Joe Rat

Marketed as a rollicking adventure, this is in fact a much darker story of child exploitation in the Victoria era. Joe is a ‘tosher’, who goes down into the sewers to scavenge for anything of value. But the two guineas he owes for the tools of the trade to Mother, a fearsome creation, never seem to be within his grasp, and he lives in fear of Billy and the bullying gangs who regularly relieve him of his finds. Unbeknown to Mother or Billy, Joe has a small amount of his finds stashed away among the tombstones in the garden of a large house supposedly inhabited by a madman. While escaping from Billy he rescues Bess, brought to the city by her mother to be sold, and together they flee to this old house. He and Bess in turn rescue the madman and make their way back to her home where having left her, Joe finds she needs rescuing again.

This is a very well told and quite gripping story of the underside of Victorian life, a tale of poverty and hunger in which children are used by grasping and greedy adults. Joe is a spunky hero and Bess is equal to him in courage and character, especially as it is her mother who betrays her trust. The Dickensian feel is emphasised by descriptions of Mother and her criminal network, and the awful living and working conditions. The maps and illustrations were absent from the proof copy which I read but the maps particularly would add immeasurably to the story.

Mark Barratt’s background is drama and this shows in the way the scenes are set and the story unfolds. Although this is a very good novel not obviously written for the screen, there is no doubt it would make a very good film!