Pegasus looked so thin and hungry. If he had food in his belly, perhaps he would have the strength to pull the cart. That way the cab driver wouldn’t take him to be butchered.
She crossed the road, dodging carts and carriages and men pushing barrows, back to the man selling fruit. Without waiting to make sure his back was turned, or his attention elsewhere, she grabbed three apples, tossed them into her kettle and dived back into the traffic.
It is 1808 and Grace’s life is hard. She spends her days as a mudlark, sifting through the muddy bottom of the Thames in search of anything her cruel uncle can sell. Her only pleasure in life is a horse called Pegasus who she visits when she can. But when Pegaus’s life is in danger, Grace takes a terrible risk, and soon is sentenced to transportation to Australia.
Previously published as four separate books in the Our Australian Girl series, The Grace Stories traces Grace’s adventures in London, on the journey to Australia, and as she makes a new life in the colony.
Bound in hardcover with a magnetic clasp, this is a sturdy collectable edition which will delight history-loving readers.
The Grace Stories , by Sofie Laguna
Viking Penguin, 2013
ISBN 9780670077540
Available in good bookstores and online.