Clive King - The 22 Letters

The 22 Letters (1966), illustrated by Richard Kennedy, was the 250th title published by Puffin Books.

Set in the eastern Mediterranean world of the 15th century BC, the story follows the adventures of the three sons of a Phoenician master builder through three loosely linked stories in which they travel to Egypt (Sinai), to the court of King Minos (Crete) and north to Ugarit. They return and save the city from invasion with the help of the three inventions they find or discover: celestial navigation, horsemanship and alphabetic writing. In its time, The 22 Letters was considered, at over 300 pages, to be very long for a children's book although the scholarship and scope was admired.