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This is an adventure story, with a touch of fantasy, set in the days when streets had cobble stones and gas lights, when sailing ships co-existed with steamships, and when policemen were known as Peelers.
Young Silas Fisher lives with his grandfather who is a rag and bone merchant. One morning, while beachcombing after a storm, he finds a wounded mermaid. He takes her home and nurses her back to health. She repays him by helping him to catch fish which he sells from his cart to the wives and cooks of the big houses.
Then his secret is discovered by the evil Jasper and Albert Dredge. Ooli, the mermaid, is kidnapped and imprisoned and Silas is tied up and cast adrift in an open boat. How he escapes and rescues Ooli is told in a series of exciting adventures involving the cut throat gang of the tavern, the Black Parrot, and a thrilling chase through the underground drains of the city.
The author, Alan Temperley, was once a seaman and he has always been fascinated by busy harbours. He is also interested in folklore and so it was only natural for him to have a mermaid as one of his main characters. Ooli is described in such a matter of fact way that it is easy to believe in her.
Alan Temperley has given us an intriguing and unusual tale of the days when Britain's harbours were full of ships which had to work for their living, unlike the plethora of marinas filled with expensive toys which we have now. Contrast this present situation with the following sentences from Ragboy, Rats and the Surging Sea.
'On both sides of the river, in places two abreast, lay the great sea going ships. Their rigging formed a forest against the twinkling gaslights of the city.'
I do, however, have a reservation about the length. I would say this book is for the 10 to 14 age range. I estimate it to be over 50,000 words long. This is long for this age range and I think that the story would have read better if it had been shorter.
But apart from this reservation the book brings to life a busy port in the middle of last century and also stimulates the imagination as well as providing a good story in its own right.
10+