The Colors of Madeleine

Book One

J a c ly n M o r i a rt y

Arthur A. Levine Books

An Imprint of Scholastic Inc.

To Ch a r l i e w i t h l ov e

Text copyright 2013 by Jaclyn Moriarty

All rights reserved. Published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920. scholastic, the lantern logo, and associated logos are trademarks
and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to
Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway,
New York, NY 10012.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moriarty, Jaclyn.
A corner of white / Jaclyn Moriarty.1st ed.
p. cm.(The colors of Madeleine ; bk. 1)
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Madeleine of Cambridge, England, struggling to cope with
poverty and her mothers illness, and fifteen-year-old Elliot of the Kingdom of Cello in a
parallel world where colors are villainous and his father is missing, begin exchanging notes
through a crack between their worlds and find they can be of great help to each other.
ISBN 978-0-545-39736-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) [1. Interpersonal relationsF iction.
2. MagicFiction. 3. Missing personsF iction. 4. ColorFiction. 5. Princesses
Fiction. 6. Cambridge (England)F iction. 7. EnglandF iction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M826727Cor 2013
[Fic]dc23
2012016582
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 13 14 15 16 17
Printed in the U.S.A. 23
First edition, April 2013
Book design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

From Memoir of Isaac Newton, by John Conduitt, 1727:

[Isaac Newton] received the famous problem which was
intended to puzzle all the Mathematicians in Europe at
four oclock in the afternoon when he was very much
tired with the business of the Mint where he had been
employed all day, and yet he solved it before he went to
bed that night.

From The Kingdom of Cello: An Illustrated Travel Guide, by T. I. Candle,

7th edition, 2012, reprinted with kind permission, Brellidge
University Press, T. I. Candle.

Introduction
The Kingdom of Cello (pronounced Chello) needs no introduction.

When to Visit
Look, in all honesty, visit Cello when you have the time. Its a popular
tourist destination all year round, so theres no peak or shoulder or
off season. (No seasons at all, as a matter of fact, at least not in the
traditional sense.)
I suppose there are various festivals you might like to see, but I
cant think why. These invariably take place in the villages and towns
of the Farms, and if theres one province in Cello that youll want to
skip, its the Farms.

The Farms
Hold on a moment, what can I be thinking? The Farms! Why, youll
love them! The golden wheat fields, the cherry orchards, the laconic
grins and ambling gaits of the Farmers! As the provincial motto
promises: Sure as hokey-pokey, the Farmsll charm the heart right
out of your belly.
Not too great with anatomy in the Farms, but those Farmers are
the most endearing bunch of muffin-baking, pastry-making, fiddleplaying folk youll ever meet.

(Blahdy, blahdy, hooray for Farmers! Blah, blah, pumpkin pie! etc.)
(Seriously, though, if youre short on time, give the Farms a miss.)

Why Visit Cello?

The question is wrong. Correct question: Why would you not visit
Cello? Keeping in mind that you can always skip the Farms, why on
earth would you not visit Cello?

A Corner of White

Pa rt 1

Cambridge, England,
The World

M adeleine Tully turned fourteen yesterday, but today she did not
turn anything.
Oh, wait. She turned a page.
She was sitting on the sloping roof of her attic flat and she was
reading a book. Only, she was not concentrating on the book. She
was listening to her mother, who was just inside.
Madeleines mother was sewing and watching the quiz show. And
she was answering every single question. Snap, snap, snap! She was
shooting out the answers like a popcorn machine. She was answering
before the host even finished asking.
What is the capital of Ecuador?
Maputo!
From the French, what six-letter word
Frisson!
Each time Madeleines mother answered, a contestant on the television also answered, but a moment later. The contestants voices
sounded calm and quiet.
An ad break came on. The sewing machine stopped. Madeleines
mother climbed out through the window and sat on the roof beside
Madeleine. The spires of Cambridge University traced themselves
against the sky behind them.
Tonight, said Madeleines mother, well have supper out here on
the roof.
Madeleine closed her book.
Well be cold, her mother continued. Ill bring blankets.
Madeleine nodded.
Well eat your leftover birthday cake. It doesnt always have to be
beans for supper, you know.
2

No, Madeleine agreed.

And well stay out here and watch the stars until we fall asleep
amongst the blankets.
Madeleine and her mother sat side by side, and sighed.
They were thinking the same thing.
They would not eat supper on the roof tonight.
Madeleines mother would keep sewing until midnight and would
only stop to flex her aching fingers.
They sighed again.
They were remembering the same thing.
Supper tonight would be beans. They had eaten the whole birthday
cake yesterday.
If only they had saved some.
Right, then, said Madeleines mother. She climbed back through
the window. The sewing machine started up.
The sewing machine was a Harlsbury Deluxe Model 37B. Madeleines
mother had won it in London many years before.
She had won it on the quiz show.
One day, soon, she planned to compete on that show again.
Only this time she would not just win the sewing machine. This
time she would also win the plasma TV, the luxury towel set, the holiday, the barbecue, and the car!!! (That was how the quiz-show
hostand Madeleines motherreferred to the car: italics and
three exclamation marks.)
So, each morning, Madeleines mother phoned the TV station to
register her interest in competing on the show.
Once a fortnight, she mailed in an application to compete.
Every month or so, she took a bus to London, walked to the TV
stations offices, and had a friendly chat with the receptionist. (You
never knew who might be influential.)
And
every night, she watched the show and answered
every
question.

Bang, bang, bang! She shouted out the answers like a fireworks
display.
And every night, she got every single question wrong.
(The capital of Ecuador is Quito. Frisson doesnt even have six
letters.)