Mischief in Fez - Tapa blanda

“ This is a tale of djinns, - of their mischief and their magic in the Moroccan city of Fez.” The 14th century city of Fez entertains and informs young readers through action set in the palace, mosque, and market place in a tale of adventure and delicious danger to the household of Mohammed Ali and his son Mousa. First published in 1943, this extraordinary story blends the exotic traditions of a Moroccan household with ancient legends of spirits, both good and bad. Who is the mysterious bride with her pet gazelle? When the fountain stops, the orange tree is bare, and scorpions appear, the household in Fez is unsettled. More mischief is on its way....

Eleanor Hoffmann graduated from Radcliffe College the same year the country entered WWI. She did her part for the war by becoming a “farmerette” in Massachusetts for the Women’s Land Army, running a diary for a farmer enlisted in the war. When he returned, she spent a year teaching High School Latin and French in Chapel Hill, NC. After studying Botany at the University of North Carolina, she traveled the State overseeing landscaping projects that introduced native plants around high schools. Today, native plants are recognized as a useful conservation practice, but it was a concept still in its infancy in the early 1920s. The next three years she spent teaching Botany, Latin, and French at the Hampton Institute in Virginia, one of the first black colleges in America. Eleanor began her world travels in 1924, supporting herself by buying Moroccan tribal rugs for customers in the United States. She was a pioneer doing business as a single woman in a traditional Islamic culture. Eleanor developed a crippling form of arthritis in 1932, and returned to her family in Santa Barbara, California. During the next 21 years, she wrote 16 books for children. Her themes included ancient Morocco, Bedouin life, and adventure stories involving animals.