The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Robin is the son of a noble family in medieval England. His father has gone off with the king to fight the Scots in the north. His mother has been called to court to help the ailing queen. If that was not enough trouble, plague has hit London and most of the servants in their home have left or succumbed. Robin is about to be apprenticed to a lord on the Welsh border when he comes down with a different disease than the plague. His legs become useless and he's taken to a monastery to convalesce. One of the monks explains to him that often walls rise up to block our progress but if we look carefully a door is in the wall. Progress can be made with diligence and intelligence. Robin takes this lesson to heart as he has more adventures.
The novel is squarely in the boy's adventure genre (Treasure Island is the most famous of these). The story has action and nice details from the long ago time in which it is set. Robin wants to be a knight but has so many obstacles to overcome, some seemingly insurmountable. He matures nicely as he meets new people and tries new things. The book won a Newberry Medal for children's fiction in 1950 and is a delight even seventy-five years after its writing.
Recommended.
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