The River Spirit

Trapped within the oppresive warrens of the city's chimneys, young sweeper Tom longs for fresh air and freedom in this atmospheric and ghostly tale from Lucy Strange.

Young chimney sweep Tom has started seeing strange, supernatural things – fairies in the flowers by the river, a soot monster crouching in the darkness of a chimney, and then the mysterious river spirit Elle. Elle joins Tom and the other children apprenticed to cruel master sweep Mister Crow. Together, they shimmy up the town's narrow, filthy chimneys. But Tom has an ominous feeling in his bones, and when he faces his most dangerous job of all, the reason for Elle's magical appearance becomes clear . . .

Reviews

"[An] evocative slice of historical drama … a book that transports us from our world to an almost timeless zone of wonder in amongst the darkness" – The Bookbag on The Mermaid in the Millpond

"Superb, an eerie weaving of history and mythology in the hollow, haunted world of not-so-long-ago" – Hilary McKay on The Storm and the Minotaur

About the author

Lucy Strange is the best-selling children's author of titles including The Secret of Nightingale Wood, a Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, and Our Castle by the Sea, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize 2020, and was the first Independent Booksellers' Children's Book of the Month.