The Great Theatre Rescue

There is a wonderful Dickensian flavour to the opening of this, the latest hugely enjoyable historical adventure from Judith Eagle.  We have a foundling baby rescued from the River Thames and a generous benefactor, unaware that he is being spied upon. Fast forward forty years  to 1930 and we learn that the baby, Toby, was indeed brought up by Mr Tim and has now taken over the running of the tiny Wren Theatre  in Soho when Mr Tim retired to Ireland. Toby has a daughter, Charley,  who has grown up behind the scenes in the theatre, treating the company as her second family. She is about to make her dancing debut on stage when she is struck down by stage fright, but this huge disappointment soon becomes the least of her worries. Her father has to deal with an emergency in Ireland and leaves her in the care of their landlady, who is then incapacitated by a fall, and an aunt she has never met turns up to take charge. Discovering the theatre is in difficulties, the aunt sends Charley away to a boarding school that she saw advertised. The school turns out to be nothing more than a cruel workhouse run by thieves and Charley decides to escape, with the help of a new friend, and her determination to save the theatre she loves. But after a long and difficult journey she finds it in darkness. Is she too late and can her new friend be trusted or has she been betrayed? She comes up with a wonderful scheme to save the theatre, but will the machinations of a mysterious Fagin like character, who has been in the background since the story began, be able to defeat her? All the elements of this intriguing mystery are satisfactorily and credibly resolved and Charley even learns to overcome her performance fears. She is a great character, both flawed and relatable and the reader cannot help but be swept along by her exuberance, determination and resilience. There is a great cast of supporting characters too, and a moving journey to accepting friendship for the motherless only child, Charlie.  This is a book which skilfully transports the reader to a vividly evoked setting with brilliant historical detail. We get a real feel for London in the 1930’s, an exciting period of  social change, and can delight in the atmosphere of  Theatreland and the Jazz Age.