The Fox Boy: The Story of an Abducted Child

This is a second-hand copy of the book The Fox Boy: The Story of an Abducted Child by Peter Walker. It is a hardcover book with a dust jacket. It is a former library book but in excellent condition considering this. A fresh non-adhesive PVC cover has been added to the dust jacket to keep it safe. This is simply folded in place and can be easily removed.

From the inside flap: 

There had been a history of mutual kidnapping between the Maori and the English people in New Zealand dating back to the 1760s. In 1869, after an English defeat in battle in the Taranaki forest, one more Maori boy, aged five or six, was captured. This little boy was to be adopted by the Prime Minister and educated to become a lawyer and an 'English gentleman'.

The small captive was photographed, just a few days after his kidnapping, in a studio in the town of Wanganui. He is wearing a fine English suit and boots; there is a vase of flowers and a weighty book on the ebony stand beside him. As Peter Walker comments, 'Someone has combed the boy's hair and taught him to put one hand in his trouser pocket. He looks as if he's seen a ghost.'

It was Walker's question, 'Well, I wonder what happened to you?' which set him off on this remarkable quest. Not only did he follow Ngatau Omahuru (or little ‘William Fox') out of the forest and into the drawing rooms of Wellington and London, but he found himself on a personal journey which converged unexpectedly with the material he uncovered. Walker learned that this Maori boy, about whom perhaps ten lines had ever been published in the history books, played a crucial role in New Zealand's history. He also learned about Maori ghosts and some very eccentric English scoundrels.

Peter Walker's gripping narrative sweeps the reader along on a great curious adventure.

Condition: this is a used book. It is a former library book from Richland County Public Library. They took good care of it. While it is one of the cleanest former library books we have seen, there is a library stamp on the bottom of the outer edge, a library sticker on the first page, a green pen mark on the top of the outer edge, and a library borrowing card/pouch on the last page. A fresh non-adhesive PVC cover has been added to the dust jacket to keep it safe. This is simply folded in place and can be easily removed.

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2001
Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9781582342191
Pages: 341
Condition: used book (good - ex-library)