The War of Jenkins’ Ear

Michael Morpurgo's The War of Jenkins' Ear is a thoughtful boarding-school story for 11 year olds about a homesick boy and the strangest new friend he could have made.

What happens

Toby Jenkins dreads the start of every term. He cries in the train toilet so nobody sees, then turns into "Jinks" and starts counting the days till Christmas (ninety-six of them). Redlands is all rules, cold milk, rugby and a headmaster the boys secretly call Rudolph.

Then a new boy called Christopher arrives. He's pale and quiet, and he simply isn't afraid. On his very first night he refuses to eat his rice-pudding skin in front of the whole school. He answers back. By the next morning he's gone.

When he's brought back, he turns out to be brilliant at everything. He picks up French verbs in days and knows the Bible inside out. He runs straight through the other team at rugby, then won't tackle anyone, because there's no point hurting people. Toby is fascinated. He's also rather taken with Wanda, who helps out in the school kitchen and slips him a bar of chocolate.

There's more going on than a friendship. The boys fight a running war with the village lads, and Christopher believes something extraordinary about himself, that he's the second coming of Jesus. What that means for Toby, and for the school, is the real story.

It's gentle and serious at the same time. You really feel Toby's homesickness, and the quiet thrill of finally having someone on your side.

Be aware that Redlands is a harsh, old-fashioned kind of school. The headmaster hits Christopher with a slipper on his first night, the cane is always hanging over them and the older boys pick on the younger ones. One teacher drinks too much. The book clearly sides with kindness, but sensitive readers may find some of it upsetting. It also raises big questions about faith, which some families will really enjoy talking through.

What to read next

Another Morpurgo boy far from home finds an unlikely friend in Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael is washed up alone on an island, and it turns out he isn't quite as alone as he thought.