September 2019, Gomer Press, 231 pages, Paperback,
Book summary from the press release
Kit is a thief and
would-be actor in eighteenth century London, trying to save the life of his
beloved Gabe. Forced into stealing a magical medieval book from wicked Lord Colewich,
he flees the city, travelling as far as Bath in the guise of an apprentice
puppeteer. Yet danger awaits at every turn, both inside and outside the book.
Can Kit trust any of his new travelling companions with its unbelievable
secrets? Has the appearance of a comet created a magical link between 1759 and
1456? Most of all, can Kit save his friends in the village he now thinks of as
home?
Nayu's thoughts
The extra observant among you will notice I haven't graded this review: this is because it isn't a review! As fun as Ruth's novel sounds, it currently isn't my type of read, yet I wanted to take part in the tour because I have read similar time travel books in the past and know some of you like them. Ruth has kindly written a guest blog post to entice you even further to read her novel - I like the unique way she chatted about Kit! I hope you do too.
Find out more about Ruth on Twitter.
What do they think of Kit? Interviewing characters from The Comet and the Thief by Ruth Morgan
 |
| Meet Ruth! |
Kit is the ‘thief’ of the title: The Comet and
the Thief. He has never wanted to be a
thief and would dearly love to change his career. But what do the other characters in the story
think of him? To some, he is a godsend. Others are not so sure. And there are
those who wonder if he is even flesh and blood…
Saroni – a puppeteer from 1759
Ah Kit? I call him my little Angelo and it suits him better, yes? A good boy, a hard worker and so good at the
girl and boy voices when we put on a show.
He picks up the story quickly and adds lines of his own when he is
playing Columbina. The audiences love it;
he gets molto applause when I call
him out from behind the stage at the end. The only problem is all this Bible
studying the rest of the time. He never goes anywhere – anywhere – without that bag on his shoulder and the Bible inside.
I’ve known him hire a room in some tavern for an hour just to be on his own
with it and is that natural for a boy his age, you think? He told me about the preacher who died in London,
who made him promise to study it, so he could be a preacher one day too, but I
think all this studying makes him sad. Why not settle for the life of an actor,
I tell him? This is the life for you,
entertaining an audience! To speak truth, I would not want to lose him, I am
not getting any younger and it was a blessing the day he turned up to help
me. All I’ve made him promise is he won’t
ever run out on me. If he does that, I never will forgive him…
Zannah – a village girl from 1456
Verily is Kit the only
friend I have, besides Grandda of course.
Every other soul hath turned agin me and do call me witch now openly.
Worst among them is that Meggy Baker, the hedge-born ronyon! They all blame me
for the storms which lately plague our village, but how can I be to blame? I feel unsafe here and so am glad to speak to
my dear friend, unburden myself to him. Yet secretly do I fear at times, when
Kit doth appear in the mirror beside our cottage door. I ask myself, can he really be made of
flesh-and-blood, or be he rather some demon come in the guise of a boy for to
trick me? More than all else, when he says how mayhap he can find some way to
visit me, my heart quickens apace, and I cannot help but wonder what kind of
being my friend Kit really is?
Daniel Price – a cattle drover from 1759
See, ‘tis usual for
young gentleman to travel to and from London in the company of drovers like
us. Safer than travelling alone, what
with all the highwaymen and footpads roaming this land. ‘Tis why I can’t quite
make Kit out. What was he doing in the
middle of no-where, sick and alone?
Truth is, I doubt his own explanation, how he became separated from his
actor friends upon leaving Bath. Why did
he not stick to the road? He’s a pleasant enough lad, polite and grateful for
all the help he’s been given. Yet I feel he is keeping some secret and ‘tis
something to do with what’s in that bag that never leaves his side. William John told me ‘tis some old book, if
you please! He spotted Kit in the act of
replacing it in the bag one morning when we were packing up ready to move on. When
Kit saw him watching, he turned his back to hide what he was up to. It troubled
me to hear that. I feel I should keep a sharper eye on young Kit from now on…
Meggy – a village baker from 1456
His name is Kit, sayest
thou? No, I’ll not own to knowing a Kit.
There’s none by that name in this village and where else would I have
met him? He hath been speaking to me in
a scrying mirror? Why, I’ll not own to that.
It do sound more like witchcraft, more like what that bold wench Zannah
would be getting up to in Awl Robin’s cottage by the edge of the wood. There’s summat wrong with this village, an’
it’s getting worse, with these storms blowing up outta no-where. And my poor niece
Alys’ wedding just round the corner? I
wouldn’t put it past that jealous Zannah to conjure up some demon named Kit for
to spoil the wedding. Everyone here knows how she did take a fancy to the farm
servant Col when he first come here, until he settled upon my Alys in place of
her. So do not ask me about any Kit. Fie
upon him, I never saw him and would not welcome any such stranger here!
Lord Colewich – from 1759
Did you say…Kit? You know of his whereabouts? Yes, yes, of course I know who you mean
although he is nothing but a cheat and a common thief, hardly someone a
respectable person would wish to meet. When I first set eyes upon that hateful little
wretch, he was duping my good but misguided friend Mr Steen, deceiving him into
parting with his money. After that, he
had the sheer effrontery to break into my house by night and steal a very
valuable book, not valuable in money terms you understand but in sentiment. You
will be interested to hear, there is a handsome reward to anyone who has information
which would lead to him being found: a purse of gold sovereigns. On the other hand, a miserable fate awaits
anyone who knows where he is and chooses not to tell. I’m sure I need not go into detail about how
exactly I would make that person suffer. So now we understand one another,
think carefully before you give your answer: have you seen Kit?
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