LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8
Perhaps not many young people today read Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies, which inspired Lucy Strange to write this book, but whether they are familiar with it or not, they’ll be moved and beguiled by this haunting, tragic story.
Forced to work as a chimney sweep for his greedy, callous master, young Tom Waterman is determined not to forget his real name or his early life as the ferryman’s son. Splashing with the other sweeps in the river for their weekly wash, Tom first sees what he decides is a river spirit. Who is the strange gold-green girl who emerges from the river and so terrifies his master? Elle, as they name her, follows the sweeps from that day and is there when Tom, taking the place of a new sweep not even eight years old, gets stuck in a chimney, escaping at last to live as a water spirit too, but always keeping an eye on his old friends.
The story is tragic, eerie and mystical, but also filled with a fury Kingsley would have understood at the lives forced on those Victorian chimney sweeps. It will alert today’s readers to the terrible inequalities and oppression of the past and make them think about the importance of standing up for those who need help today. Written for Barrington Stoke, Lucy Strange’s prose is spare but powerful and will be accessible to readers of all abilities.
Andrea Reece
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About
The River Spirit Synopsis
Trapped within the oppresive warrens of the city’s chimneys, young sweeper Tom longs for fresh air and freedom in this atmospheric and ghostly tale from Lucy Strange.
Young chimney sweep Tom has started seeing strange, supernatural things – fairies in the flowers by the river, a soot monster crouching in the darkness of a chimney, and then the mysterious river spirit Elle. Elle joins Tom and the other children apprenticed to cruel master sweep Mister Crow. Together, they shimmy up the town's narrow, filthy chimneys. But Tom has an ominous feeling in his bones, and when he faces his most dangerous job of all, the reason for Elle's magical appearance becomes clear . . .
Renowned for her exquisite blend of history and magical realism, with novels such as The Mermaid in the Millpond and the Waterstones Prize shortlisted Our Castle By the Sea, Lucy Strange returns with another engrossing historical tale.
Based on the true story of George Brewster, The River Spirit examines the perilous and often short lives of chimney sweeps in 19th century Britain.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781800903258 |
| Publication date: |
6th June 2024 |
| Author: |
Lucy Strange |
| Illustrator: |
Julia Moscardo |
| Publisher: |
Barrington Stoke Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
80 pages |
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Press Reviews
Lucy Strange Press Reviews
Praise for Lucy Strange:
'[An] evocative slice of historical drama … a book that transports us from our world to an almost timeless zone of wonder in amongst the darkness” – The Bookbag on The Mermaid in the Millpond
'Superb, an eerie weaving of history and mythology in the hollow, haunted world of not-so-long-ago' – Hilary McKay on The Storm and the Minotaur
Author
About Lucy Strange
Lucy Strange is the best-selling children's author of titles including The Secret of Nightingale Wood, a Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, and Our Castle by the Sea, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize, and was the first Independent Booksellers' Children's Book of the Month.
After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, Lucy Strange trained at the Oxford School of Drama and worked as an actor, singer and storyteller for some years before becoming an English and Drama teacher. On moving to Dubai, she launched the award-winning blog Homesick and Heatstruck and has worked as a freelance writer.
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A note from the author, Lucy Strange:
“I’m very proud to be working with Barrington Stoke – they are a publishing house with real integrity, imagination and heart, and their books change the lives of so many young people. The River Spirit is a story I have wanted to tell for a long time. It’s inspired by the life and death of chimney sweep George Brewster and draws on some of the fairy-tale magic of Charles Kingsley’s Water Babies too. It has been a challenge to write a sad story in a way that feels beautiful and hopeful for young readers – bringing a dark moment of our history to life in a new and magical way. Júlia Moscardó’s dreamy, other-worldly illustrations are absolutely perfect for this tale, and I can’t wait to share the book with my readers.”
A note from the editor Ailsa Bathgate: “Lucy Strange is an exceptional storyteller, and in The River Spirit she has managed to weave a captivating tale of the power of friendship and courage in the most difficult of circumstances, while refusing to shy away from depicting the horrendous conditions in which many children in Victorian England were forced to live and work. The result is a touching and tragic story that will provoke discussion, encourage empathy and deepen readers’ understanding of this historical period.”
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