Rose Campion and the Curse of the Doomstone

This rollicking read is a corker of a page turner. It is the second instalment about Rose Campion, a feisty teenage girl, who lives a music hall life having been abandoned on the steps of the Campion Music Hall as a baby. Thomas, the owner of the Music Hall took her in and has been bringing her up ever since along with Aurora (Rory) and Effie. Rory was rescued from the clutches of her blackmailing Aunt and has recently been found by her real father.  Effie and her mother had been forced into working for a notorious gang of pickpockets but Effie’s mother was wrongly accused of stealing a watch, found guilty and sent to Holloway.

The girls are firm friends, like sisters really, but there are lots of challenges to test their friendship in this exciting book. It’s a fast paced mystery story which centres on the mysterious disappearance of the doomstone belonging to an up and coming glamorous actress Lydia. However as most of the action takes place in the music hall there is a great flavour of Victorian entertainment too including the ‘Illustrious Gandini’ – a magician – who enlists Effie to be his assistant during the story and many other acts including one from the girls themselves.

There is plenty of intrigue, twists and turn and the characters are really well drawn. The writing draws you in and sets up plenty of questions. There is suspense, there is also much sadness – we’re not spared the harsh realities of Victorian life. There is great depth to the depiction of Victorian London – mention of ‘dippers’, reforming Prison wardens, the ‘blues’ and oysters served in the music hall all make for an atmospheric read. Particularly great for something different if you are learning about Victorians in primary school as there are real music hall actors/actresses too and it would be a really fabulous way in to learning more about these popular primary school topic.

This is the first Rose Campion novel I’ve read, but I like the characters and the book so much I’m now reading the first one in the series so I can find out how it all began.