By Julie Hearn (author)
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This is a new edition of Julie Hearn's stunning debut novel that takes the reader on a dramatic trip into a strange and original world, republished to coincide with the publication of her brand new novel in hardback Rowan the Strange . Present day Tom steps down into a basement and finds himself back in the eighteenth century where he discovers some shady practices being carried out by some unusual characters. How Tom survives in the world he finds himself in and what he discovers is eloquently told. Gripping, gentle, funny and downright scary at times it will have teenagers on the edge of their seat throughout.
Come along down, sir. Step this way. Only a shilling, sir, to view the changeling child.
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Only a shilling to behold the strangest work of nature that ever was. Come sir, follow me down... In the basement a gap is forming.
Mysterious voices are calling, and Tom cannot resist. Taking a leap through time Tom meets Astra, the changeling child; the incredible bendy man, and the gorilla woman monsters being shown at Bartholomew Fair. In the dark and seedy backstreets ofeighteenth-century London, doctors are paying high prices for unusual bodies to dissect, and Astra and her friends are prime targets.
They desperately need Tom's help. But Tom has problems of his own . . . Come, sir.
Julie Hearn was our Guest Editor in August 2011. Click here to see the books she selected.
Julie Hearn used to be a tabloid journalist but much prefers writing novels because she is less likely to be sued nowadays for making things up. After her daughter, Tilly, was born she began a degree in Education but switched to English after suffering a panic attack while attempting to teach maths to year six. She went on to complete a Masters Degree in Women's Studies at Oxford University, where an idea for her thesis became the inspiration for her first novel, Follow Me Down . Julie lives in Oxfordshire where she writes full time (most mornings anyway) in a pink and green office in her garden.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Ever since I can remember. When I was five I wrote stories about elves and rabbits on scraps of paper and sewed them up the middle to make little books. I wrote diaries too - pages and pages every day - and if nothing exciting had happened I made stuff up. My teenage diaries are shocking, but a pack of lies from start to finish.
I still wanted to write when I left school so I became a journalist. And that was great fun, for a long time, although when it came to making things up, there was only so far I could go!
Why did you decide to write children's books rather than books for adults?
I suppose I'd had enough of writing for adults - first as a journalist, then as a student of English and women's studies. I wanted to give my imagination free rein in a way that didn't have to be clever, or cynical, or have a great wodge of footnotes at the bottom of every page to explain things!
Come along down, sir. Step this way.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Follow Me Down and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-12 years old
Follow Me Down features in the following genres: Recommended Children's eBooks, Recommendations, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Ebook, Paperback. £5.25. Not Available.
Follow Me Down was written by Julie Hearn and published by OUP Oxford
£5.25. Not Available.
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