The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson

If you have an interest in history and an interest in medicine, this book will definitely appeal to you!  I found it to be easily accessible and a pleasure to read

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London, 1854

“Eel” and his younger brother Henry have lost their father and then a few years later their mother.  Before she passed away, she made the unfortunate decision to marry “Fisheye” Bill Tyler as her second husband. Little did she know Bill wanted the boys as beggars. “Eel” fled his nasty stepfather with Henry when his mother died. “Fisheye” Bill has been on the lookout ever since.

Eel received his nickname because he is so fast and can usually flee from pick pockets and other less than desirable street people. Eel has to come up with money each week to pay for Henry’s keep and schooling.

Eel has a few jobs. He is known as a “mudlark”- a boy who scavenges the mudflats of the Thames River which flows through London for bits of reusable coal, metals, and anything else he can sell. Mudlarks are often easy prey for criminal types. Eel also works at the Lion Brewery- sweeping their floors and for a Dr. Snow- cleaning the cages of his experiment animals and feeding them.

Eel’s life and those in the area of London where he works and lives takes a most serious turn when The Great Trouble- blue cholera- begins to strike.

Eel’s ability to earn enough money for Henry’s keep is also in jeopardy when he is accused of stealing from his boss at the Lion Brewery. How will he clear his name? How will he be able to pay Mrs. Miggle for Henry’s lodging and schooling?

How will The Great Trouble- the cholera epidemic-- be solved with El’s help?

This story and the eventual solving of the cause of cholera are based on historical fact.