Plague: A Cross on the Door

Description

"In sixteen hundred and sixty-five there was hardly anyone left alive." Spring 1665, London Sam was just a young boy when his master took him out of the orphanage to be his servant. When he was old enough, he was going to become his master's apprentice, a shoemaker, able to make his own way in the world. But that was before the plague arrived. Abandoned by Alice, his master's maid and the closet thing that Sam's ever had to a mother, Sam finds himself nailed into his workshop home with only his dying master and pet dog Budge for company. The officials call it 'quarantine'. But for Sam it's a death sentence. Can Sam escape? And even if he does, will he be able to survive on London's ravaged streets?

Ann Turnbull is a Shropshire based author who has been writing children's books for almost forty years. The author of over thirty successful children's titles and shortlisted for several children's book awards including the Smarties and Carnegie awards over the years, she is a well respected voice in children's and young adult literature with a penchant for historical fiction.

The atmosphere of the plague-ridden city is expertly captured. * Irish Examiner * Ann Turnbull's lovely prose overcomes them to make an engaging story in just a few words - a real art. * www.booksforkeeps.co.uk * The story zips along and I found it engrossing. * The Historical Novel Society * The books contain enough tension to grip the reader and keep the stories flowing and the atmosphere of Stuart London is excellently evoked. * www.parentsintouch.co.uk * The author tackles this potentially disturbing story with balance and sensitivity, protecting readers into the experience rather than hiding them entirely from it. -- Tim Taylor * Primary Teacher Update *