England is under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, and times are hard for many people, including the gypsies or Romany people. Dancing, horseracing, music and many other forms of entertainment by which they used to make their living are banned. When Luka and Emilia’s family go to the fair, they hope they can earn some money without drawing the notice of the soldiers. But they are all captured and thrown into gaol. Luka and Emilia manage to escape and set out to collect the gypsy charms that used to belong together on one bracelet. Since they were separated and divided among the families, their power has faded and the gypsies have had no luck. Emilia hopes to use the united power of the charms to free her family. Her cousin Luka is less inclined to believe in magic and wants to gather promises of help from the scattered families. Pursued relentlessly by Cromwell’s man Coldham and suspected of being part of a Royalist plot, the children travel from the New Forest to London searching for their kin. They are accompanied by a monkey, a large dog and a dancing bear.

It is difficult to write an adventure story that includes such a menagerie without being cheesy from time to time, and the tale has such moments. But this is a 9-12s story, so it can get away with it and there are also moments of real excitement and suspense. Kate Forsyth is an Australian author, descended from the first published children’s writer in Australia. She has researched this story carefully and it has quite an authentic feel to it. The writing is up-to-date and easy to read (and includes the incongruous verb ‘snuck’). It is quite a long story of over 400 pages. There is a very good portrayal of Puritan England here which might be useful in the classroom, and the book will probably be enjoyed by boys and girls from 9 or 10+.

2008-06-07