The Last Boy

The Last Boy opens with Brewster, a small boy of six, being sold by his family to Master Sweep, a classic fictional villain. However herein lies the first grim discovery for any young reader – whilst this account has been fictionalised, this is the true story of George Brewster. He really was sold and, unlike so many of his peers, is a child chimney sweep remembered in history: he became the last ever.

The continuing story describes the stark reality of Brewster’s daily life, sparing young readers little in the descriptions of the ways in which this shocking sale would alter the course of his life. We learn quickly of the physical disfiguration caused by his occupation; we learn too of the squalid conditions in which the child chimney sweeps lived and can quickly dismiss any notions of empathy or investment in this youngster’s clear thirst for knowledge. Hope comes only in Brewster’s belief that there is to be a ‘storm of stars’ – one significant enough to fulfil his greatest wish, that he should be the last boy to suffer this existence.

Whilst The Last Boy is a tale worth telling, and would work well to complement a study of the Victorian era, the story has to come with a cautionary warning. It is well written, and yet the gut-wrenching and brutal reality that Brewster faces make this an unlikely choice for children at the lower end of this age bracket, while the language itself provides insufficient challenge for older readers. Further to this, whilst the story is founded on real-life accounts, a number of key historical details have been altered – for instance the events have been moved to Ireland. Such anomalies in both detail and determining an audience, coupled with this being an uncomfortable selection for reading for pleasure, limit the story’s potential.