A charming tale of a 6-year-old boy who believes in unicorns and miracles
Rating: 3 Stars
HOLLYWOOD: A Kid for Two Farthings is being published by the Bloomsbury Group as a “lost classics” of the early 20th century. The book is Wolf Mankowitz’s 1953 novel based on his experiences growing up Jewish in London’s East End. The story explores the life of Joe, a six-year-old waiting to join his father in Africa. Joe lives with his mother in Whitechapel, the poor immigrant community in London’s East End.
In A Kid for Two Farthings, the tailor Mr. Kandinsky tells Joe that a unicorn can grant any wish. Joe finds a unicorn that he buys for two farthings and brings home. Although the adults see that the unicorn is really just a goat, they perpetuate Joe’s belief that it’s a unicorn. Will Joe’s belief be strong enough to make miracles happen?
Despite a mis-step with James Bond, Mankowitz had a very successful career as a novelist and playwright. Mankowitz was a screenwriter on Doctor No, until he insisted on having his name removed because he thought the first Bond film would be a flop. In 1962 Mankowitz had introduced his friend Cubby Broccoli to James Bond rights-holder Harry Saltzman. Mankowitz later collaborated on the screenplay for the Peter Sellers spoof Bond movie Casino Royale.
A Kid for Two Farthings was turned into a film in 1955 by Carol Reed. Mankowitz wrote the screenplay.
In his autobiography Kicking Against the Pricks, Oscar Lewenstein describes the stage company Lewenstein/Mankowitz Productions, formed in 1955 with Mankowitz. One of their productions was Moby-Dick – Rehearsed, the Orson Welles’ adaptation of the Melville classic.
Other books by Mankowitz include Make Me an Offer and My Old Man’s a Dustman. The former was made into a film in 1954, and four years later Mankowitz wrote the book for the hit West End musical Expresso Bongo, later made into a movie starring Laurence Harvey and Cliff Richard.
A Kid for Two Farthings is an uplifting story of unwavering faith and belief in miracles by a six-year-old. It makes you realize that believing in something can create miracles. Mankowitz shows the harsh reality of life in the poor part of town. There’s a great relationship between Joe and Mr. Kandinsky, who tells Joe stories to enliven their days. This book is for anyone who wants to believe again.
Wolf Mankowitz was born in 1924. He died of cancer in 1998 in County Cork, Ireland. His ashes are kept at the Golders Green Crematorium, the same location that holds the ashes of Peter Sellers.
A Kid for Two Farthings: A Novel (Bloomsbury Group) by Wolf Mankowitz (Author). Trade Paperback, 144 pages, Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (December 22, 2009), Language: English, ISBN: 9781608190485.
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