Book Review: The Trumpeter of Krakow

Title: The Trumpeter of Krakow

Author: Eric P. Kelly

Date: 1928, 1942

Publisher: Macmillan

ISBN: none

Length: 218 pages

Illustrations: color plates by Angela Pruszynska

Quote: “He was the trumpeter of the Church of Our Lady Mary, and he had taken solemn oath to sound the trumpet each hour of the day and night...until death.”

According to the legend that takes up the first six pages of this book, this thirteenth-century trumpeter faithfully popped out on the tower, like a clock cuckoo, to serenade the invading Tartars. They shot him, and for another two hundred years the traditional tune was played in an incomplete form, in his memory. This is, however, the fictional story of a fifteenth-century youth who “reconstructed” the last notes of the tune...having plenty of adventures along the way.

Much historical research, and many quaint medieval details, went into this rather ponderous narrative. The author’s intrusive voice (“A five in the year 1407 had swept through this street...it was not until late in the 1490’s that the authorities compelled the students to live in university buildings”) occasionally clashes with his intention to describe scenes as if they were happening now (“Joseph noticed that there was still one more floor above them...As the light from the lantern fell upon his face, Joseph drew back”).

The story is plausible historical fiction, with gangs and ruffians, treasures, alchemists, spies, fires, and a king who arrives at the last minute to thwart the gangster who’s been trying to steal a treasure our hero’s family are guarding for the king. The ending may remind some adult readers of Steinbeck’s Pearl.

As an historical tale, The Trumpeter of Krakow has been appreciated by adult readers, but it’s written in the style of a particularly inspirational kind of adventure story for middle school boys, who should find it a challenging read. It’s a simple story with two distinctly bad characters, half a dozen thoroughly nice ones, and two fools. Polish words and names are explained, although the phonetic system that would allow English-speaking readers to read the story aloud is not explained, in the text. Contemporary children don’t seem to read it, but it won a prize as a children’s story in its day and is often shelved with the children’s books in libraries.

Usually recommended to those interested in Polish or Renaissance history, The Trumpeter of Krakow deserves consideration by anyone who likes fictional adventures. The color plates in my 1942 copy aren’t great art, but they have a certain Renaissance Faire charm, and may interest anyone interested in adding a Polish or Eastern European character to a Renaissance Faire.