Book description
A hanging always draws a crowd. But not everyone there has come to jeer
at the condemned man. George Kevill's young son Barney is in the front
row, and he knows his father is innocent. There are others there who
know George is innocent, too - and the men who set him up have every
reason to want to silence his boy . . Narrowly escaping the clutches of
the sinister Nasty Man, young Barney finds sanctuary at the London
Aquarium amongst his father's bohemian friends: Bob Chapman, whose
performing dogs Brutus and Nero astonish audiences every night, the
exquisite doll-lady, Princess Tiny, and her admirer, the giant Herr
Swann. Together with Fortinbras Horatio Trimmer, aspiring novelist and
meantime author of penny dreadfuls and popular plays, they will protect
Barney and seek to uncover the conspiracy behind a dark secret that lies
at the heart of the Victorian establishment. Ann Featherstone is
Lecturer in Performance History at Manchester University. She is the
author of several non-fiction books about the Victorian entertainment
industry including THE VICTORIAN CLOWN, with Jacky Bratton. Her first
novel WALKING IN PIMLICO is also published by John Murray.
