By Emma Carroll (author)
"The ‘Queen of Historical Fiction’ gives us a thrilling slice of real Somerset history laced with authentic 17th century witch hunts and the oppression of women"
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Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month October 2019
Emma Carroll brings her own Somerset countryside vividly to life in this enthralling tale and you can even detect the West Country tones of her spirited young heroine, Fortune Spicer, as you read. Fair Maidens Lane, where she lives, is a successful hamlet running well, despite an absence of men. But as the story opens a matriarch is arrested.
An atmosphere of suspicion is spreading across the land from King James’ obsession with witches and unscrupulous men are using this as a weapon for financial gain. Sent away by her mother, disguised as a boy for her own protection, Fortune ends up as a servant at Barrow Hall only to find a master even more against witches than the king, but also happy to exploit the opportunity to raise funds for a terrible new trade in human beings.
When the natural disaster overtakes them all, Fortune survives, but must fight torture and a trial for witchcraft to prove she is not to blame for the flood. The claustrophobic atmosphere of male oppression, corruption and real menace is wonderfully well done, and Fortune is a redoubtable heroine learning to have faith in herself and to seek her own destiny.
As with all her novels this author wears her research lightly but provides a genuine learning experience and a genuine feeling for the period and for the characters she brings so memorably to life.
A sinking boat. A girl in disguise. A disappearing sea.
When Fortune Sharpe carves a boat from a tree with her beloved brother, Gem, she's only having a bit of fun. But now is not the time for a girl to be drawing attention to herself. She is sent away to find work dressed as a boy. Luckily a rich manor house is hiring.
Yet Barrow Hill's inhabitants harbour dangerous secrets of their own, the suspicious owner is hunting for witches, and the house itself is a little too close to the sea.
‘Emma Carroll is the Hilary Mantel of children's fiction’ The Telegraph
‘Emma Carroll rightfully owns the title "Queen of Historical Fiction"’ The BookTrust
‘Historical fiction at its finest’ The Bookseller
Once told by the poet Ted Hughes her writing was 'dangerous', it took Emma Carroll twenty years of teaching English and a life-changing cancer diagnosis to feel brave enough to give her dream of being an author a try. Nowadays, she's a bestselling writer, and has been nominated for and the winner of numerous national, regional and schools awards - including the Books Are My Bag Readers' Award, Branford Boase, CILIP Carnegie Medal, Young Quills, Teach Primary and the Waterstones Book Prize.
Emma's home is in the Somerset hills with her husband and two terriers. She still can't believe her luck that she gets to write dangerous books for a living.
Emma Carroll - our Guest Editor of the Month
UKLA Book Awards - 2021
the best books for 9-12 year olds · the best books for teenagers
The Girl Who Raced the World
Nush and the Stolen Emerald
The Elemental Detectives
When we were Warriors
A sinking boat. A girl in disguise.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Somerset Tsunami and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Somerset Tsunami features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Historical Fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month, Star Books, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Somerset Tsunami was written by Emma Carroll and published by Faber & Faber
The Somerset Tsunami has 278 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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