The Midnight Gang

An Illustration of the exterior of Lord Funt Hospital, the novel’s setting in London, England, shows a tall building in a mishmash of ornate styles. A cutaway illustration follows, showing the hospital’s interior and featuring the stairwell, children’s ward, and basement. Illustrations introduce the children, several staff members, and the head administrator or “hospital principal,” Sir Quentin Strillers. A two-page illustration of the children’s ward at night includes a window view of “Big Ben,” the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster.

A young boy regains consciousness after sustaining a bad bump to the head. A man with a face and body with visible differences, the porter, pushes the boy on a “trolley” (gurney). The boy’s head hurts fiercely; he is afraid of the porter’s appearance. Nurse Meese touches the lump on the boy’s head. He screams. Next, Doctor Luppers taps the bump with a pencil, and the boy screams again. The doctor brings out an admission form “that looked as if it might take a week to complete” (32). An illustration shows a piece of paper at least 20 feet in length that runs right off the page. The first question is the patient’s name, but the boy cannot recall it.