Fagin’s Girl

Karen McCombie's Fagin's Girl is a short, gripping story for 10 year olds about a girl who has to pass as a boy to survive in the poorest corners of old London.

What happens

It's Ettie's birthday when things start to go wrong. Her big brother Joe comes home with a back full of bruises from his boss at the brewery stables. Then he storms out and doesn't come back.

Over the next few months life gets much harder. Ettie ends up on her own, trying to earn a coin by sweeping the road clear for rich ladies to cross (not one of them pays her).

Then someone calls her Bean. It's Joe! He's working for a man called Mr Fagin now, who he says deals in second-hand things. So Ettie pulls on a pair of breeches, stuffs her braids under a cap and goes with him as his little brother.

You might recognise Mr Fagin and his gang of boys from Oliver Twist. Your reader doesn't need to know Dickens at all, though. This is Ettie's story, told by her, so you feel every scare about being found out.

The little details are what bring it to life. Ettie knows how to make fabric flowers for ladies' bonnets. She hauls water from the standpipe and mends handkerchiefs in a wash-house on a rooftop, where you can see all the way to St Paul's. And who could guess where all those handkerchiefs come from? (Ettie doesn't, at first.)

There's also a section at the end with the real history behind each chapter, which is great for a child who likes to ask questions.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

It's a sad book in places. Ettie's mother falls ill and dies early on, and Ettie mentions three older brothers and sisters who died as babies before she was born. Later a gentleman beats her with his cane in the street.

A child who finds loss or cruelty upsetting might want to share this one with you. If your reader already loves stories set in the past, they'll probably find it gripping rather than grim, and Ettie is brave and kind all the way through.

What to read next

If they'd like another McCombie girl who won't do as she's told, try The Girl with Her Head in the Clouds. Dolly Shepherd stands on a shed roof with an upside-down umbrella and takes a step into thin air in the very first chapter.