The narrative follows the age-old pattern of separate stories embedded within a primary story, as in the Panchatantra, the Arabian Nights and the Canterbury Tales. Each of the stories is linked to a different piece of furniture in an antique shop, and the question arises as to whether the stories are pure invention or could perhaps be true – and what their being "true" would mean about the narrator. A young man with the unlikely name of MCC Berkshire follows Ailsa home from the library and talks himself into an unpaid job in her mother's run-down antique shop – all he asks is somewhere to sleep and books to read. He has a wonderful way of assessing the customers and suiting the provenance he gives the furniture to their interests. Moreover, he seems to adapt himself – his accent, his manner, his personal history – to the story being told, which also seems to be inspired by the book he has just been reading. When chided by Mrs Povey for telling lies, he responds: "'Not lies, madam.... Fiction. That's the thing to give 'em. That's the thing everyone wants. Fiction, madam!' " Ailsa and Mrs Povey, while grateful to MCC for his help and enjoying his company, often have doubts about him, while Uncle Clive, on a brief visit, is positively hostile. After the Poveys' financial problems are suddenly solved, literally from the pages of a book, the scene is set for MCC's departure. In the final chapter Ailsa realises the shocking truth, while the reader realises that Ailsa's reality is another of MCC's tales.
The characters
MCC Berkshire, a mysterious stranger, an inveterate reader and spinner of tales
Ailsa Povey, a schoolgirl
Audrey Povey, Ailsa's widowed mother, who owns Povey's Antiquary, a junk shop
Clive Povey, Ailsa's uncle, Audrey's brother-in-law, a bossy bad-tempered businessman
Critics praised the book as lively and entertaining, particularly noting the skill with which its complexity is handled: From Publishers Weekly: "The author leaps from genre to genre, in the writing equivalent of sleight of hand. Within each tale are surprising twists and turns that overlap and extend the stories-within-stories; McCaughrean pulls off each meta-fictional complexity with finesse and humor." From the Times Educational Supplement: "The sheer glee of the enterprise is irresistible." From Growing Point: "Entertainment like this is rare; it should be enjoyed, re-tasted and remembered with pleasure." McCaughrean won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize for A Pack of Lies, the two most prestigious British children's book awards. Dudley Jones made the book co-subject of a scholarly essay on fiction and metafiction in 1999.
