well described in the text, but we must also say
that the numerous illustrations bring out his unpleasantness in a very
clever way. In fact the pictures are a remarkable record of Victorian
childhood, and are worth studying for their own sake.
Norman had lived with his parents in India, where his father was a
soldier. His sister, a little older, had been brought back to England
some years before, to be brought up by her kindly old grandmother. That
was the custom in those days. At the start of the story Norman and his
parents are arriving in England, but right from the start he behaves
intolerably.
Eventually various people treat him with kindness, and he begins to see
that kindness is a more profitable way to work with others. Furthermore
there is a serious incident in which he is hurt, really through his own
fault, and in which another child to whom Norman has been unkind proves
to be his saviour. Ultimately he goes away to a proper boarding school
where he gets excellent marks for his behaviour. He is a changed boy!
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NORMAN VALLERY, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.