This week’s topic is:

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I have not written that many books. My six children’s picture books are pure fantasy and imagination [with recipes], as is Silly Willy goes to Cape Town.

I have written two YA books, a novella called While the Bombs Fell and a supernatural/horror which will be available in early September called Through the Nethergate. I have also written short stories for two anthologies that are currently available, Dark Visions and Death Among Us.

While the Bombs Fell is a fictionalised biography of my mom’s life as a young girl growing up in Bungay, East Anglia during World War II. This book required a large amount of research as it was based on a real time period. I created a time line (on the advice of my developmental editor) and included all the major historical events on it. I then overlaid my mom’s age and memories over the historical timeline. It was quite a complicated exercise. I then set the stage for the historical event that was taking place at the time of the memory by weaving bits of historical fact into her story. It took me a year to write While the Bombs Fell. I did the timeline up front and then researched the historical events in more detail as I wrote them into the story. My mom also spent a lot off time telling me her stories and listening to my typed up and re-written accounts.

The idea for Through the Nethergate came out of the research I did for Through the Nethergate. I discovered that an inn in my mom’s home town was haunted by over twenty ghosts. I researched the available basic facts for each ghost and then made up their story, weaving the real events into the story. As TTNG includes a number of real people and events, I had to do a lot of research as I wrote it. When you write about a specific historical person and time, everything must be correct from the clothes they wore to the coach they drove, right down to the tires (wooden in the 12th century for those few that had carriages). Here again, I did the basic research up front and embellished the stories with additional facts and information as I went along.

The three short stories I wrote for Death Among Us are all based on real events and time frames so these also required a significant amount of research. I can’t abide incorrect facts in books so I do my best to be really careful, often checking to eight to ten different sources of information.

The Haunting of William, which features in Dark Visions, is also based on a real ghost and I researched the time period and the duties of various servants in a manor house as well as the law relating to servant girls who became pregnant out of wedlock.

The Willow Tree features a serial killer who suffers from OCD and PTSD. I already know a lot about those disorders due to my son’s suffering from these two illnesses, but I did do a bit more research to ensure the symptoms and facts were accurate.

I am currently 35 000 words into my new WIP which is about a world that is reeling from the impact of climate crisis and the fourth industrial revolution. I am building a world of smart cities for the unemployed and pensioners which sounds like a utopia but has hidden fatal flaws. This book is my biggest research challenge yet as I have had to understand and research heat waves, cold waves, flooding, the polar vortex and el nino. I have also researched genome editing including germline editing, nuclear winter and automated worms (malware) that can infect a network. I spend four hours this weekend learning how an automated worm works and about back doors and attribution techniques. I also researched preventative measures for global warming and many other things such as the Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum. For this book, I did upfront research on climate change, fourth industrial revolution and genetic engineering and now I am filling in the details as I go along. It is amazing doing this research. I love it.

Do you research your novels, or just write what you know?  Click on the Inlinkz link party enter button to discover what other blog-hoppers do.

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From the voice recordings of Dr Jeff Harrison

2 February

I am devastated. I received an email from my mother in Australia earlier today. It came while I was at the lab so I had to suffer in silence until I could get home and give vent to my anguish and my anger.

Much as I admire and enjoy working with Ben, I didn’t want him to notice something was amiss and start asking me difficult questions, which I am not yet ready to answer. I am not a person who can share my pain until I have assimilated it myself. I feel as if I have a huge lump in my chest and it is making me feel continuously nauseous.

I am reading aloud the content of the email so that I have it here alongside my thoughts on the matter.

My dear Jeff

I am so sorry to have to send you this terrible news via email. I tried to FaceTime you but your phone just rang and rang so I have resorted to contacting you in writing.

Your sister, Joanne, her husband, Bill, and baby, Juliet, are all dead. Burned to death in the great wildfire that swept through large parts of Victoria on the 27^th of January. Maybe it is just as well that I am writing to you as if I were to speak to you I might give way completely to the pain and anguish I am experiencing at our huge loss.

As you know, since the 10^th of December last year, Australia has been in the grip of a constant, record-breaking series of heat waves with no reprieves. December 2021 and January 2022 were recorded as the hottest months in Australian history and bitter experience has taught us that this kind of excessive heat, combined with the on-going drought situation, creates the perfect conditions for wildfires.

On the 26^th of February, the state premier issued a warning about the extreme weather conditions that were expected for the next day. A total fire ban was declared and the whole state was on high alert with a significant number of firefighting personnel on standby.

The 27^th of January turned out to be an extraordinarily hot day in Melbourne and its surrounds, with the temperature reaching 44.6 degrees Celsius, winds gusting at up to one hundred kilometres per hour and relative humidity plunging to less than six percent. The first fire started in the Dandenong Ranges and by 11.30 A.M. more than two hundred fires had been reported due to spotting caused by the wind carrying pieces of burning twigs, leaves and small embers ahead of the main fire. This obviously put immense pressure on Victoria’s and South Australia’s emergency services, and reduced their ability to react quickly to new fires.

Bill’s mother, Elaine, called me this morning with the news. “A dust storm warning was issued at 1.30 P.M and people were advised to stay indoors unless it was essential to go outside, minimise strenuous physical activity and seek emergency medical assistance if they experienced difficulties breathing, chest pains or other serious health concerns. Thirty minutes later, the city was enveloped by a giant dust cloud, which extended thousands of metres into the atmosphere.

“When the cloud struck, the temperature suddenly dropped and the wind abruptly changed direction. It ripped the gutters off my house and uprooted several trees in my area, that’s how strong it was. Within minutes, I couldn’t see further than the end of the neighbour’s property, the air was full of swirling, reddish-brown dust.

“The dust storm distracted the authorities from the wildfire and no one realised that the approaching fire had developed into a firestorm. I only found that out later, when the police constable came to tell me what happened to my son and his family.”

Elaine stopped speaking. I could hear her sobs and knew she was overcome with grief. Tears flowed freely down my own cheeks as my own loss overwhelmed me.

After a little while, her sobs ceased, and with an apology, she continued her story.

“The news said that the firestorm created its own fire-induced winds which caused the blaze to spread faster. Other smaller fires started on the outskirts of the city as a result of spotting and lightning strikes caused by the firestorm. The winds spread the blaze and the change in the wind caused by the drop in the temperatures from the dust storm, activated the sides of the main fire and the smaller fires making them broader and bigger.”

Elaine drew in a long, trembling breath and said, “Bill and Joanne’s house was right in the path of one of the smaller fires. It swept through their street destroying everything in its path. They’re gone, Leonie, gone forever.”

My dear sister, Joanne, dead, together with sweet baby, Juliet, who was not yet two years old. Dead due to climate change and the resultant heat waves and firestorms. I blame all the governments of the world for their pointless deaths. It is their collective inability to take the concisive steps that were necessary to reverse the effects of global warming that have caused this calamity.

In 2019, scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies released findings that the average global temperature on earth had increased by approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial levels. Climate scientists then released a report stating clearly that an increase in global temperatures of above 1.5 degrees Celsius could render earth unliveable. Who plays Russian roulette with facts like that? Short sighted governments, that’s who. Yes, they are all as guilty as if they had held guns to my sister and her family’s head and pulled the triggers.

This post is for Sue Vincent’s weekly photograph prompt Aflame. You can join in the challenge here: https://scvincent.com/2019/07/25/thursday-photo-prompt-aflame-writephoto/

Thank you to author Teri Polen for this lovely review of Death Among Us, an anthology of short murder mystery stories. Teri blogs over at Books and Such and writes amazing reviews for a lovely selection of books, particularly in the YA science fiction, horror and supernatural genres.

Who knew death could be so eclectic? Relish this mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up of short stories.

The stories include the 2019 SIA Award-Winning Murder Mystery Short Story ‘The Rose Slayer.’

Murder and mystery have been the staple of literature and films for years. This anthology of short stories will thrill and entertain you. Some will also make you laugh out loud. Others will stop and make you think.

Think of this murder mystery short story anthology as a book version of appetizers or starters, hors d’oeuvre, meze, or antipasti. It can be read as fillers between books or, as is the case in some countries, as a bookish meze – in its own right.

These stories come from an international cast of authors; some with bestselling books, others are emerging or new talents. Their roots, cultures, and life experiences are as diverse as their writing styles.

But one thing binds them together: they know how to tell a story.

There’s murder mystery styles and locations to suit all tastes: detective fiction, serial killers, scifi, histfic, LA, England, The Great Lakes, Las Vegas, the Nevada desert and more in an exquisite exposition of the art of short story telling.

The ten authors who have contributed to the anthology are:

Stephen Bentley
Greg Alldredge
Kelly Artieri
Robbie Cheadle
Michael Spinelli
L. Lee Kane
Kay Castaneda
Aly Locatelli
Justin Bauer
& ‘G’ Posthumously

Each author introduces his or her stories and the theme that lies behind them.By the time you finish the book, you will agree the result is a mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up.

Continue reading here: https://teripolen.com/2019/07/23/death-among-us-an-anthology-of-murdermystery-shortstories-tuesdaybookblog/

What Amazon says

Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of 20th-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future, narrated here by Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family”. But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television. When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

My review

I listened to the audio book of Fahrenheit 451, narrated by Tim Robbins. The narration was excellent and Tim Robbins certainly made the most of Ray Bradbury’s very vigorous and to the point style of writing in certain parts of the book to such an extent that I felt as if I was running with Guy Montag and experiencing his fear, pounding heart and uncertainty.

This is one of the most unique dystopian novels I have read and is right up there with H.G. Wells with its incredible philosophical insight into human society, what makes us tick individually and as a group and how it could all go incredibly wrong if mankind, as a group, makes incorrect choices along the pathway leading into the future. What makes this book incredibly scary is how horribly possible it all is and how awful the black cloud of illiteracy and ignorance is and how it limits people’s choices and abilities to progress and grow. All this being said, however, this book does end on an optimistic and hopeful note which is invigorating and uplifting, especially given the momentous issues that are currently staring mankind in the face like climate crisis and the fourth industrial revolution.

Guy Montag is a fireman, whose job involves the destruction of books and the belongings and homes of people who go against the law of the nation and keep and read books. The reader is introduced to Guy in a happy state of enjoyment over his current burning and you get the impression that he is happy and fulfilled in his life and his work.

Coming out of the train station at the end of his work shift, Guy meets Clarice, an unusual young woman who is a thinker. The reader quickly realises that she is incredibly unique in this time of book burning and technological dominance over creativity, thinking and, in essence, the spirit of man. Guy listens to what Clarice has to say, nothing specific, but a series of innocent ramblings with enough substance to make him think. She ends the evening by asking him if he is happy. Is he happy? As this leading question and an immediate and alarming set of circumstances in his home life, cause Guy Montag to consider the meaning of his whole life and the lives of those around him, he realises that he is not happy in his lifestyle of forced gaiety and non-conflict. He also comes to see that no-one else around him is happy either and that their lifestyles are meaningless and also emotionless.

The beauty of this story is in it unerring ability to make the reader question his/her existence and the meaning of life. In the same manner as HG Wells depicted the Eloi, in his book The Time Machine, as being human creatures who have evolved into childlike and uninspired creature through living a Utopian type existence where there every need is met and there exists no conflict or hardship or anything else to spark thinking, innovation and progress. I saw parallels in the thinking process between HG Wells and Ray Bradbury and the recognition that a perfect Utopian environment would ultimately lead to the downfall of mankind as it would strip away our survival skills and instincts and we would not be able to cope with the resurgence of conflict and evil which is always bound to reappear in life. Perfection can only ever be a thin veneer over the underlying issues inherent in societies and human interaction which each other.

This is an exceptional book and an inspired story.

Purchase Fahrenheit 451

Does writing energize or exhaust you? That is this week’s Open Book question and it is an interesting one. This is the first time I am participating in this blog hop so, hopefully, I have followed the rules correctly.

For me, it depends entirely on what I am writing and its purpose. If I am writing poetry, I usually get an idea for the content and then the rest flows easily and I rarely do much editing. It is invigorating and not tiring.

If I am writing fiction, I am usually energize while I am writing and I feel fatigued afterwards. Writing is a bit like exercising, you feel invigorated while you are doing it but afterwards you feel a healthy tiredness.

Writing fiction that is based on real events or which has a strong historical thread is tiring for me. I find that I can only write between 1 000 and 2 000 words a day when I am doing this kind of writing, which is most of the time as that is the kind of writing I like. When I am writing pure fiction, I can write between 3 000 and 4 000 words a day. Of course, as I work full time and have a family, I don’t write every day, most of my writing is done over weekends and during holiday periods. I try to be disciplined about it as otherwise I will never get anything finished.

While the Bombs Fell and Through the Nethergate both contain strong historical threads. I started writing TTNG the day I sent WTBF off to my publisher last year. That was in early July. I finished this book and sent it for developmental editing in early March this year, so it took me approximately eight months to write this 72 000 word novel and do all the necessary research. That works out to approximately 2 200 words per week. I then spent another five weeks, firstly, re-writing it and then with the final edits. It went to my publisher at the end of the first week in May. I spent another three weeks proofing it during June.

I find the whole writing process exciting and interesting. I enjoy the challenge of the research and piecing the story line together. I love receiving my development editing feedback as it has been so useful to date and I have strived to incorporate the advice I have received into my writing going forward. It would be easier, I expect, if I could stick to a particular genre or style of writing, but where is the fun in that?

Click below to take the portal to find out what the other writers said!

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.

What Amazon says

“A fascinating peek into the mind and machinations of a sociopath . . . Absorbing, at times gory thriller featuring an oddly compelling killer ‘heroine.'”– Kirkus

Warning: this is NOT a cozy mystery or your typical thriller. Brooke Walton is brilliant, ambitious, and twisted.

As a first-year medical student at Rothaker University, Brooke is determined to win a coveted scholarship for future surgeons. She’s thriving, until a classmate experiences a family tragedy and must leave school. The situation creates conflict with Rachael, a rival student. When Rachael disappears without a trace, detectives descend on campus and the hunt for the truth begins.

My review

This is the second book in the Brooke Walton series and it takes the story to a whole new level.

Brooke has been accepted into the medical programme at the renowned Rothaker university. Despite the grotty dormitories occupied by the medical students, the huge debt she has taken on in order to study further and the fact that the medical faculty is situated in a dangerous and seedy area due to its proximity to the teaching hospital, Brooke is delighted to finally be embarking on this new phase of her dream to become a surgeon. She is hoping that everything will go smoothly at this new institution and she will not need to take any drastic actions to remove obstacles, in particular people, from her path to success, as she has had to do in the past.

On her first day in her new accommodation, Brooke meets Rachael, another first year student with an intelligence, work ethic and determination to rival her own, but with an overriding goal to help others. The initial meeting between Brooke, an exceptionally good looking woman, and Rachael, a self righteous, do gooder who is intent on always taking the high moral ground in any situation, does not go well and they dislike each other from the start. The author did a sterling job with the creation of Rachael as, despite her good intentions and high ethics, she comes across as being an insufferable prig which sets the reader up to dislike her which makes it difficult to empathise with her later in the book.

Brooke also meets Xander, another first year medical student with an interesting past. Xander chose to do two years of military service in Afghanistan before taking his place at Rothaker to study medicine. Within a short while of his arrival, he starts experiencing flashbacks and suffering nightmares as the medical work programme kicks in and he is exposed to classes in bisection and anatomy. Xander, like Brooke, is an exceptional athlete and ultra good looking so it is natural for the two of them to pair up and start running and exercising together.

The introduction of Xander was a clever move by the author for two primary reasons. Firstly, his story and the post traumatic stress disorder symptoms he displays are fascinating and provide an intriguing sub-plot, and secondly, his relationship with Brooke facilitates the telling of parts of the book from his point of view. Xander and Brooke become more than friends and as he gets to know her better and spend more time with her he gradually starts to see and hear things that act at warning bells to him and he starts to question Brooke’s character and motivations.

Brooke is a serial killer. She is completely focused and determined to succeed with an amazing intellect and not abilities to empathise with others or understand their emotional pain. Despite these characteristics, there are so many things about Brooke that are wonderful and she has some endearing characteristics which create a conflict in the reader as you find yourself routing for a serial killer to come out on top. The relationship between Xander and Brooke was particularly conflicting because they are both so interesting and you want their relationship to succeed.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and will definitely read the next book in this series.

Purchase Rothaker (Everett) (Volume 2)

Here is an extract from my new dystopian WIP about the modern luddites. Did you know there were modern luddites? Let me know in the comments.

From the handwritten notes of Lisa Robinson

After the talk, David wanted to stay for a while and talk to other attendees and Nelson Ferguson about the development of a Modern Luddite manifesto. I had never heard of Chellis Glendinning and the Neo-Luddite Manifesto he developed in 1990 which contained additional points the Modern Luddites planned to include in their document.

“Chellis Glendinning philosophised that the impact of new technologies on society, economies and politics should be fully considered and critiqued before their implementation, including what will be gained through its introduction, and what will be lost, and by whom. His view was holistic and he advocated that the impact of new technologies on natural systems, the environment and all living beings, not just humans, should be assessed,” said a young man with thick glasses and an intense look who David introduced as Jack Fitchett.

“That’s interesting,” I said, “and it sounds like a sensible way of approaching the use of technology.”

“Yeah, I agree. His manifesto had four main points which many of us in this group are striving to have incorporated in some way into our new manifesto. I am in favour of the preservation of jobs too,” he smiled and nodded his head, “but jobs won’t be much good to any of us if we destroy the planet, will they?”

“No, they won’t,” I agreed. What are the four points you referred to?”

“Firstly, the Neo-Luddites favoured the dismantling of destructive technologies, in particular, nuclear, chemical, genetic engineering and electromagnetic technologies, the production of which pose significant health risks to humans. I am pro the inclusion of this principle in our manifesto. The original document also called for the dismantling of television and computer technologies as they claimed these result in a centralized mind-controlling force, enhanced centralized political power, a disruption of community life and the removal of people from a direct experience of life.  I don’t support Chellis Glendinning’s point of view of those two technologies as I believe that, used correctly, television and computers offer many benefits to humanity.”

“I agree with you about television and computers. They are a great source of entertainment and I can’t imagine my life without them. They are also good sources of news and education. I always check the weather and the news so that I know what’s going out around me.”

“The second point relates to the creation of technologies by people directly involved in their use instead of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who gain financially from the mass production and distribution of the technologies they develop. The reasoning behind this point is that the current producers of technologies don’t have an understanding of their usage in society and the affect they have on the people who use them. Chellis Glendinning called for the creation of technologies with a high degree of flexibility and which favour independence from technological addiction and promise political freedom, economic justice and ecological balance.”

“That sounds good. I know that my mother was always on at me when I was growing up about not spending too much time on my iphone, ipad and computer. She was always harping on about balance. I am not sure how achievable that objective is though. I don’t think ordinary people have the knowledge and skills to create advanced technology. There are lots of benefits to digitalisation like being able to communicate with family and friends all over the world instantly. I wouldn’t want to give that up.”

“I’m not sure how that would work either but the principle is sound if it can be achieved. The third point is excellent as it advocates the creation of technologies which are for the good of all life on earth. That means it supports technologies facilitating community-based energy sources utilizing clean energy like solar, wind and water; organic and biological technologies based on natural models and systems for use in agriculture, engineering, art, medicine, transportation and defence; conflict resolution technologies and social technologies that encourage participation, responsibility and empowerment.”

“That is a good point. I do think it conflicts with the second point though as it takes great expertise and knowledge to develop that sort of technology. I know because that is what my bosses are trying to do.”

“Is that so, where do you work?”

“I work for a professor at the Department of Technological Development in London. We used to work for the UK government, but now we work for the new world government and are part of their global strategy,” I said with pride.

Jack pulled a face and said: “I’d be surprised if your bosses are really interested in the welfare of people. I’ve yet to meet anyone from any government organisation who is.”

I bit back an angry remark at his self-righteousness, “What is the last point on the manifesto?”

“Chellis Glendinning motivated for the development of a life-enhancing worldview through the use of technologies. The idea is to redirect technology towards the creation of digital platforms that integrate the human need for creative expression, spiritual experience and community with the capacity for rational thought and functionality in a balance way so that both human dignity and nature’s wholeness can be fostered and conserved.”

“That is another wonderful idea.”

Sue Vincent’s prompt this week is castles which fitted in nicely with parts of my forthcoming horror book, Through the Nethergate. This is an extract about a castle in …. Slovakia.

“A few hours later, the dark outline of an abandoned and ruined castle, shrouded in thick evening mist, came into view. It looked forbidding with thick foliage, stained black in the moonlight, surrounding the base of its broken walls. In the gloom, the dark grey moss patterning sections of the remaining light grey, stonework looked like splodges of blood and gore.  As the coach lurched to a halt on the thick grass in front of the castle, the spirits of the numerous girls who were murdered there started to gather. They stood silent and forlorn in the eerie light of the moon, which bathed their transparent forms with silvery light and created strange and mysterious shadows.

Lucifer rummaged under his seat and withdrew a thick coat.

“Take this, you’ll need it,” he said, handing it to Margaret. She took it gratefully and put it on straight away. The night air was piercingly cold. The party exited the coach and Lucifer marched towards the gathering, holding tightly onto Margaret’s wrist.

From a distance the ghosts looked like delicate waifs, but as the occupants of the coach ventured closer, Margaret could see the evil and twisted expressions on their darkly beautiful faces and splatters of blackness down the fronts of their thin white gowns. The moonlight itself seemed to quiver at the horrible sight and take refuge behind a mass of clouds.”

You can join in Sue’s challenge here: https://scvincent.com/2019/07/11/thursday-photo-prompt-castle-writephoto/

What Amazon says

“Child apprentices in very many cotton mills continued to be treated like slaves well after the Slave Trade Acts of the 19th century.”

“Pauper child apprentices from workhouses were not even paid after working 12 hour days and for 5 or 6 days a week, mill owners counted the profit!”

In the early 19th century, when it was the policy of many of the poorhouses and workhouses to deter paupers from applying by making the conditions inside harsh and unpleasant, two boys set out on a journey to Hackney Workhouse in London. Their starting point was in the pleasant Cheshire countryside, where they were apprenticed to the cotton mill built by Samuel Greg in 1784. Children as young as 9 would be employed there, as scavengers, piecers, mule doffers or can tenters. These jobs could be just as unpleasant and difficult for a poor child as those we may have heard of, such as chimney sweeps and match girls.

Quarry Bank Mill was some 200 miles north of London and the boys had to sneak out unnoticed and then attempt to walk all the way. It was likely that these enterprising travellers took advantage of the drovers’ roads and the newly developed “motorways” of the times – the canals. Perhaps they were lucky enough some days to hitch a lift; their general direction of travel taking them to Beartown, the Potteries, Dunstable Downs and eventually to London. Whatever challenges they encountered along the way archive evidence shows that they made it.

Runaway apprentices had become a problem for society during the years of the Industrial Revolution – so what had prompted Thomas and Joseph to do such a hazardous thing? What happened to them on their long journey? Did they receive any help? Or were they chased relentlessly wherever they ran, since what they were doing was illegal in the eyes of the authorities?

This is the story of their adventure and it concludes with the events in the Middlesex courthouse, known then as the Old Sessions.

My review

I was introduced to the writing of G.J. Griffith through the second book in this series, Mules, Masters & Mud, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I found this first book to be equally entertaining and interesting and I found myself even fonder of the main characters, Joseph and Thomas, as teenagers in The Quarry Bank Runaways.

Joseph and Thomas are both indentured apprentices to Quarry Bank Mill in the early 19th century, having spent the later part of their short childhoods in a workhouse in London after their mothers fell on hard times. The boys vividly recall the journey from London to the mill near Manchester in the bank of an enclosed wagon with a lot of other children. The paupers were bumped around and arrived battered and bruised and, although their master, Mr Greg, is one of the better mill owners as far as treatment of his workers was concerned, life does not improve for the apprentices after their arrival.

Following an accident in which Thomas loses a finger, he is desperate to travel to London to visit his mother. Joseph decides to accompany him and take advantage and visit his own mother. The two boys make a plan and manage to escape the mill and set off on the long and arduous journey by foot to London. Their determination to visit their mothers during a time of physical challenge seemed very natural to me and the mill owner was unkind to disallow the journey. Mr Greg’s refusal of Thomas’ request to have leave of absence from the mill highlighted the fact that workers were treated as commodities at that time in history and had no rights whatsoever.

The story tells of the boys journey and the various people they meet along the way. Many are kindly and do their best to assist the runaways, but others attempt to exploit them for their own personal gain.

The detailed depictions of life during the early years of the industrial revolution and the awful work conditions and related health issues in various walks of life from mill workers to bargemen to potters to charcoal burners is well researched and fascinating. The reader is also given a brief glimpse into the lives of a retired night watchman, a magistrate and a scullery maid as well as the harsh laws impacting the lives of people forced to enter the workhouses.

The dialogue is written in various dialects which some readers may find a bit challenging, but I quickly got used to it and thought it added to the authentic feel of the time and the story. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy delving into history and how people lived in the past.

Purchase The Quarry Bank Runaways: The Journey to London of Thomas Priestley & Joseph Sefton in 1806