The Mystery of Morgan Castle

The Mystery of Morgan Castle by John and Nancy Rambeau (1962) Illustrations by Joseph Maniscalco. I’ve found a few copies of this series—The Morgan Bay Mysteries—over the years—which all have a distinct look and style. One of the books (The Mystery of the Musical Ghost) is memorable in that it’s the first book that I remember writing a book report about, when I was in grade school. (Whatever grade that is when you first write book reports!) This is the first book of the series—it’s a pretty basic mystery, for early readers, I guess (there’s a limited vocabulary, and study exercises in the back). The story does have one shocking element, though (I won’t give it away), and it also paints a picture of this cool, coastal town. The very best thing about the book (and the series), though, are the illustrations by Joseph Maniscalco—striking, full-page compositions in a realist style that’s both nostalgic and kind of creepy—dark, brooding, sepia tone depictions of action. Also, in each book there’s some kind of an aerial view map or floorplan—in this one it’s the beach neighborhood and castle—from directly above. I am just a total sucker for children’s books with floorplans, maps, charts, aerial views, cross-sections, and cutaways. I’ll buy the books just for those elements. So, I collect, and sometimes go back to, these Morgan Bay books just for the illustrations.

5.8.23