When we first meet Dodger, he is as unlikely a hero as there might be: a seventeen year old who has grown up on the streets and in the sewers of Victorian London. He makes his living "toshing" the sewers for the money, jewelry and valuables that have been washed there. One stormy night a scream in the street above sends him to the rescue of a beautiful, young woman who has leaped from the moving carriage of her kidnappers, who are beating her in the gutter. Dodger attacks them, saving her life when they flee. This act of courage forever changed Dodger's destiny. Two men arrive who help find a safe house where the woman will be nursed back to health. Dodger insists on going with her to make certain that she is protected. He knows a gem when he sees one and this woman is a very special person. She refuses to tell them who she is and why she was being beaten. Dodger vows to find the guilty men and bring them to justice. Thus begins his quest and in this mission he meets up with many surprising people from history; Charles Dickens, a newspaper reporter; Henry Mayhew, a social worker who is seeking to change the horrid state of the poor in London's slums; Benjamin Disraeli, the calculating politician and the mad barber, Sweeney Todd. It seems that once Dodger has acted heroically he can not stop his heroic ascent even to the court of Queen Elizabeth! Only Terry Pratchett can weave such a tale with such believable characters and high humor. You will not want to put this adventure down! Start your adventure with Dodger today, located in Teen Fiction!
No comments:
Post a Comment