This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. Gideon the Cutpurse and The Time Travelers are the same book — one was released in England, and the other in the United States. It is the first book in “The Gideon Trilogy” series.
Peter and Kate, who have only just met at Kate’s family farm, suddenly find themselves thrown into the year 1763 by an anti-gravity machine that Kate’s scientist father and his colleagues are working on. A man named Gideon, on the run from a former employer (Lord Luxon), witnesses their arrival into the past. They explain what’s happened, and he vows to help them return home. Gideon introduces the children to his current employer and her family, all the while helping them track down the scoundrel known as Tar Man, the person who stole their anti-gravity device.
When Lord Luxon catches up with his former employee, Gideon is thrown in prison and nearly hanged. Kate’s father arrives to rescue the children, but he accidentally takes the Tar Man back to modern times instead of Peter.
Gideon tells Peter the biblical story of Gideon’s battle. They use that strategy to startle rogues who have captured their friends. Gideon was somewhat forced into stealing for the man who saved his life (Lord Luxon); he alternates between feeling guilt for his crimes and hope that God will forgive him for his sins.
When he’s saved from being hanged, he says God has given him a second chance. Kate prays silently for their return to the present. When the band of rogues (the Carricks) are drunk, they allow the parson to preach a sermon to them about their wickedness.
Peter and Kate meet Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles Darwin) in 1763. Kate tells Erasmus that his grandson discovered evolution — proving that all creatures, including humans, evolved from the same ancestor — and that this discovery changed modern thinking. The characters from the past who don’t understand the science of Peter and Kate’s time travel believe the children may be devils.
Kate’s father, Dr. Dyer, is described as a compassionate man who deeply loves his daughter yet wants her to stand on her own two feet. He hides information about Peter and Kate’s time travel and risks a great deal to go to 1763 to find them.
Gideon cares for Peter and Kate, refusing to abandon them even at the risk of his own safety. Peter’s parents are largely absent from his life because of their careers; upon losing him, they seem to embrace a new perspective about what’s important in life.
D–n appears a half dozen or more times, and one or two instances of God’s name used in vain.
None
Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books.
Gambling – Some of the men from 1763 wager in one scene.
Alcohol – A band of thugs that capture Peter, Kate and their friends drinks brandy.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
