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Children of the Mine" - A spellbinding Tale of Courage and Adventure set in Victorian Northern England. Published on the anniversary of the Miners’ Strike
Author: Jacqueline Baxter (Dr)
Immerse young readers in life during the Industrial Revolution with Jacqueline Baxter's novel, "Children of the Mine." Set to captivate the hearts and minds of children aged 8 to 11, this engaging story is not only a gripping adventure but also an illuminating glimpse into the working lives of children during the Victorian age, aligning perfectly with Key Stage 2 of the local history curriculum. It is now on sale at The National Coalmining Museum for England.
Full synopsis
It was Tim’s 9th birthday, and he’d finally be joining his brother, sister, and dad down the pit. Working down the deepest, most dangerous coal mine in the Northeast of England was his worst nightmare. Especially remembering the horrible stories his sister told him. But thirteen-hours of sitting in the dark don't seem so bad once he makes friends with orphans, Jonnie, and his sister Evie.
But Jonnie isn’t who they think he is and Tim’s sister, Daisy, when harnessed to a coal truck and forced to pull 30 kilos of coal, rebels, setting in motion a disaster that changes their lives forever. The children, forced to flee the mine, set off on the road to London. But unbeknown to them, Annie and Geordie Giles, the worst bullies in the mine, are hard on their heels, desperate to avenge the death of their mother, Martha.
From the darkness of the Skry pit to the treacherous road to London town, Children of the Mine follows the story of a group of children at the height of the industrial revolution, whose lives were dictated by poverty, and the greed of the mine owners. As they make their way through Victorian England, they find that some things are worse than the pit…
Readership
Baxter's narrative is a testament to the resilience, camaraderie, and indomitable spirit of children facing the overwhelming odds of a society divided by poverty and greed. "Children of the Mine" not only offers a window into the struggles of the past but also serves as an inspiring reminder of the power of friendship and the pursuit of justice.
Don't miss the opportunity to embark on this journey through darkness to light, "Children of the Mine" is available now in bookstores and online at: https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/young-children/children-of-the-mine
For further information, review copies, interviews, workshops or bookshop signings please contact: Jacqueline Baxter: drjacbaxter@gmail.com
About the author
Jacqueline Bellew is a children’s author and academic and lives in a small village in Bedfordshire with her partner Robert, and their animals: Bonnie and Bluebell the hens; Nessa, Daisy, Winnie and Monty Don, their four cats. She is the mother of 3 grown up boys (none of them have ever worked down a mine, thankfully !).
She started writing about mining after finding out that all of her ancestors were miners in a small village called Seaham Colliery in the North of England. As a child she visited mining museums all over the country and was horrified to learn about the conditions in mines, and the fact that children worked from such a young age. Her most recent research into the working lives of children in Victorian times, has taken her to London and the hopping fields of Kent, as she continues children of the mine’s story in the next book in the series Children of the City: Life and work in Victorian London.
For author talks
you can contact her at : drjacbaxter@gmail.com
Children of the Mine (book 1)
Working down the mine was Tim’s worst nightmare but making friends with Jonnie and Evie made him think that maybe working down the deepest, most
dangerous pit in England wouldn’t be half as bad as the dream he’d had last night. After all, if his brother and sister had done it for this long surely it couldn’t be that bad?
But Jonnie isn’t who they think he is and when the children are forced to flee the mine, their village and families, the dark curse of Bankside Mine seems to follow them.
Set in 1839, just before The Children’s Act forbade children under 13 to work for 12 hours a day in the dark, the book tells the story of the children’s first terrible day down the pit and the disaster that forces them to run for their lives.
The second book in the series takes the children into the darkness of Victorian London. As the wagon slips into London under cover of darkness the streets of the city are a far cry from anything they ever experienced in their small Northern village. But when Daisy goes missing her friends are not the only ones looking for her; the curse of Bankside mine looks set to follow them, as they suffer what life has to throw at them as paupers in the Victorian city.
Children of the City: Life and work in Victorian London
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‘Why must I sit behind the door So many hours away from you,
And hear the putters shout and roar And naught but shut and open do?’
- The Trapper’s Petition
(from The Pit Children by Eric Forster)
Today there are over 115 million children working in dangerous conditions worldwide. Many are less than ten years old. –: UNICEF
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This book is dedicated to children past and present whose childhoods have been lost to poverty and the greed of others.
Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice’- Nelson Mandela
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