Tucked away in a side-street of their home town of Oxford, two 11 year old cousins, Molly and Basil Madhatter, discover an intriguing shop, which has been closed for many years. Even their parents cannot remember seeing the place open for business.
The shop is called Madhatters – a fact the duo find especially intriguing.
One rainy Sunday afternoon they pass by and, to their surprise, they see an ‘Open’ sign placed in the door. They enter and meet the proprietor, the austere Mrs Madhatter, who explains that she had been expecting the children to pay her a visit for some time.
Strangely, nothing in her shop is for sale. However, she invites them to borrow anything they might find to be of interest.
There are various items of clothing: shoes, hats, coats, scarves, gloves – as well as rings, necklaces and other items of jewelry of the most varied provenance.
As Mrs Madhatter elucidates, either of the children may wear their chosen item. Then, as soon as they hold hands they will be transported together to the time and place of the item’s origin, wherever that may be.
They may find themselves in some tricky predicaments, so for goodness sake they should take care o stick together.
However, they can return to the shop at any moment simply by removing the item and holding hands once more.
The children are doubtful – but prepared to give it a try. But before they depart on their adventure Mrs Madhatter explains that, as with just about anything that sounds too good to be true, there is a catch.
Having chosen their item they must listen carefully as she will deliver a riddle which they can only solve on their adventure.
When they return from their travels she will demand the solution. If they answer correctly they may keep their chosen item and, so long as they keep things secret, they can return the next week for another adventure.
However, if they fail to solve the riddle they will leave the shop empty handed. The shop will remain closed to them for ever more – and the memories of their adventures will be lost to them after their first night’s sleep.
Mrs Madhatter makes clear that the solving of the riddle must remain foremost in their minds at all times from the onset of the adventure. In all likelihood they will find themselves faced with a dilemma. For example, they might need to make an escape from some predicament – which they can always do by simply removing the item and holding hands. However, returning to the shop without having solved the riddle will mean their days of adventuring are over.
And so with some trepidation and more than a hint of skepticism, the children decide upon an item to borrow. They listen carefully to the riddle, hold hands and to their utter amazement find themselves whisked off to another time, another place - with a fiendishly perplexing riddle to solve.