This compact fantasy novel is brimming over with
adventures. Strong characters - specifically the main one, Tabetha, a strong
and conflicted heroine, dominate the powerful scenes full of tension and
complexity.
It’s Christmas time in Crystal Lane where the
glassblowers have their workshops. For Tabetha the mudlark, the time of year is
irrelevant. Disguised as Ted, she is orphaned, broken and lost, and fighting to survive.
Her livelihood stems from
anything hidden and scavenged in the knee-deep mud of the Londra, a land of
elves, mermaids and trolls. Certainly not a place for a girl of fifteen.
It is at the river that the stranger shows her an
etching of a glass object and promises a rich reward for any piece of that
glass.
‘Don’t trust anyone’ were her mother’s dying words.
But for Ted, it is hard living that way. She doesn’t know what makes her trust
the one-handed tavern girl, Ofelia, who shows her kindness. Ted shares her
secret when she actually finds a piece of the magic glass which if sold to the ruthless
Bartholomew Jakes, would secure her future. This trust leads her into danger
and catastrophe. She is miraculously saved by the troll woman Borga at the last
moment.
But is Ofelia a traitor or a genuine friend. Should
Ted have adhered to her mother’s dying words of wisdom?
The one-armed girl continues to show kindness to
Ted and remains steadfast in her protective vigilance. The reforming of the
shard of glass in her possession could be the mudlark’s saving grace. But will
she lose in its stead, something far more valuable than money?
A mysterious and beguiling story of trust and
mistrust, friendship and taking chances even when things seem one way, and turn
out to be another. The delicate black and white illustrations sit lightly on
the page and complement the text.
Set in a parallel universe to the London of the
late 1800s when poverty was rife, when children were used and abused by their
clever elders, and when learning not to trust and perfecting the art of
scavenging, was the only way to survive.
Title:
The Glass of Lead and Gold
Author/
Illustrator: Cornelia Funke
Publisher:
Allen & Unwin, $18.99
Publication
Date: September 2018
Format:
Hardcover
ISBN:
9781782691983
For
ages: 10+
Type:
Middle Grade Fiction