A Twist of Fortune

Sam Pargeter and his younger brother and sister have always been poor. But, in their tiny house in the country, with Ma and Pa, they were one big happy family. Until Pa goes off to America to seek their fortune and Ma dies. Then the Pargeter children find themselves whisked off to live with a strange aunt and uncle, and are put to work - just like Oliver Twist in their favourite book.

But this is only the start of the twists and turns their lives will take. Sam, Eliza and Alfie make their way all over London and then beyond, in search of their only remaining member of family: a rich grandfather they have never known . . .

Set in Victorian London, Barbara's latest historical novel sees the Pargeter family rapidly descend into poverty, just like Sam's favourite book Oliver Twist. With a series of adventures, meeting Charles Dickens along the way, Sam and his brother and sister finally come to the one person who can help.