The novel “Curse of the Mirror Clowns” by Chris Lynch was published for the first time in 2018.
Lucy Wilson is getting used to living in a small village like Ogmore-by-Sea but even in an apparently remote place, there seem to be strange events. Lucy took inspiration more than ever from her grandfather Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart by taking on the role of Defender of the Earth alongside her friend Hobo.
When a circus puts on a special show for one night only, Lucy doesn’t seem interested but soon the clowns show sinister and alien characteristics. Help comes from another alien, and it’s important because the clowns are looking for her.
The series “The Lucy Wilson Mysteries” tells the adventures of the granddaughter of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, a character who became famous in the TV show “Doctor Who“. It’s a series aimed at young readers with novels that are much shorter than the normal series connected to this saga. The stories almost exclusively include fictional characters created for other short stories and novels, and only occasionally characters that appeared in the TV show.
“Curse of the Mirror Clowns” uses the figure of the clown in an unusual way. It’s certainly not the first work that portrays clowns as threatening figures but the “Doctor Who” saga is one of the very few cases in which they were used as an alien threat. Chris Lynch reuses that idea by also exploring some elements of an alien society divided into Houses.
The author adapted a version of the clowns derived from the classic masks of the commedia dell’arte which, in some nations such as Italy, then became common in the carnival. To the traditional versions of those masks, he added menacing connotations. Balanzone is simply called Dottore, in Italian even if often spelled wrong. This wink to the readers is one of the direct or indirect references to “Doctor Who” contained in this series of books.
The circus where the clowns arrive and the resulting plot are used to develop some important themes. At the beginning of this novel, Lucy Wilson hasn’t lived in Ogmore-by-Sea for long but she has already felt the strong effects of the move. Her life has changed in so many ways after her family moved from London and it all adds up to the normal problems of a young girl. Her decidedly out-of-the-ordinary experiences force her to ask fundamental questions. Who is Lucy Wilson? Are Lucy Wilson and Lucy Lethbridge-Stewart the same person?
Lucy’s common problems intertwine with the ones connected to the alien presence. Her parents are not present very much because they’re always busy and there are situations that test her friendship with Hobo. At the same time, her desire to honor her famous grandfather by declaring herself a Defender of the Earth attracted dangerous attention.
The themes developed in “Curse of the Mirror Clowns” can especially capture the attention of young readers who are the target of this series of novels. The plot may give some thrills to readers who find clowns scary but honestly, it ends up being a bit flat for the ones who don’t feel a sense of threat because they find clowns funny and associate traditional masks with commedia dell’arte and carnival.
“Curse of the Mirror Clowns” is a novel that can be read even by people unfamiliar with “Doctor Who”. It’s aimed at young readers but contains some important themes that can make it interesting even for those who are a little older than the protagonists. For the plot, I especially recommend it to readers who see the darker side of clowns and traditional masks.
