The Gypsy Crown
By Kate Forsyth
Published by Scholastic
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Emilia's grandmother has told her the Romany legend of five powerful charms.
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Children's Book review
Emilia's grandmother has told her the Romany legend of five powerful charms, once together, now scattered: “if only the charms could be together again, better days will come”.
Emilia and Luka certainly need better days; their gypsy family is incarcerated, threatened with hanging under the draconian laws of Cromwell's protectorate and his ruthless henchman is hot on their trail.
With a monkey, a horse and a dancing bear, they're terrifyingly easy to find. Constantly on the run, it's a race against time to unite the charms – and save their family.
This absorbing slice of 17th Century England is a whirlwind of fiercely independent gypsy families, Royalist plotters and hairsbreadth escapes, underscored by a darker exploration of the horrors of religious and racial persecution.
Reading age: 10+
Interest level: 10+
