Seaside history - Wondrous Winter Gardens by Susan Brownrigg with free school resources

 

In the late 19th and early 20th century holidaying at the seaside became extremely popular in Britain. The expansion of the railways meant that a trip to the coast was easier and there was a host of natural and built attractions to draw in visitors. Unfortunately sunny weather couldn't always be guaranteed, so towns quickly realised that indoor attractions were needed.

Winter Gardens were the solution - entertainment complexes made out of glass, often with trees and flowering plants inside.

A souvenir of The Crystal Palace owned by the author.

(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

Winter Gardens owners took their inspiration from The Crystal Palace the stunning iron and glass building originally constructed for The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851 at Hyde Park, London. The Crystal Palace was the idea of three men - Prince Albert, Henry Cole (also known for creating the first commercial Christmas card) and Joseph Paxton. 

Paxton had been designing glass houses for twenty years when he was commissioned to create The Crystal Palace including the Lily House at Chatsworth which was built to protect the giant Victoria Regia a rare tropical water plant that had been newly discovered and its seed brought back to Britain.

The Crystal Palace was so popular it was moved south of the River Thames to Sydenham in 1854. It was sadly destroyed by a fire in 1936.

Souvenir of The Southport Pavilion Winter Gardens

 & Aquarium owned by the author.

(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

The first Winter Garden was built in Southport, Lancashire, on land between the Promenade and Lord Street it's smart shopping street which is said to have inspired the famous Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The Winter Gardens was built by Manchester architects Maxwell and Tuke, who also designed Blackpool Tower, though they both died before it was finished.

Their Winter Gardens opened 150 years ago, in September 1874, and was advertised as 'the largest conservatory in England' and was built between two brick pavilions.

Postcard showing Southport Winter Gardens (right) owned by the author.

(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

There were extensive gardens outside the building and a 170 foot promenade inside where visitors could stroll and admire the indoor planting. There was also a band pavilion, a reading room, a chess room and a conservatory filled with plants and flowers as well as a cascade (waterfall.)

The aquarium had over 20 tanks for fish including sharks and pools for seals and crocodiles.

An opera house was added in 1851 designed by the renowned theatre designer Frank Matcham (he also designed the famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom).

The opera house was destroyed by a fire in 1929 and was replaced by the art deco Garrick Theatre which later became a cinema and then a bingo hall and is now set to be transformed into a fancy spa hotel.

The Garrick Theatre, Southport, was built on the site

of the Southport Winter Gardens Opera House is set to be restored.

(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

Winter Gardens soon followed at Bournemouth and Torquay on the South Coast. 

Southport and Bournemouth Winter Gardens were demolished in the 1930s but the one at Torquay was sold to Great Yarmouth who had the building taken apart and the pieces transported by barge to its new home! 

Now Grade II* listed, the Winter Gardens closed in 2008 but is due to be renovated as it was awarded a Heritage Horizon Award by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Blackpool Winter Gardens features on the cover of Gracie Fairshaw
 and the Missing Reel by Susan Brownrigg (illustration by Jenny Czerwonka)

My latest children's book - Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel is partly set in Blackpool Winter Gardens. The story is set around the filming of a movie in the resort in 1935. The plot was inspired by actress Gracie Fields filming Sing as We Go in the town. In the book, my characters visit the posh Renaissance Restaurant in the Winter Gardens and go to a casting call in the Spanish Hall.

Coronation Street entrance with white faience tiles, to Blackpool Winter Gardens.

 (Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

The Blackpool Winter Gardens opened in 1878 and is also Grade II* listed. Early attractions included gardens and a roller skating rink. 

Early features included a fernery. There is also a horseshoe promenade and the floral hall which has a beautiful glass roof.

Glass roof, Floral Hall, Blackpool Winter Gardens. (Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

The building has had many changes over the years, including three versions of an opera houses (the first was also designed by Frank Matcham).

It is also home to not one, but two Wurlitzer organs!

Wurlitzer organ, Empress Ballroom.
(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

In 1896 a Big Wheel was added to the outside of the building, in the hope it would be a rival attraction to Blackpool Tower. The 'jolly wheel' as it was known locally was closed in 1928 and taken apart. Apparantly the carriages were sold off! A similar one is still going strong in Vienna, Austria and features in the classic 1930s film The Third Man!

Author's paperweight souvenir showing Blackpool Winter Garden's
 Big Wheel. One of the Winter Gardens glass domes is visible on the left of the image.
(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

In the 1930s when other Winter Gardens were being demolished, the one at Blackpool had a makeover. 

J.C Derham was hired to do the construction, while Andrew Mazzei, who worked as an art director for the Gaumont Film Company was responsible for the decoration.

His rooms include the Spanish Hall, the Ye Galleon bar and the Jacobethan style Baronial Hall which look like they have wooden paneling and decoration but are actually made from fibrous plaster - a material used for making film sets and props.

Ye Galleon today (Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

The Baronial Hall is now used as a wedding venue

(Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

Blackpool Council bought the Winter Gardens in 2010 in a £40 million pound deal. They have renovated a lot of the rooms inside which had fallen into disrepair. 

They have made repairs to the Empress Ballroom roof and £1.8 million was spent on restoring the glorious Spanish Hall's roof.

The Spanish Hall's decoration includes depictions of Spanish villages

 in plasterwork. Photo: Susan Brownrigg

Hopefully the Winter Garden's historic Pavilion Theatre will be next to be repaired.

Further up the coast, the surviving part of Morecambe Winter Gardens, originally the Victoria Pavilion Theare, is also currently being restored. 

It is great that these important building are being preserved for the future.

Author Susan Brownrigg in the Empress Ballroom,
Blackpool Winter Gardens during an open day (Photo: Susan Brownrigg)

Susan Brownrigg is the author of the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series set in 1930s Blackpool and Kintana and the Captain's Curse.

FREE RESOURCES: Schools can download free education resources relating to Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel and Susan's other books HERE

Find out more about Susan and her books at susanbrownrigg.com or follow her on socials

Taking inspiration from the history of cinema – by Susan Brownrigg

Where do you get your ideas? For me the things I want to write about are the same things I was passionate about as a child.

I loved daytrips to Blackpool with my family when I was growing up, visiting Blackpool Tower, the Illuminations and its many other attractions. So, it felt right to set my 1930s Gracie Fairshaw mystery series there.

For the third book in the series, Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel (published on World Book Day, March 7^th) I decided to set the story around the filming of a movie in the resort.

I knew that another Gracie, Gracie Fields – the Rochdale born superstar singer and actress had made a film in Blackpool in 1934. In fact, I had watched and studied Sing as We Go as part of my degree in journalism, film & broadcasting as well as writing my dissertation on the actress!

Gracie Fields in a special issue of Picturegoer Magazine about Sing as We Go

(author's photograph)

I loved that the film was shot on location, with key scenes recorded at the Pleasurebeach funfair, the open-air baths, sideshows and the Blackpool Tower circus.

Basil Dean directing Sing as we Go at the open-air baths, Blackpool.

In my book, the cast and crew are recording a fictional thriller called Room for a Traitor, when my heroine, young newspaper reporter, Gracie Fairshaw, learns that an important reel of film has gone missing.

To add authenticity to the film-making scenes, I visited Blackpool Central Library and looked at old copies of the Gazette newspaper on microfiche (as I had with the previous two Gracie books.)

I was able to see the cameras that were used and was intrigued by the fact that Gracie had had a body double/stuntwoman. I went on to learn that Lilian Tollis had been a stage actress herself as well as a dancer, sometimes using the name Zetta Morenta.

Body double/Stunt woman Zetta Morenta had a close resemblance
 to actress Gracie Fields (photo Jackie Settle)

I knew I wanted to include a similar character in my story – but I didn’t know much about stunt work. So, I did more research, reading a number of books on the subject.

I learned that in the early days of moviemaking, the stars often performed their own stunts.

In the silent film era, directors, script writers and performers were often women.

Half of all American films made before 1925 were written by women!

Dramatic serials like the Perils of Pauline were very popular with their cliffhangers, and gutsy heroines.

The female stars often performed their own stunts, with many hired because they were strong swimmers, good at driving motorcars, or were skilled acrobats.

Sometimes stuntwomen were hired, and then became leads themselves, but as the work became better paid, men started to take over – wearing wigs and dresses to look like the stars.

It was said that most stunt workers only lasted five years. Lots were killed or badly injured. For example, in 1929, sixteen men were killed, including three stunt pilots making the film Hell’s Angels!

(Sadly, stunt work is still very dangerous. Actor Rory Kinnear, whose father died in a stunt accident, continues to campaign for better training and awareness of the dangers involved.)

With the introduction of sound, cinema attendance grew and the film making became big business – women were pushed aside, and only certain poorer paid roles were generally deemed suitable for them.

Although Hollywood is often the place we associate with film making, Britain had its own studios, most were in London, but there was a northern company - Mancunian Films based in Manchester who also shot a movie in Blackpool - Holidays with Pay.

In 1927 the Cinematograph Films Act was introduced which insisted that a specific percentage of British produced movies that had to be shown domestically. Unfortunately while some brilliant movies were produced, this led to a lot of poorer quality ones too, dubbed 'Quota Quickies.'

The former Odeon cinema, Blackpool.
It opened in 1939 and had 3,088 seats!

(author's photograph)

Unemployment in the 1930s saw people visiting the cinema as an escape from their worries. Many new cinemas were built, some in exotic architectural styles.

By 1938 there were 4,907 cinemas in the UK and around that same time Blackpool alone had 17! 

Inspiration for two more characters in my book came from a real-life director Alfred Hitchcock and editor/screenwriter Alma Reville. They were married and often worked together on exciting thrillers including the first British made ‘talkie’ Blackmail.

I also enjoyed setting scenes in Blackpool’s stunning Winter Gardens. This Victorian era entertainment complex went through a transformation in the 1930s. New rooms were created that looked like a Spanish village, a pirate ship and a baronial hall! These new designs were created by Andrew Mazzei, who also worked as an art director on British films!

The Spanish Hall, Winter Gardens (photograph Susan Brownrigg)

The climax of Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel takes place on the roof of the Regent Cinema in Blackpool – which still exists today, as well as showing popular classic movies, it also houses an antiques centre. I was lucky to be allowed into the projection room - a real treat for a movie lover like me!

Susan Brownrigg in the projection room, The Regent Cinema,

 Blackpool ( author's photograph)

Lights, camera, action!

A new movie being filmed in Blackpool is a real scoop for trainee reporter Gracie Fairshaw.

When she's invited to interview the star, Sally Sunshine, Gracie uncovers a plot as exciting as the one being filmed. Someone has stolen a vital film reel - and then a vicious attack is attempted on Sally!

In a world of body-doubles, stunts, costumes and makeup, not everything is what it seems.
Gracie must go behind the scenes and work out, which of the cast and crew can;t be trusted before the shoot comes to a thrilling climax at the town's cinema.

Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel is published on Thursday 7th March. You can preorder a signed copy HERE

Susan Brownrigg is the author of the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series and Kintana and the Captain's Curse, a treasure hunt adventure featuring pirates and lemurs!
(UCLan Publishing)

Find out more at susanbrownrigg.com

Your sister, brother, mother and grandmother have confessed to witchcraft - and you must give evidence against them! That's what happened to nine-year-old Jennet Device in 1612.

Jennet was the star witness in one of three cases being tried known collectively as the Lancashire Witch Trials - that took place at the summer assize at Lancaster Castle. 

Lancaster Castle (photo by Susan Brownrigg)

Those accused of witchcraft included a group of twelve people who lived around Pendle Hill, three women from Samlesbury, near Preston, a woman from Padiham. near Burnley and another from Windle, near St Helens.

The accused were kept together in a pitch black dungeon in horrendous conditions without access to lawyers. Coercion and torture were used to extract confessions that could be used as evidence against them - and neighbours and family members were made to testify against them.

PENDLE WITCHES

Jennet's sister, was 19-year-old Alizon Device - she was walking across a field when she came across a peddlar (someone who sells items for a living) called John Law. She asked him for some metal pins - it's unclear if she was begging or wanted to buy them - but he refused her. She was so cross that she cursed him, and soon after he had an attack that caused some kind of paralysis - probably a stroke.

Things quickly snowballed - when Roger Nowell the justice was brought in to investigate, Alizon not only confessed but incriminated other members of her own family and the rival Chattox family.

Nowell quizzed more members of both families.

Alizon's grandmother - known as Old Demdike - admitted she had a familiar or devil spirit called Tib. She also confessed to killing a man and a child - saying that making clay figures was the speediest way to take a man's life away.

Depiction of Old Demdike with familiars

on display at Pendle Heritage Centre

The head of the other family - Anne Whittle, known as Old Chattox also confessed to having a familiar or devil spirit - this one called Fancie. She also said she had killed men and children, making clay images for hurting life and limb - and to bewitching milk and ale and bewitching and killing two cows.

Anne Whittle's daughter Ann Redfearn denied being a witch - but she was sent to face trial alongside the other three women.

Not a week later, on Good Friday,  20 or more supporters of the women gathered for a special meeting at Malkin Tower. It is said they fed on stolen mutton. Nowell heard about it and resumed his investigation - believing it was an example of a witches' sabbath - a Midnight meeting for witchcraft.

Nowell questioned the Device family and Jennet and her brother James incriminated their mother, who confessed to being a witch, having a familiar, making clay figures and killing two men.

James himself confessed to crumbling a clay image of a woman and causing her 'lingering' death after she had accused him of stealing peat for his fire. He also said he had a familiar - Dandie who appeared as a brown dog or hare.

He also said the meeting had been arranged to discuss blowing up Lancaster Castle, murdering the gaoler and freeing the four women imprisoned there.

Statue of Alice Nutter in Roughlee

 (photo by Susan Brownrigg)

Jennet named a number of people at the meeting including Alice Nutter, a gentlewoman (and a Catholic) from nearby Roughlee.

Now Jennet's brother, James, her mother, Elizabeth, Alice Nutter and four others from the meeting were sent to the dungeons at Lancaster Castle to face trial for witchcraft too.

Old Demdike died in the dungeon and her grandson, James was so traumatised that it was said he could neither speak, hear no stand at his trial.

The court proceedings were recorded by the court clerk, Thomas Potts, who later published his account as The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster. 

The accused had no defence lawyer. Jennet was called as a witness - even though she was too young to normally be admissable.

She again incriminated her sister, brother and mother - and identified Alice Nutter as a witch by taking her hand. She described witches mounting ponies and flying into the air.

Jennet's mother was dragged out of court screaming at her daughter and shouting curses at Nowell.

Why did Jennet condemn her family? Historians think having no family to care for her, she was trained so that she would give evidence against those accused.

Some of those accused likely considered themselves witches, the two families may have competed for business. Claiming to have magical powers was a way of bringing in extra money.

King James I, who was on the throne at the time, definitely believed in witches. He was convinced that a coven of Scottish witches had tried to murder him and his wife by causing terrible storms as they travelled by ship from Denmark. He was so convinced by the power of witchcraft that he wrote a book on the subject called Daemonologie.

GUILTY

The judge found all but one of the group guilty. They were sentenced to hang by the neck until they died. The execution took place on Gallows Hill.

No-one knows what became of Jennet Device. 20 years later a Jennet Device was found guilty of witchcraft. Could it have been the same person?

Susan Brownrigg is a Lancashire lass. She is the author of Kintana and the Captain's Curse, and the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series. (Uclan Publishing)

Find out more at susanbrownrigg.com

Pirates! by Susan Brownrigg

My book Kintana and the Captain's Curse is inspired by the 'Golden Age of Piracy' between the 1650s and the 1730s. Many people associate pirates with the Caribbean because of the famous theme park ride and film series - but did you know they also inhabited a small island off the coast of Madagascar!

Ile Sainte Marie - or Nosy Boraha in Malagasy - was home to 1500 pirates at the height of the golden age, and some may even have been buried on the island as the cemetery features headstones engraved with skulls and crossbones!

Pirate cemetery, Ile Sainte Marie, Madagascar

Pirates who stayed on the island include David Williams, Thomas White, John Every, Thomas Tew and best known William Kidd - who inspired the plot of my book.

William Kidd

William Kidd was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1655. He was employed as a pirate hunter but apparently wasn't very good at finding pirates so his crew grew mutinous and forced him to turn pirate! 

Kidd and his crew captured a ship called Quedah Merchant along with her cargo of silks, opium, iron and saltpeter (a vital ingredient in gunpowder) and renamed her The Adventure.

Unfortunately they soon learned that the ship was rotten and leaky so they stripped her of anything valuable then deliberately scuttled (sunk) her off the coast of Madagascar.

Later, Kidd asked the English authorities for a pardon, blaming his crew for his actions. This was granted and he sailed to Boston, America but on arrival he was arrested! Kidd was taken back to England to face trial. The evidence was heard really quickly and he was found guilty of several counts of piracy and of murdering one of his crew.

He was sentenced to hang. On the day of his execution the rope snapped on the first attempt - but the second try was successful. Kidd's body was placed in a gibbet and was placed at the entrance to the River Thames as a warning to others not to turn pirate.

Treasure hunters and divers continue to search around Ile Saint Marie for the wreck of Kidd's ship and any of his booty!

Captain Kidd with his buried treasure
from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates

The second pirate who inspired by book is Blackbeard! Originally from Bristol, Blackbeard's real name is traditionally reported to be Edward Teach although some researchers think it may actually have been Edward Thatch!

His nickname came from his long black beard, which may have reached down to his waist! He used to tie tapers into his beard and hair and light them so smoke would billow around his head during attacks on other ships - making him look terrifying!

In 1718 Blackbeard had accrued a flotilla of ships and he used them to blockade the harbour near Charlestown and during one week he attacked nine ships as they left, and plundered them.

The local governor sent Lieutenant Maynard to capture Blackbeard. Maynard told his men to hide below deck, so when Blackbeard and his crew came on board they ambushed them.

In a man-to-man battle with Maynard, Blackbeard received five gunshots and 25 stab wounds, before he died from his injuries.

After his death, his head was chopped off and hung from his ship as a warning to others not to become pirates. A story began to spread that his headless body had been swimming around his ship looking for his head!

This woodcut from 1725 featured in Charles Johnson's book A General History of the Pyrates features the famous Jolly Roger flag and shows a skull and crossbones.

Charles Johnson's book included lots of stories that may or may not have been true, but which had a big influence on how people think of pirates ever since. It particularly inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island and J M Barrie to write Peter Pan - two very successful pirate books for children.

Individual pirates designed their own flag. Blackbeard was said to use this flag featuring a horned skeleton - perhaps representing the devil - spearing a heart. In his hand is an hour glass. The message seems to be something like Your time is up! You're going to die!

Among the crew named as working for Blackbeard was a pirate called Israel Hands. Israel features in Treasure Island and is thought to be based on a real person.

Israel Hands depicted by Howard Pyle

He is the third pirate who inspired my book. It is said that Blackbeard shot Israel Hands in the knee and when asked why, the captain said "if he did not now and then kill one of them they would forget who he was!"

An injury like that, may well have led to an amputation. Israel was said to have later become a beggar in London - though in my book I have given him a reprieve and he is running a pet shop on Ile Sainte Marie with his daughter Kintana.

WRITING CHALLENGE: A lot of pirate stories feature a hunt for buried treasure - with clues on a map. Can you design your own map? What features will you include? A harbour, a fortress, secret caves? Don't forget to mark a big X where your treasure is located. You can use your map to plot out your own treasure hunt adventure!

Susan Brownrigg is the author of Kintana and the Captain's Curse, and the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series. (Uclan Publishing)

Find out more at susanbrownrigg.com

World Book Day special - The Time Tunnellers step into the shoes of a favourite character

Happy World Book Day everyone!

We’ve got some great news. We’re thrilled to be able to announce that we have a new member of the team!

Author Matt Wainwright

Matt Wainwright, a previous guest poster for the Time Tunnellers is joining us to help dig for the stories in history – and share his love of reading and writing historical fiction for young people.

Matt is the author of the fantastic adventure, Out of the Smoke (Wakeman Trust), which tells the story of young Billy the chimney sweep who, when he finds himself plunged into the criminal underworld of Victorian London, must battle to survive against notorious gang leader, Archie Miller and his friends. Help, when it arrives, comes from a very unexpected source in the shape of the famous educational reformer, Lord Shaftesbury –  the ‘Poor Man’s Earl’. But will Billy’s pride let him accept the offer? And if he turns on Archie, will it mean freedom or certain death?

What’s it like to be joining our merry band, Matt?

'It's an honour! From the first time I saw the Time Tunnellers assemble I was struck by how enthusiastic and knowledgeable you all are. It's a fantastic initiative, sharing your love for history and the stories it contains, and I feel privileged to be a part of it. I'm also excited to share some of the things I've learned - there is so much to discover in the past, and leading children (and adults!) down some of those paths, exploring the nooks and crannies, will be a real joy. Thank you for inviting me into the team!'

Our pleasure!  We’re really looking forward to having you on board too!

In this week’s blog we’re celebrating World Book Day – and Matt’s arrival on the team – by stepping into the shoes of a favourite character in a great historical fiction read for young people. 

Ally Sherrick: Boy in The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
(Published by Chicken House Books)

I studied medieval history at university so it was brilliant to have the chance to travel back to those times again in the company of Murdock’s plucky underdog hero, ‘Boy’. When the story opens it is the year 1350 and Boy is looking after the goats that belonged to the lady of the manor before she was carried off by the plague. Boy is different from other people. He can talk with the animals and birds. But he is also taunted and called ‘Monster’ by his fellow villagers because of the hump on his back. So when a mysterious pilgrim stranger – Secundus – arrives in the village and offers Boy the chance to join him on a quest for seven priceless relics – ‘rib tooth thumb shin dust skull tomb’ – he decides to take the risk and join him.

I loved accompanying Boy as he experienced all the incredible sights, sounds and smells of the places he and his new master encountered on their long journey through France and across the sea to the tomb of St Peter in Rome.  And listening in on the conversations he has with the animals and birds he meets on the way. But it is the special secret he keeps hidden from others and which finally brings him the freedom and happiness he craves which enthralled me the most.

A great read for anyone who enjoys historical stories with a twist of magic realism.

Barbara Henderson: Moss in The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

(Published by Egmont)

I credit two books with sealing my love of historical fiction: Mary Hoffman's Troubadour and this, The Executioner's Daughter. 

The reign of Henry VIII is famous for its many executions - but what if your father is the one whose job it is to do the deed, again and again? Meet Moss. Growing up in the infamous Tower of London with only her taciturn dad for company, she longs to escape. The river flows past, carrying everything away with it - could Moss leave it all behind and find freedom? 

I loved the vivid descriptions of Tudor London, the dangers and secrets Moss has to navigate, and her reluctant friendship with streetwise Salter who survives by thieving. I was with Moss every step of the way, particularly when she realises that there are stranger, deeper powers at work beneath the surface of the Thames. 

My favourite chapter by a country mile was the one about the Frost Fair when the Thames froze over entirely - something that really happened! Moss encounters terrible danger, but so much beauty too. One of those books that stayed with me from the moment I read it almost a decade ago. 

Catherine Randall: ‘Cat’ in The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding (Egmont)

This thrilling adventure story set in and around the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London is narrated by one of the most engaging fictional characters I’ve ever come across. Cat Royal is an orphan who has lived backstage in the theatre ever since she was rescued as a baby by the famous playwright and theatre owner, Mr Sheridan.

As soon as you open the book, you are in Cat’s shoes and completely immersed in the world of late 18th century London. Cat thinks that she is simply guarding a diamond for Mr Sheridan, hidden somewhere in the theatre, but then she becomes friends with the mysterious new Prompt and a talented young African violinist – the new sensation at Drury Lane. It soon becomes clear that much more is at stake than a mere jewel. You experience the sights, smells and characters of Covent Garden market, the backstage of the Theatre Royal and the drawing rooms of Grosvenor Square as if you were there, while Cat and her friends – a wonderful mixture of boys from street gangs and refined young aristocrats – battle to save the ‘diamond’ who is really hiding at the theatre, not to mention their own skins.

This novel is a heady combination of vivid, engaging characters with authentic historical and geographical detail.  

I think Cat is one of the great heroines of modern children’s literature. I couldn't put the book down.

Jeannie Waudby: Ellen in The Secrets Act by Alison Weatherby (Chicken House)

It would be scary but also interesting and exciting to time-travel back to the Second World War in Ellen’s shoes. She is one of two teenage main characters in The Secrets Act. The story begins with her journey to the codebreaking HQ, Bletchley Park, where she is going to become a codebreaker. I once met a 90-year-old lady on a train and she told me she had worked there during the war. When I asked her what she did, she looked at me and said: ‘It was secret.’

I felt the sheer strangeness of this situation through Ellen’s eyes, travelling from Wales on her own, arriving in the pitch dark of the blackout. Everything is strange and even asking questions feels forbidden and dangerous. This is a tense and exciting story – Ellen meets new people; so many of them young. But always there is the question: who can you trust? This story doesn’t glamourize Bletchley Park; in fact in many ways it feels like a hostile environment with threats and dangers lurking round every corner – including the danger of accidentally committing treason. But it’s also a story of true friendship. 

I recommend this book as a thought-provoking journey into a time of war.

Matt Wainwright: Stepping into the shoes of … Sig Andersson in Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Part of me wouldn’t actually enjoy stepping into Sig’s shoes. Throughout most of the book Revolver, Sig is threatened, bullied and held hostage in his family’s remote Alaskan cabin by the enigmatic and seemingly unstoppable Wolff - which would not make for a particularly pleasant experience!

However, Sedgwick wrote the book so well that you can’t help but feel that you’re right there in the scene with the characters. He conjures up the vast frozen wilderness of the far north of turn-of-the-century America in vivid, startling detail: the crack of ice, the buffeting of the wind, the crunch of freshly-fallen snow. You can see every clouded breath, smell the pungent odours of oil and gunpowder and fur, feel the creeping fingers of perpetual winter worming their way through every crevice … It’s a masterclass of description!

And in the end, of course (no spoilers!) Sig learns how to grow beyond his fear and find a way to stage a near-impossible escape. He’s the kind of character I love: one who starts the story as a person we recognise but wouldn’t necessarily want to be, but who gradually becomes someone we can admire. Which just goes to show that, no matter what era they are from, people throughout history are like us in many ways, with so much for us to learn.

Susan Brownrigg: My Friend the Octopus by Lindsay Galvin
(published by Chicken House)

There is something very calming about wandering around an aquarium - the low light, the gentle movement of the fish and it is the perfect place for 12-year-old Vinnie Fyfe to find solace when she is abruptly sent away by her milliner mother to live with her aunt.

Vinnie loves to draw, and she is soon enchanted by the beauty of the aquatic life around her and especially a fascinating new arrival - an octopus! She quickly realises she has a special connection with the cephalopod and that they can communicate using colour.

I was enchanted by the gorgeous descriptions of how the octopus moves and learned lots about these intelligent, powerful creatures.

This wonderful adventure story is set in Victorian Brighton and the aquarium there - the world's oldest - still exists with it's beautiful period arcade having been lovingly restored. 

I loved exploring the aquarium with Vinnie and meeting her new friends - Charlie and Temitayo - who team up to solve a mystery which opens their eyes to cruelty close to home.

This book is so gripping you will think you have been grabbed by a tentacle or eight!

On this week's You Tube video the Time Tunnellers and our guest authors share their recommended historical reads for World Book Day - to watch CLICK HERE!