I do love some cynical Thackeray satire, and nobody does it quite like him. This story is written for children as a holiday-time pageant (probably complete with puppets), so it's simple and has a happy ending with a morally-sound conclusion, but it is full of clever commentary and portraiture for the characters. And they are dreadfully funny characters. I enjoyed the lions, and the fairy Blackstick who has to put up with so much nonsense, and the way the final chapter echoed the Merchant of Venice on a somewhat more child-friendly level. I'd love for my kids to be entertained through Twelfth Night with fare such as this!