The Alchemist's Cat (The Deptford Histories, Book 1) - Hardcover

Robin Jarvis worked in television and advertising before becoming a full-time author and illustrator. His first book, The Dark Portal, was short-listed for the 1989 Smarties Book Prize in England. Mr. Jarvis currently lives in London.

Gr. 5-8. This creepy, atmospheric horror tale, the first in the Deptford Histories and a scary prequel to the Deptford Mice trilogy, reveals how Jupiter, Lord of the Darkness, became so evil and so powerful. Orphaned Will Godwin arrives in London in 1664, summoned by an uncle he doesn't know. After being falsely accused of murder, he flees a mob and ends up in the hands of a wicked alchemist, Elias Theophratus Spittle, who forces Will into servitude. On a late-night errand in winter, Will is pursued and almost caught. He finds refuge in an overgrown graveyard, where he comes upon a mother cat and three young kittens, which he carries back to his master's apothecary shop. The streets of London are vividly realized in all their smell, filth, and disease, as is Spittle's laboratory with its noxious potions, smoke, and evil doings. Jarvis delivers a vivid tale of treachery, cruelty, and sorcery, leavened only by Will's innate goodness. It's also a real page-turner, guaranteed to mesmerize readers of the trilogy. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved