The Thief Lord
Encyclopedia
The Thief Lord is a children's novel written by Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Funke is a multiple award-winning German author of children's fiction. She was born on 10 December 1958, in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia. Funke is best known for her Inkworld trilogy, with the English translation of the third book, Inkdeath, released on 6 October 2008. Many of her...

. It was published in Germany in 2000 and translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 by Oliver Latsch in 2002 for The Chicken House, a division of Scholastic publishing company. It was also adapted into a film
The Thief Lord (film)
The Thief Lord is a 2006 British-German family film directed by Richard Claus. It is a joint production of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Future Films Limited, Comet Film, and Thema Production. The film is distributed by Warner Brothers...

 in 2006.

wiseguy

Plot

The Thief Lord follows the story of two brothers, Prosper and Bo, who run away to Venice, Italy after their mother's death. They are taken in by a group of orphans who live in an abandoned movie theater (the Stella) and are led by a young man named Scipio, who calls himself the Thief Lord. He steals valuables from wealthy homes and they sell them to an old shopkeeper, Ernesto Barbarossa. The boys' aunt and uncle figure out where they are and set a detective, Victor Getz, on their trail. Victor recognizes the boys on the street and manages to initiate a conversation with that they are living in an abandoned theater. When the rest of the children see him, they cause a distraction and run away, taking his wallet with them, from which they discover his identity.
In his search for the theater, Victor visits the home of Dottore Massimo, the owner of the Stella, where he sees Scipio, who immediately leaves to warn the others.

When Victor arrives at the Stella, the children ambush him, tie him up, and lock him in the bathroom. During an argument, Victor tells them the truth about Scipio. When Prosper confronts Scipio, he learns that Scipio is indeed Dottore Massimo's son, and all the loot he told them he stole from wealthy houses was actually stolen from his own home. Furious, Prosper leaves and tells the others about what he has learned. While they are gone, Victor escapes, leaving a note that he will not reveal their location if they do not steal the wing. The children leave that night to steal it and meet Scipio inside the house.

During the ensuing argument, Ida Spavento awakens and demands to know who they are. When they explain, Ida tells them the story of the wing, which came from a magical merry-go-round that had the ability to change a person's age. She agrees to let them have the wing if they let her accompany them to the exchange, in hopes that she can find the merry-go-round. The next night, all of the children go for the deal except Hornet and Bo. They join Ida and Scipio, meet with the Conte and his sister, Morosina, and make the exchange, but narrowly escape being shot when they try to search for the merry-go-round. When they return to the theater, Hornet and Bo are gone, leaving a note that there were police at the door. They angrily confront Victor, who swears he did not do it and informs them that the lire they received are fake.

In searching for Hornet and Bo, they find her at an orphanage and Victor and Ida manage to get her out. They spend a restless night at Ida's house, but Prosper cannot sleep and wanders outside, where he meets Scipio. The two return to the island to demand payment, but end up spending the night in a stable there. Meanwhile, Victor receives a phone call from Esther, informing him that she had Bo, but he has run away from them and she no longer wants anything to do with him. Victor finds Bo at the Stella and takes him back to Ida's, where they find Prosper missing.

On the island the next morning, Scipio and Prosper meet the Conte and Morosina, who are both young, having gotten the merry-go-round to work. Scipio demands a ride and comes off an adult, looking much like his father. Just as he gets off the merry-go-round, Barbarossa arrives, and demands a ride on the merry-go-round. However, while Barbarossa becomes a five-year-old boy, he accidentally breaks the merry-go-round, infuriating the Conte. Scipio and Prosper leave after promising the Conte that they will not talk about the merry-go-round, and Barbarossa is forced to give the Conte all the money in his shop safe as repayment.

The next day, when everyone at Ida's home finds Prosper, Scipio, and Barbarossa they do not recognize Scipio or Barbarossa and Prosper cannot explain, but Ida immediately understands what happened. Scipio sets up a meeting between Barbarossa and Esther, to which Barbarossa consents after learning that Esther is rich. Esther likes Barbarossa and decides to adopt him. Prosper, Bo, and Hornet decide to live with Ida and go to school, while Mosca and Riccio live in an abandoned warehouse. Scipio decides to work for Victor and sends his father a letter saying that he is safe and happy, but will not come home.

Eventually, he and Prosper take another trip to the Isola Segreta only to find that the Conte and Morosina have disappeared. Esther eventually catches Barbarossa poaching her jewelry and other possessions and sends him off to boarding school, where he becomes a menacing bully; he forces other children to do things for him and encourages them to steal, and insists that everyone call him "The Thief Lord."

Characters

Scipio Massimo: The Thief Lord. Bo alone is allowed to call him 'Scip' (although on one occasion Prosper is allowed to). He is thirteen, has dark brown eyes and raven black hair. He also wears a mask that was from the black plague. He is the son of Dottore Massimo. Scipio is clever and quick-witted, but he dislikes his father and being talked to as if he were "too stupid to put his own pants on." This feeling is so strong that it causes him to ride the magical merry-go-round and become older. Scipio, while having no care for his father, has a kind heart, especially for poor children such as Prosper, Bo, Riccio, Mosca and Hornet. He also seems to have a soft spot for cats. After becoming an adult, he becomes Victor's assistant in his detective office and changes his name to Scipio Fortunato ("the fortunate one".)

Prosper: People sometimes call him Prop. He is a 12 year old orphan and brother of Boniface (Bo). He is very caring to all his friends and especially to his younger brother. Prosper has brown hair and blue eyes. He is described to always have a very serious look on his face. He tends to worry excessively, but is very mature. Prosper is sensitive and does not like stealing; he especially forbids Bo to steal in case Esther uses Bo's behavior against him. Since his mother's death, he has taken care of his brother by himself until taken in by Scipio.

Boniface: Everyone calls him Bo. A very cute 5 year old. He escaped the clutches of his aunt and uncle with his brother. He has curly blond hair, and an angelic face. He enjoys adventures with Scipio, and he is very close to his older brother Prosper, but sometimes does things without his permission. His one desire is to go on one of Scipio's "raids".

Caterina "Hornet" Grimani: Prefers the name Hornet over her real name. She has written the name Caterina Grimani in several of her books, but she never talks about her old life because it makes her too sad. She about 12 or 13 years old and is slender and has brown hair worn in a long braid to her hips. It looks like a hornet's stinger (hence her nickname). She is a continually reads. Sometimes at night, Hornet reads the other orphans bedtime stories to fall asleep or to stay awake for Scipio. She sometimes annoys Scipio and cares for Bo, possibly because she is the only girl in the group. She also shows concern for Prosper's safety on more than one occasion and develops a crush on him. Hornet used to live with Riccio and Mosca in the basement of an abandoned house before Scipio found them and took them to the Stella.

Riccio: (Pronounced Ree-chee-oh) His name means Hedgehog and he is sometimes called Hedgehog, or Riccio the hedgehog. He is a scrawny boy and smaller than Prosper (but claims not to be much younger). He has brown hair that sticks out everywhere, earning him his nickname. He also has missing teeth, which he lost in a chase. His bed is stuffed with stuffed animals and comics. He also loves sweets, which is why he has unhealthy teeth. He grew up in an orphanage, never knowing his parents. Scipio found Riccio (as well as Hornet and Mosca) when he tried to steal something from Scipio, but was caught. Riccio loves to jokes.

Mosca: He is a tall, muscular boy of African descent. Riccio says that his skin is so dark that "he could creep through the shadows". He loves the water and even made his own boat. Mosca loves tinkering with his radio. Although he does not speak of his past, he is said to have a horrible family that he dislikes.

Victor Getz: A detective looking for Bo and Prosper hired by Esther and Max Hartlieb. He likes collecting disquises, especially false beards, and has lived in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 for 15 years. He can speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 (his mother toungue) and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

. He chases after Prosper and Riccio on their way back from Barbarossa's. He is kidnapped by the children and escapes, but gives his word he will not tell where they are. Esther referred to him after going to the police who were no help. He soon befriends the children and lies to Esther, saying the boys left Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. Victor is pudgy and kind and has two pet tortoises named Lando and Paula.

Ida Spavento: A nice lady who looks after the kids for a while and, at the end of the book, takes in Prosper, Bo, and Hornet. She is an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. She found the Conte's wing during her early life at the orphanage and kept it until she gave it to Scipio's gang to sell to the Conte. She also has a bad smoking habit, but she is trying to quit.

Esther Hartlieb: Prosper and Bo's cruel, rich aunt. She only wants to keep Bo because he looks like an angel. She is very biased toward Prosper and wanted him to go to a boarding school (where he could hardly see Bo). She hires Victor to find the two boys and ends up adopting Barbarossa (as a child after he had taken a ride on the magical merry-go-round). Later, she finds out Barbarossa has been stealing her valuable items that had gone missing long ago that disappeared into his room. She sends him away to a boarding school where he is feared by the other children.

Max Hartlieb: Prosper and Bo's rich uncle. Along with Esther, Max thinks Bo is an angel because he looks like one. He does not like children. He is described as "a giant" and has small, dull eyes and a nose peeling from sunburn when he hired Victor.

Ernesto Barbarossa: Sometimes referred as "the Redbeard" or "Baby Barbarino" (after he was turned unto a child). An extremely cheap antique dealer who does not ask many questions and loves to cheat people. He ends up riding and breaking the merry-go-round and gets stuck at an age a little younger than Bo. At the end of the book, Barbarossa is adopted by Esther (he wants to live with her because she is rich). However, Esther finds him stuffing her earrings into his pockets and then discovered in his room a collection of valuable items that had disappeared. He was sent to a boarding school where he becomes a bully; he made the other children do his bidding, including his homework and even steal. He also forced everyone to address him as "the Thief Lord."

Conte: The old man that Scipio, Mosca, and Prosper met in a confessional
Confessional
A confessional is a small, enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called confession, or Reconciliation. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation, and also in the...

while planning to steal something for him. He is the Thief Lord's first client asking for something to be stolen and says that he will give him a large amount of money ( five million lire). The money exchanged for the stolen wooden wing turns out to be fake (because he cannot afford real money). He uses the wing to fix the merry-go-around, and becomes a child. He and his sister offer Scipio a ride in exchange for the stolen wooden wing (instead of money they do not have). Real name is "Renzo".

Contessa: The Conte's younger sister. Her real is Morosina. She was the one who found Prosper and Scipio wandering around in the Isola Segreta and held them captive for the night. She did not want Scipio and Prosper to ride on the magical merry-go-round.

Dottore Massimo: Scipio's father. He owns a mansion that he and Scipio live in and several movie theaters in Venice, including the Stella. He is very rich and owns a motor boat and many valuables (Scipio steals many of them).

External links

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