There's certainly an unrealistic aspect about them, but it isn't fantastic or supernatural. I guess I just don't associate magic with these kinds of books. I was startled, and kind of annoyed by this.

While we still don't really know what's going on, we have a lot more pieces and it seems like something supernatural is afoot. While I loved this one just as much as the first, I was kind of surprised the turn it was taking toward the end. Penelope believes in setting standards high, so who cares if they have a tendency to howl at the moon? She sends them off to fetch their protractors and graph paper. I love how the children are a combination of hanging onto their wolf-like characteristics (they have a tendency to drool, chase squirrels, and add 'awoo' to the ends of words), but they're also learning Latin and about the Peloponnesian War and randomly come up with things that show they're considerably smarter than most of the people around them who think they're little savages. But Penelope is a Swanburne girl and Sawnburne girls are curious, resourceful and determined and she'll get to the bottom of it sooner or later. Things become more and more confusing the more she learns. In The Hidden Gallery, Penelope begins to piece together the Incorrigibles' confusing background. They are cared for by our heroine, the plucky governess Penelope. The Incorrigible children had been raised by wolves and taken in by Lord and Lady Ashton, although we're not sure why, as Lord Ashton has no interest in them and Lady Ashton totally hate them and blames them for everything. In this second volume, the plot thickens. I think that if you like British comedy, you'll also like books like this. That dry, matter-of-fact, tongue-in-cheek, wandering off on tangents way of storytelling. Did you like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events? The Incorrigible Children series is wonderfully Snicketesque. Much like the first book, The Hidden Gallery was hysterical. From gypsy prophesies to hidden rooms, Penelope fears the children might be in danger again. But almost immediately after leaving Ashton Place, strange things begin to happen. Penelope is thrilled at the thought of all the wonderfully educational things London will offer the Incorrigibles, and the chance of seeing her dear, former headmistress of Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Miss Mortimer.

Of course, their governess, Penelope Lumley, will be accompanying them. The Incorrigible children, Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia, are staying in London while Ashton Place is repaired from that disastrous Christmas ball of Lady Constance Ashton.

The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood