by Caroline Lawrence
Published by Orion Children's Books, 2012
My daughters and I are huge fans of Caroline Lawrence's wonderful series, The Roman Mysteries, and I was delighted to read her latest book - The Sewer Demon - which is pitched at a slightly younger audience.
Threptus is a young beggar boy from the Roman port of Ostia who has become "apprenticed" to a self-proclaimed soothsayer named Floridius, who works on the shady side of legal trading. What starts off as a simple shopping trip leads Threptus through a frightening journey into the sewers and the chance to solve a mystery involving a suspected demon in the sewer of a Roman lady's house. It is crammed full of fascinating information about life in Roman times, especially toilets and the dreaded sponge stick, and will appeal to children aged 7+, or to even younger confident readers.
Mild peril, fast-paced adventure, oodles of lavatorial humour and bravery permeate the whole book, and it is destined to become a firm favourite for any child with an interest in history, the Romans or who just wants a really, really fun book to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed it even if I am 48 :-)
3 comments:
I might read it :) I used to love Rosemary Sutcliffe's books. I'm afraid though when I read this title I thought it was sewing demon and didn't want to actually read the review!
I really enjoyed it. It is a quick read, 102 pages, with frequent giggle moments.
If you have even a passing interest in Roman sewers or toilet habits, this is a must-read ! Or if you are a child under 12, for whom lavatorial humour is also perennially fascinating.
I seem to fall into both categories :-)
Oooh, that sounds lovely indeed!
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