“Mary Mitchell, nine years old. Draw your straws, gentlemen, and we’ll see who’s to win this prize.” It is 1842, and this method of assigning parish apprentices has died out, except in North Devon. This story is based on the actual experiences of one such apprentice sent to work on a remote farm. Mary is fearful of her master’s volatile temper and, despite the comforting presence of her older brother Thomas, she finds the harsh regime of physical labour hard to bear. The inspirational preacher, Mary O’Bryan Thorne, encourages Mary and Thomas to attend a nearby chapel where they are welcomed and taught to read. But as the years pass, and a series of failed harvests makes life on the farm intolerable, the brother and sister take daring action in an effort to change the course of their lives. Their attempt ultimately wins them their freedom, but not before they are brought face-to-face with the heartless judicial system of early Victorian England. This novel draws on original documents to shine a light on the farming and chapel communities of nineteenth century Devon.
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£9.99 Letterbox Books 336 pages Publication date 16/10/2020 ISBN 978-0951687963 Cover design by Ben Shakespeare Cover image: The Song of the Lark By Jules Adolphe Breton, 1884 The Art Institute of Chicago
The Song of the Skylark review, Western Morning News 17/10/2020
