The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World facts for kids
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| Author | E. L. Konigsburg |
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| Cover artist | Russell Gordon, design |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel, Mystery |
| Publisher | Atheneum Books |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 244 pp (first, hard) |
| ISBN | 1-4169-4972-0 (first edition, hard) |
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World is a mystery novel written by E. L. Konigsburg in 2007. It's a story for young people, often called a "detective story" because it involves solving a puzzle.
The book follows a character named Amedeo Kaplan. He is a new and wealthy student in the sixth grade. Amedeo really wants to find something new and exciting that no one else knows about. He starts helping an older woman who used to sing opera in Europe. Through this, he learns about a special kind of art called "degenerate art" and about a time when Germany occupied the Netherlands.
This book is also connected to another novel by E. L. Konigsburg, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (2004). Some characters from The Outcasts are related to Amedeo in this story. The history of the Vanderwaal family is an important part of The Mysterious Edge.
Where the Story Takes Place
The Mysterious Edge happens in modern times. Most of the story is set in St. Malo, Florida. This is a made-up navy town. Another part of the story takes place at an art center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This center is run by Peter Vanderwaal.
The story also mentions events that happened in the past. These past events took place in cities like Amsterdam and Vienna. Another important past location is Epiphany, New York. This is a fictional city near New York City. The Bevilacquas, Roses, and Vanderwaals families lived there after World War II.
The book The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place also gives some background for The Mysterious Edge. Epiphany, New York, is also the main setting for two other books: The View from Saturday and Silent to the Bone.
What the Story is About
Amedeo Kaplan and his mother, Loretta Bevilacqua, move from Epiphany, New York, to St. Malo, Florida. Amedeo is new at school and doesn't have friends yet. This is in September. He is happy to become friends with his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zender. She was an opera singer in Europe in the 1950s. She later retired with her husband to her old family home in St. Malo.
Mrs. Zender is moving to a new place and needs to sell most of her belongings. Amedeo offers to help her. Amedeo's father, Jake Kaplan, is an artist. Because of his father and many visits to art museums in New York City, Amedeo knows a lot about paintings and drawings.
While helping Mrs. Zender, Amedeo works with a classmate named William Wilcox. William's mother is a professional who helps sell items from estates. Amedeo learns a lot about this business. He also learns more about people and about Mrs. Zender herself.
Amedeo's godfather, Peter Vanderwaal, runs an art center. He is getting ready to show an exhibit of "Degenerate Art". This art was part of a famous exhibition in 1937 in Munich, which was a main city in Nazi Germany. "Degenerate art" was a term used by the Nazis to describe modern art they didn't like. They often took it from museums and destroyed it.
Meanwhile, Peter's father, John, has passed away in Epiphany. Peter's mother gives him a box that contains his father's life story. At the same time, Amedeo finds a small drawing on Mrs. Zender's bookshelf. It is signed "Modigliani," which seems to be the famous modern artist Modigliani. From Peter, Amedeo learns that Modigliani died young in 1920. His art was often copied or forged in Europe after the war.
Amedeo then remembers that he has seen the drawing before. It was in a family photo at the Vanderwaal home. Amedeo and William start to think that Mrs. Zender might have put the drawing there for Amedeo to find.
Peter never looked closely at his father John Vanderwaal's box. His mother took it back at the art exhibition. But Mrs. Vanderwaal later drives her RV to St. Malo. She gives the "life story" box directly to Amedeo and William.
With John Vanderwaal's story and Mrs. Zender's help, Amedeo and William work together to solve the mystery.
