The Voyage of QV66
Encyclopedia
The Voyage of QV66 is a children's novel by Penelope Lively
. It is set in a strange, flooded, somewhat post-apocalyptic England
devoid of people, and centres around a group of animals consisting of a dog, a cat, a cow, a horse, a pigeon and a mysterious character named "Stanley".
so that they can discover what Stanley is. They have a number of adventures along the way, including being joined by a parrot, several characters losing their way in a balloon
, and Stanley himself getting locked in a bank vault. It is eventually revealed that Stanley is a monkey
.
Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively CBE, FRSL is a prolific, popular and critically acclaimed author of fiction for both children and adults. She has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize, winning once for Moon Tiger in 1987.-Personal:...
. It is set in a strange, flooded, somewhat post-apocalyptic England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
devoid of people, and centres around a group of animals consisting of a dog, a cat, a cow, a horse, a pigeon and a mysterious character named "Stanley".
Plot summary
The characters travel in a boat (the QV66 of the title) with the intention of reaching London ZooLondon Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
so that they can discover what Stanley is. They have a number of adventures along the way, including being joined by a parrot, several characters losing their way in a balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
, and Stanley himself getting locked in a bank vault. It is eventually revealed that Stanley is a monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
.