The Seven Professors of the Far North

The Seven Professors of the Far North is a children's novel by John Fardell first published in 2004 by UK publisher Faber and Faber, with US editions being published in 2005 by G. P. Putnam's Sons and in 2006 by Puffin Books.

It tells the tale of a group of children from the United Kingdom, Sam, Zara, and Ben, who undertake an adventure to the Arctic to rescue Zara and Ben's great-uncle and his colleagues, who have been kidnapped by an evil professor with whom they once worked.

Characters

Professor Ampersand is an inventor who lives in Edinburgh. His home is filled with contraptions, inventions, and unusual features. He once worked with Professor Murdo in the Arctic.

Zara is the great-niece of Professor Ampersand. She is about twelve years old. Her parents died when she was very young, and she has lived with Ampersand in Edinburgh for most of her life.

Ben is Zara's younger brother (about eleven years old) and was also adopted by Ampersand as a baby.

Sam Carnabie is eleven years old. He lives with his parents in England. At the start of the book, his parents arrange for him to visit Professor Ampersand (their old tutor), while they attend a conference. Sam is caught up in the adventure with his new friends Zara and Ben, and is unable to contact his parents throughout most of the book.

Professor Murdo is an ex-colleague of Professor Ampersand and five other professors, who, decades before the book starts, attempted to found a university on an Arctic island called Nordbergen. (Together these professors were once nicknamed "The 7 Professors of the Far North".) Murdo has resurrected Nordbergen as a secret research station and has terrible plans for the world.

Marcia Slick is a 13-year-old girl. Her parents drugged her and took her, against her will and without her knowledge, to be imprisoned in Professor Murdo's research station, believing that he could use his new genetic modification procedures to eliminate what they see in Marcia as her flaws.

Adam is a child genius created by Professor Murdo. He is capable of advanced feats of mental arithmetic, memory and physical co-ordination.

References