"It meant living in the cheapest room in Silvertown, in a house on Pilchard Street at the very end of a terrace that tilted towards a lake of dark, oozing run-off from the coal tar factory. Their room had one tiny window they had to keep closed against the stench, especially in summer, and tide water seeped up through the floorboards all year round. Silvertown itself was built on a boggy bit of land between the river and the docks, in the shadow of dozens of factories that filled the streets with the foul stinks of sulphur, tar and the boiling bones and guts of slaughtered animals."
Maud Mulligan lives in desperately poor circumstances in a London slum. The year is 1913 - think about the significance of that date - suffragettes; Emaline Pankhurst; World War I is not far off; and the Industrial Revolution means thousands of people have come to London and many work in very dangerous factories. Maud might have a tough life, but she also has a dream to leave the slums and travel with her father to a better place. In their lodgings they have a jar and every day for the last seven years she has been saving so that one day they can buy two tickets on a streamer to somewhere else. Sadly, this cannot happen because the very old building where they live falls into the Thames. The money is gone. Then her father is killed by an elephant that was being winched off a ship down on the docks. He was knocked into the river and drowned. Now Maud has no family, no home, no money and only the clothes she had been wearing the day her home fell into the river.
Maud and her father had been living in an unused pantry in the home of Mrs Wray. Her husband is a violent man and for a while Maude manages to keep out of his way but then she is discovered and so now she is forced to live on the streets.
This is a time of superstition. Maud is desperate to know the future.
"Underneath the river, between the factories on the north bank and the gun yards on the south, there was a tunnel. ... for a few pennies you could find out your future."
In a heartbreaking scene we see Maud exchange her mother's beautiful green shawl so she can learn about her future.
"How will I get out of Silverton?"
"Ruin! You will lose everything."
What does this prophecy mean? Maud is kidnapped by a man connected with a factory that makes dyes. The rich owners have also consulted a fortune teller - a famous and rich one. Somehow the colour yellow is important, as are chemistry lessons. Maud will escape, then be recaptured, then escape again. Along the way she meets rich people, corrupt people, and surprising new friends. She is even caught up in a suffragette protest march - a violent one. And there is another layer over the top of all of this which is hinted at on the cover. Maud herself is able to see the future - this is a gift but it could also put her in grave danger.
Maud is told to predict the colour that will be in fashion next year.
"Maud carefully lifted the crystal ball from the velvet-lined box and carried it to an armchair. ... She gasped when the flames flickered and changed. They became a column of figures, so indistinct as to be almost silhouettes. Even so, she could tell they were not ladies but men, moving slowly forwards and swaying. ... The dying men were sucked abruptly into the ground."
All she can see is grey and black and mud and sludge. What does this mean?
This book has 312 pages and I read it all on one day - yes this book is THAT good. The final sentence made me gasp! I sincerely hope this book has been entered in our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards and if it has, I am certain it will be a Younger Readers Notable title and almost certainly a short-listed book too. I am surprised I haven't heard more people talking about this book which was released in August, 2023. That said, do take a look at all the positive comments on Catherine Norton's web page. I also really like the cover - in fact that is what drew me to this book when I saw it in a local independent book shop. Catherine Norton's book Crossing was a 2015 CBCA Notable but I somehow missed reading it.
Publisher blurb: London, 1913 Twelve-year-old Maud Mulligan knows there's no future for her in London, in the rat-infested slum where she grew up. But in the tunnel under the river are fortune tellers, Seers, who will tell your fortune for a few pennies. And then there is Mr Mandalay, Seer to the king and anyone else rich enough to afford him. When Mr Mandalay sees Maud in a foretelling for a wealthy factory heiress, she believes Maud can save her family from financial ruin. But how? And why? In a world shaken by suffragettes, scientists, and the threat of war, what could a girl like Maud do to change anyone's future - or even her own?
This is a mystical adventure about strength, determination and changing times. Full of optimism even in the most desperate of situations, it shows how survival can be achieved through the worst or best experience, depending on the strength within to face whatever you are dealt. A stunning, eye-catching cover equals the fantastic read. Kids' Book Review
This reviewer inhaled this book - I did too.
Serious themes of grief and loss, gender roles, power and resilience underpin this adventure but never overburden this exhilarating roller coaster read. The writing is assured, rich in historical detail, and enlivened by delightful insights into character. ... I inhaled this book in one sitting and I think many others will do the same. ... Its high production values indicate the publishers think they have a keeper and I agree with them. Story Links
This story feels like the writing of Charles Dickens. You could share some children's abridged versions of his famous stories with your child after reading The Fortune Maker.
Here are some teachers notes from the publisher. You can read chapters one and two here.
Companion books:
