ACandle in the Dark

A fast-moving plot makes this exciting and involving reading and over-shadows the issue of child labour reform in the mines and factories of the last century, which lies at the core of the intrigue and action. Two Bradford pit-brats, Trapper Joe and Workhouse Jimmy, discover the cruel secret of the crumbling, closed shaft and put themselves in mortal peril at the hands of the fierce collier Padgett, the unscrupulous owner Rawdon and a host of other fortune-hunting heavies. Their only source of aid could be Mr. Croft, the reformer, but they have never seen him and to reach him they must endure intense physical suffering and deprivation on their desperate journey to London. A very worthwhile book for any reader who condemns any read with even a shred of sentimentality.