The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood

"You act like you were raised by wolves" is a saying often used by caretakers to let kids know that their behavior is unacceptable. In Maryrose Wood's The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the Mysterious Howling, the children, Alexander, Cassiopeia, and Beowulf, have an excuse. They were raised by wolves.

The odd crew is discovered by the owner of the expansive Ashton Place manor while out on a hunting trip. After closely escaping being mistaken for a trophy animal, the children are taken back to the mansion and Miss Penelope Lumley, fresh from Swanburne Academy, is hired as their governess.

Though, the job requirements did state that a love of animals was a necessity, Miss Lumley was not expecting to find three naked barking children housed in a barn upon her arrival. However, as a Swanburne graduate, she is determined to have them speaking Latin and playing the piano. First, she has to get them to stop barking and biting.

In addition to these difficult tasks, the stakes are raised when the lady of the house, Lady Constance, decides to host a Christmas ball, with the expectation that the children will act like, well, children, rather than wolves. More questions rather than answers pop up as well, like the odd behavior of the coachman and how the children came to live out the woods.

All mysteries and canine tendencies are not resolved by the end of this introductory novel, but the reader will be sure to crack the spine of the second book quickly to discover the answer to these questions and the fate of Miss Lumley and the Incorrigibles.