‘I am so sorry,’ said Mattie. ‘I think the mechanism must have rusted.’ She helped him up; there was a faint colour in his cheeks. ‘Are you all right? Not hurt at all?’
He shook his head. ‘Can we do it again?’ he asked.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my husband, James Connell, and my friend Kate Anthony for endless listening and invaluable suggestions; to Mervyn Heard, for his expertise on magic-lantern lectures; to Susannah Stapleton and Doug Castle, for their generous help with specific gaps in my knowledge, and to Jennifer R. Haynes, whose PhD thesis ‘Sanitary Ladies and Friendly Visitors’ was wonderfully useful when writing about The Flea’s job. Once again, the London Library served me both as a lovely place to write and as a rich source of research material. Among the many books I used, Elizabeth Crawford’s The Women’s Suffrage Movement – A Reference Guide was invaluable, while Emmeline Pankhurst’s My Own Story was the direct source of Mattie’s heckles in the Albert Hall, since I thought the originals were unimprovable. I hasten to add that any historical inaccuracies in the text are mine, all mine.
And thank you, as ever, to Bill Scott-Kerr for his super-human patience and never-failing enthusiasm, and to Georgia Garrett for practically everything.
About the Author
Lissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including Their Finest Hour and a Half, longlisted for the Orange Prize, Wed Wabbit, shortlisted for many awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Book Awards, and Crooked Heart, longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Also by Lissa Evans
NOVELS
Spencer’s List
Their Finest Hour and a Half
(motion picture released as Their Finest)
Crooked Heart
NOVELS FOR CHILDREN
Small Change for Stuart
Big Change for Stuart
Wed Wabbit
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Doubleday
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Lissa Evans 2018
Design by Sarah Whittaker/TW
Illustration by Chris Wormell
Lissa Evans has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473527119
ISBN 9780857523624
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2