posted on 03 Jun 2024

The River Spirit by Lucy Strange, illustrated by Júlia Moscardó

When we reviewed Lucy Strange’s debut novel for Barrington Stoke, The Mermaid in the Millpond, I noted that its charm lay in the skilful blending of historical inspiration and fantasy. Now with The River Spirit, the author has given us another mix – fantasy, history and a nod towards a children’s classic. 

In a note at the back of the book we’re told that Charles Kingsley’s 1885 novel for children, The Water Babies was a key inspiration for The River Spirit but, perhaps more importantly, there is also a real-life historical event that Lucy Strange picked up on. In 1875, the 12 year-old chimney sweep, George Brewster who was working for a Master Sweep, William Wyer, died after getting trapped in a chimney and the boy’s death gave impetus to the campaign seeking to ban the use of children in the chimney-cleaning business.

Tom, like George Brewster, works for a Master Sweep, Mister Crow, who keeps a small group of children taken from the workhouse to help with the chimney sweeping – young, skinny boys and girls are preferred so they can make their way up inside of the winding chimney stacks. The children aren’t treated well and they simply get tossed in the cold river every day to clean them off. Tom, who is now getting too old and too big for the job, loves his time in the river – he swims like a fish and before he found himself with Crow, he lived his life with his father on the river, crossing people on rafts.

One day, the river washing session ends unexpectedly when a river spirit – Elle – suddenly appears and mysteriously joins the children as they clean the chimneys. But she’s never covered in soot when she’s done and seems to slip and slide in the small spaces with no effort. But why is she there? What’s the reason she seems to be able to come and go as she pleases?

It soon becomes clear that she’s there as a presage of a significant event – something is going to happen and it’s going to happen to Tom.

I’m going to stop there and not tell you any more because you’ll want to find out for yourselves what happens to Tom, Elle and the unpleasant Mister Crow. Júlia Moscardó provides a series of atmospheric, black and white drawings that are scattered throughout the book and help enhance the reading experience.

Available now from Barrington Stoke, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have copies on the shelf.

 

Terry Potter

June 2024