One of the best features of this book is the beautiful cover, which was painted by the author. It shows Charity, a Victorian girl, walking in the grounds of the home she shared with her father, a number of servants and a cat.

Charity is almost like a prisoner in her home and she never meets other children that she can play with. She doesn't see a lot of her father, but one day he tells her that she is to be sent away to school because of her condition. We know that he loves Charity and that he is trying to protect her but I felt a bit cross with him for not spending more time with her himself so that he could see that no harm came to her. The beginning of the book reminded me of The Secret Garden and its character Colin who wasn't even allowed outside because his father thought he was very ill.

Charity was not an unhappy child because of the servants who looked after her and smuggled treats, like chocolate, to her. I particularly liked Rose and Edward, and their story had its own happy ending. Charity's life changed when she met two people; a chimney sweep called Silas who got lost in the chimneys and found himself in her room, and an old woman at the gate of her house who told her that she was the midwife when Charity was born. Charity then started on an exciting quest to find out about her mother whom she believed had died when she was born. After that the book becomes a mixture of adventure and faerie magic.

I enjoyed reading this book even though I did not feel that I had to read it as fast as possible. I think this was because I liked the characters who helped Charity in her search for the truth more than I liked the actual story.

I would recommend it to anyone of my age especially if they like magic but I don't think that it would appeal to many of the boys I know.

Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!