The Young Drake
Frank Knight, Parrish, 1962, 1967
This is another fictionalised tale of Drake's boyhood. Since Frank Knight's Drake is a better behaved, more upright character, than the cheeky little brat, represented by Peter Dawlish, The Young Drake is not such an amusing or such an exciting book as Young Drake of Devon. Nevertheless, the book is well written, with perhaps more period background detail, than the Peter Dawlish counterpart. The characterisation is good, with Drake's exasperated mother taking a prominent part and obviously in Knight's eyes, sharing her son's quirky sense of humour. I enjoyed this book as a child and young teenager, but appreciated it more as an adult.
