Buckley-Archer, Linda 1957(?)–

Personal

Born c. 1957, in Sussex, England; married; children: two. Education: Undergraduate degree; studied for a doctorate at London University.

Addresses

Home—London, England.

Career

Has worked as a freelance journalist for London Independent and other newspapers, and as a French teacher.

Writings

Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy (novel; for children), Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of radio scripts, including Gideon the Cutpurse, Pearls in the Tate, One Night in White Satin, and Brief Encounters.

Adaptations

Gideon the Cutpurse was adapted as an audiobook, Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Sidelights

Linda Buckley-Archer initially intended her first children's novel, Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy, to be a radio play; but her own children's enthusiastic response to readings in progress led her to develop it as a novel. The time-travel story takes Peter and Kate, two modern-day twelve year olds, back to 1763 England via a mishap with an antigravity device being developed by Kate's father. Fortunately, the device went back in time with them. As a result, Peter and Kate have high hopes of returning to their own time, until the machine is stolen by the nefarious thief known as the Tar Man. Gideon, a former thief himself, helps Kate and Peter track down the Tar Man as the children's parents frantically search for them. "Readers will be eager for the sequel to this exciting time travel adventure," asserted Paula Rohrlick in Kliatt. Jennifer Mattson, writing in Booklist, commented that the author proves herself skilled at portraying "the pistol-waving encounters with highwaymen and chases through London's underbelly." Melissa Moore concluded in School Library Journal that Gideon the Cutpurse "is a rare gem."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy, p. 63.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2006, review of Gideon the Cutpurse, p. 569.

Kliatt, September, 2006, Paula Rohrlick, review of Gideon the Cutpurse, p. 8.

Publishers Weekly, June 19, 2006, review of Gideon the Cutpurse, p. 63.

School Library Journal, July, 2006, Melissa Moore, review of Gideon the Cutpurse, p. 97.

ONLINE

Authortrek.com,http://www.authortrek.com/ (December 17, 2006), brief profile of Linda Buckley-Archer.

BookLoons.com,http://www.bookloons.com/ (December 17, 2006), Hilary Williamson, review of Gideon the Cutpurse.

Gideon Trilogy Web site,http://www.thegideontrilogy.com (December 17, 2006).

London Times Online,http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ (December 17, 2006), Amanda Craig, review of Gideon the Cutpurse.