From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Plourde cover of Dell Laurel Leaf edition
(1973 to 1987?) |
|
| Author | E. L. Konigsburg |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Konigsburg |
| Cover artist | Konigsburg (first) David L. Plourde (depicted) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel (Mystery) |
| Publisher | Atheneum Publishers |
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Publication date
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1967 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback), Audio book |
| Pages | 162 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 440951825 |
| LC Class | PZ7.K8352 Fr |
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a novel by E. L. Konigsburg. It was published by Atheneum in 1967, the second book published from two manuscripts the new writer had submitted to editor Jean E. Karl.
Mixed-Up Files won the annual Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1968, and Konigsburg's first-published book Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was one of the runners-up in the same year, the only double honor in Newbery history (from 1922). Anita Silvey covered Mixed‑Up Files as one of the 100 Best Books for Children in 2005. Based on a 2007 online poll, the U.S. National Education Association named it one of "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". In 2012 it was ranked number seven among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal.
The prologue is a letter from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, addressed "To my lawyer, Saxonberg", accompanied by a drawing of her writing at her office desk. It serves as the cover letter for the 158-page narrative, and provides background for changes to her last will and testament.
Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from home, because she thinks her parents do not appreciate her and she doesn't like it. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City, with her brother Jamie. She chooses Jamie as her companion partly because he has saved all his money. With the help of an unused adult fare that she found in a wastebasket, Claudia finds a way to get to the museum for free using the commuter train and a very long walk.
Early chapters depict Claudia and Jamie settling in at the Met: hiding in the bathroom at closing time, as security staff check to see that all the patrons have departed; blending in with school groups on tour; bathing in the fountain, and using "wishing coins" for money; and sleeping in an antique bed.
A new exhibit draws sensational crowds and fascinates the children: the marble statue of an angel, the sculptor unknown but suspected to be Michelangelo. It was purchased at auction, for only a few hundred dollars, from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a collector who recently closed her showcase Manhattan residence. The children research it on site and at the Donnell Library, and give their conclusion to the museum staff anonymously.
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