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The Eighteenth Century -- Bath
Ossie is a blind boy. His sister Hester has tuberculosis and when she starts to cough she is put out of the orphanage. Ossie goes with her. They end up on the streets of Bath and become members of a gang of pick pockets. Ossie has one special talent. He has a wonderful voice and he likes singing. He often dreams of leaving the gang and taking Hester away - to somewhere with green fields.
Then "Captain" Ryder comes to Bath. He cuts a fine figure in his uniform - which he has bought in a pawn shop. He believes he has a grudge against the wealthy family Molyneaux and he is out for revenge. He hears Ossie singing in the gin shop The Jolly Weaver and he believes that Ossie can help him gain his ends so he abducts Ossie. When Ossie is no longer of any use to him he ruthlessly plans to kill him.
But two people are determined to thwart Ryder. One is Lady Venetia, the music loving sister-in -law of Lord Molyneaux. The other is Sam Webb who is now working as a chairman - helping to carry sedan chairs. Sam Webb had once been a fisherman but he lost his boat and had to take to smuggling - and was betrayed and forced to go on the run by Ryder.
This novel gives a very comprehensive picture of Bath in 1750. The gang's hide-out in a derelict brewery is contrasted with the grand house of Lord Molyneaux. The story moves between the haunts of the rich - the Assembly Rooms, The Pump Room and the King's Bath - and the hovels of the slums. The reader is given a clear picture of the sordid side of Bath with its taverns and brothels. (When "Captain" Ryder abducts Ossie he takes him to a brothel where he is looked after by the kitchen maid.) Parents and teachers please note.
There is plenty of action - from Sam's escape from the customs officers in the first chapter to the gangs' attempts to evade Ryder and the "beaks" and an exciting climax set in the Baths when Ryder is trying to snatch Ossie away to his death.
This is a fast moving story with an authentic and well researched background. It is also a book which will help to ease teenagers into adult reading.
Teenage to young adult.