Johnny Mackintosh
Encyclopedia
Johnny Mackintosh is the fictional hero of a series of books by English novelist Keith Mansfield
, published by Quercus Books.
The first title in the series, Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
, opens on his thirteenth birthday and finds Johnny living in Halader House, a children’s home in the fictional town of Castle Dudbury, Essex, England.
Johnny is portrayed as having blond hair, green eyes (inlaid with silver flecks) and pale skin, unblemished apart from a pattern of five freckles on the inside of his left arm in the shape of the constellation Cassiopeia
(his "Starmark"). He is sporty, and plays in the centre of midfield for his school football (soccer) team. Also, he is gifted with computers and has written an operating system called Keyboard- Or Voice-Activated Computer which leads to the creation of a computer called Kovac who can speak and understand oral commands.
Johnny had an older brother, Nicky (apparently murdered when Johnny was two years old) and a younger sister, Clara
, of whose existence he is unaware as Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London begins. His parents are father Michael Mackintosh, imprisoned for Nicky’s murder, and Mary Mackintosh, also found guilty of Nicky’s murder and placed in the fictional St Catharine’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
When Kovac detects an extraterrestrial signal, Johnny begins his adventures, taking him away from Earth on a journey through time and space
. A time comes when he must decide upon the form for his own spaceship, so he bases this upon the Gherkin. The name of the vessel, chosen by the ship herself, is the Spirit of London. It is most likely both a tribute to Charles Lindbergh’s
Spirit of St. Louis
and an acknowledgement of the iconic status the Gherkin has gained as a symbol that represents the city of London.
Keith Mansfield (writer)
Keith Mansfield, born in Scunthorpe, England in 1965, is an English writer and publisher. He is the author of the Johnny Mackintosh series of novels, has scripted several television programmes and is also the publisher for mathematics books at Oxford University Press.His first novel, Johnny...
, published by Quercus Books.
The first title in the series, Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London is the first novel in a series of young adult books written by Keith Mansfield and published by Quercus...
, opens on his thirteenth birthday and finds Johnny living in Halader House, a children’s home in the fictional town of Castle Dudbury, Essex, England.
Johnny is portrayed as having blond hair, green eyes (inlaid with silver flecks) and pale skin, unblemished apart from a pattern of five freckles on the inside of his left arm in the shape of the constellation Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia (constellation)
Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...
(his "Starmark"). He is sporty, and plays in the centre of midfield for his school football (soccer) team. Also, he is gifted with computers and has written an operating system called Keyboard- Or Voice-Activated Computer which leads to the creation of a computer called Kovac who can speak and understand oral commands.
Johnny had an older brother, Nicky (apparently murdered when Johnny was two years old) and a younger sister, Clara
Clara Mackintosh
Clara Mackintosh is the younger sister of title character Johnny Mackintosh in the series of books by English novelist Keith Mansfield, published by Quercus Books....
, of whose existence he is unaware as Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London begins. His parents are father Michael Mackintosh, imprisoned for Nicky’s murder, and Mary Mackintosh, also found guilty of Nicky’s murder and placed in the fictional St Catharine’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
When Kovac detects an extraterrestrial signal, Johnny begins his adventures, taking him away from Earth on a journey through time and space
The Spirit of London
On visits to London, Johnny has seen and come to love the skyscraper sited at 30 St Mary Axe known as the London Gherkin30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
. A time comes when he must decide upon the form for his own spaceship, so he bases this upon the Gherkin. The name of the vessel, chosen by the ship herself, is the Spirit of London. It is most likely both a tribute to Charles Lindbergh’s
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
and an acknowledgement of the iconic status the Gherkin has gained as a symbol that represents the city of London.