Who can you trust?

Diver’s Daughter

By Patrice Lawrence

Author: Patrice Lawrence @LawrencePatrice

Illustrated by: Alette Straathof

Published by: Scholastic Children’s Books @scholasticuk

Published on: 2019

First line: I hit the water.

Genre: Historical fiction

Age: 9+

Price: £6.99

ISBN: 978 1 407191 40 9

What’s it all about? Eve, a 12 year old girl, lives in 16th century South London (Southwark to be specific). Her mum takes on any job she can to provide for them both, and it often means they don’t live in one place for very long. Places to live vary from beds in attics, to street corners to barn lofts. During August, the famous Bartholomew Fair is held in London and for the first time in her life Eve and her mum are going to go. An unexpected meeting with George Symons on the wherrie back to Southwark leads to the pair to travel to Southampton in search of ship’s gold.

Why should I read it? This is a wonderful tale that makes you live and breathe the 16th century of Tudor England. It really opens your eyes to the everyday that many people had to live through in that time, from finding jobs, to shelter, to food. Knowing who to trust and who not to was a full time job. With the language and description of London, the countryside and Southampton this would be great to use in a class that are learning about Tudor England. The themes resonate somewhat with today, with the pressures on single household families to find work and the pressure by social media and news outlets to find the one big thing that is going to change your life. The mum, is a big, strong personality, who protects her duaghter with everything she has, but suffers from mental illness. Eve is a very likeable character, passionate, fearful and longing for a place to call home. Her fears become your fears, as unscrupulous people try to use her for their own ends, but like her mum, she is a survivor; and as the story increases in pace, you just know she’ll be okay in the end. I found the prologue quite confusing and not really necessary, but I can see why the author chose to start the book in that way. I love how the characters all, in their own time, come to the realisation that wealth isn’t in money or gold, but in the people that you surround yourself with.