The miserable, claustrophobic details of Bess's existence are enhanced by striking black and white illustrations. This gripping, historical mystery is tinged with fantasy elements that contrast with the brutal, daily grind of child labour in an 18th century industrial setting. But is the creature really a threat or is it just as much a prisoner as Bess herself? And this time there's no escape as her contract makes her the property of the mill company until she's 21.Īs her desperation to break free reaches a peak, so does her fear of the gruesome creature that lives in the millpond. Her new reality is fleabites, cold porridge and tales of a monster mermaid. She couldn't wait to make a fresh start somewhere new.īut the feather bed and roast beef dinners she'd been promised were a lie. Bess thought signing up to work in a cotton mill in the north of England would be a welcome escape from the cruel, austere London workhouse where she'd lived since her Ma died.
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