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The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott

E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
288 Seiten
Englisch
Little Tiger Presserschienen am07.07.2022
Living among the flowers and ferns of Kew Gardens, Katy has always dreamed of more - of the sky and the stars and the sea. Unfortunately for Katy, her father doesn't understand. He says young girls should be content to stay at home, not go off gallivanting around the world. So when news reaches London of a meteorite falling in the faraway land of Brazil and an expedition being put together to find it, Katy knows it's her chance to follow her dreams and prove her father wrong. And winning a place on the trip is just the start of her extraordinary voyage on the trail of a fallen star... A thrilling historical adventure from the author of THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN WONDERS, perfect for fans of Katherine Woodfine, Lucy Worsley, Jennifer Bell and Robin Stevens Praise for?THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY: 'Touching on issues of class and gender, its main purpose is to bewitch and enthral.' -?Financial Times 'A perfectly paced and wonderfully written tale of mystery and magic.' - Sinéad O'Hart, author of?THE EYE OF THE NORTH?and?THE STAR-SPUN WEB

Sharon Gosling is the award-winning author of middle grade novels THE DIAMOND THIEF and THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY, as well as YA horror FIR, which was shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year 2017. Sharon lives in a small village near Carlisle, in Cumbria. @sharongoslingmehr
Verfügbare Formate
TaschenbuchKartoniert, Paperback
EUR10,50
E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
EUR9,59

Produkt

KlappentextLiving among the flowers and ferns of Kew Gardens, Katy has always dreamed of more - of the sky and the stars and the sea. Unfortunately for Katy, her father doesn't understand. He says young girls should be content to stay at home, not go off gallivanting around the world. So when news reaches London of a meteorite falling in the faraway land of Brazil and an expedition being put together to find it, Katy knows it's her chance to follow her dreams and prove her father wrong. And winning a place on the trip is just the start of her extraordinary voyage on the trail of a fallen star... A thrilling historical adventure from the author of THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN WONDERS, perfect for fans of Katherine Woodfine, Lucy Worsley, Jennifer Bell and Robin Stevens Praise for?THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY: 'Touching on issues of class and gender, its main purpose is to bewitch and enthral.' -?Financial Times 'A perfectly paced and wonderfully written tale of mystery and magic.' - Sinéad O'Hart, author of?THE EYE OF THE NORTH?and?THE STAR-SPUN WEB

Sharon Gosling is the award-winning author of middle grade novels THE DIAMOND THIEF and THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY, as well as YA horror FIR, which was shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year 2017. Sharon lives in a small village near Carlisle, in Cumbria. @sharongosling
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9781788954693
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatEPUB
Format HinweisePub Wasserzeichen
FormatE101
Erscheinungsjahr2022
Erscheinungsdatum07.07.2022
Seiten288 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Artikel-Nr.12814426
Rubriken
Genre9201

Inhalt/Kritik

Leseprobe



Next morning, Katy, Mary, Grandpa Ned and Edie left Rose Cottage while the dew was still pooling on the blades of grass beneath their feet. Together, they set off across the lawns of Kew.

Thank you for letting me stay, Mrs Willacott, Edie said with a yawn.

You re welcome, my dear. Mary Willacott smiled. Although I m not sure your mother would have approved if she d known you were going to spend most of the night on our roof. Did the two of you get any sleep at all?

Oh, it was worth it, Edie said. Watching the Perseid meteor shower with Katy is always an adventure! I can put up with no sleep for one night a year to see all those shooting stars.

It doesn t have to just be one night a year, Katy pointed out. It ll be going for another few weeks. The shower isn t even at its strongest yet. That s always spectacular. You should stay another night, Edie.

Edie laughed. Oh, I don t think so. I do need some sleep!

The two girls hugged goodbye at the point where the meandering paths through Kew went in different directions. Katy waved as Grandpa Ned and Edie disappeared into the trees, heading towards the village that stood on the outskirts of the park, while she and her mother made their way to the herbarium.

I m so glad that you and Edie have stayed friends for so long, Katy, Mary Willacott said as they walked.

Me too, said Katy. Althoughâ¦

Her mother looked down at her. Although what?

Katy sighed. We used to always think the same about everything. But now we don t. Edie doesn t seem to want to do anything with her life, Mama. She just wants to grow up, get married and have children.

Her mother lifted one arm and slipped it across Katy s shoulders, pulling her daughter to her side as they walked. My darling, that sounds to me as if she s got something very significant indeed that she wants to do with her life.

But it s so ⦠boring, Katy protested.

You might find you feel differently as you get older, Katy, her mother said as they walked on. And you must try to understand that not everyone wants the same things that you do. Edie wanting to be a wife and mother doesn t make her interests any less important than yours. You re just growing up to be different people, that s all. It doesn t mean you shouldn t stay friends, just that you re becoming yourselves.

But-

Mrs Mary Willacott?

A figure had appeared on the path in front of them, a smiling young woman with a freckled face and snub nose beneath bright brown eyes. She didn t look much older than Stefan. Her auburn hair was cropped scandalously short to curl around her ears. She was dressed in a man s white shirt and a tan-coloured waistcoat, which were worn beneath a fustian jacket of nut brown and paired with trousers of coarse twill that were tucked into a pair of battered leather boots. In one hand she held a notebook and pencil, and in the other was the strap of the battered leather satchel that was slung over her left shoulder. She looked sturdy, dependable and ready for anything. Katy liked her immediately.

You must be Miss Francesca Brocklehurst, said Mary Willacott.

Oh, it s just Fran, Fran said with a wide smile as she reached out to shake Mary Willacott s hand. Francesca always sounds as if I should be wielding a lace bobbin rather than a pen. And who wants to be a miss when you could be a hit ?

It s nice to meet you, Fran, Katy s mother said warmly. This is my daughter Katy. I thought you might like to talk to her too as she s recently begun her own training in botany. I should add that she s an avid reader of your articles.

Fran turned to Katy with an even wider smile, and Katy felt her stomach turn over in a fit of nerves. Well! the journalist exclaimed. A reader, how wonderful. It s lovely to meet you, Katy.

Katy meant to say sensible things like hello and it s good to meet you and I m such an admirer of your work, but instead what came out of her mouth was:

I thought you d be older!

Fran laughed. A lot of people say that.

Come on, said Mary Willacott. Let s head inside and Katy and I can give you the tour.

The herbarium at Kew was in Hunter House, an imposing three-storey building of red brick that had been completely given over to the storage of the gardens specimen collection.

The collection has grown so much in recent years that a whole new wing had to be built, Mary Willacott told Fran as they entered the building. It opened last year.

My goodness, Fran Brocklehurst said as they walked into the main part of the herbarium. She stopped on the threshold, looking around. How magnificent.

The three floors of the building had been opened up - from the floor where they stood it was possible to see right up to the angular space of the roof, with wide balconies surrounding the central space.

This is where we house the main collection, said Mary Willacott as they walked into the airy building, full of desks where the herbarium s botanists worked and cabinets that housed the collections. The new wing is arranged like this too. We also have a wonderful library of botanical books, some really quite old and rare, to help us with our work. There would usually be more people here but as it s Saturday we ve got the place to ourselves.

Fran stepped forwards, running her hands along the edge of one of the desks. Can you explain your work to me in a way that will help my readers understand exactly what it is that you do? she asked.

Well, said Mary Willacott. Why don t you come upstairs and I ll show you one of the most recent specimens I ve worked on as an example?

Katy s mother led the way to a spiral staircase that joined the herbarium s floors together and they all trooped up it, their shoes clanging on the metal steps as they went.

At its most basic, a herbarium can be described as a library for the world s plants, Mary Willacott explained. We have collections that were assembled over the years by gentlemen such as Mr William Hooker, who became the director of Kew Gardens in 1841, and the botanists Doctor Bromfield and Mr George Bentham. We also take in specimens sent to us from expeditions exploring the many regions of the globe, and we swap with other herbaria too, like the one at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.

They reached the second floor and Katy s mother led them into one of the little rooms, where a desk stood with several large, flat wooden crates set atop it.

The point of the herbarium, Mary Willacott went on, is to assemble as complete a collection of examples of the world s plants as possible. Every time an expedition goes out, a member collects examples of plants found during the trip. When they return, they send those here to Kew so that we can preserve and store them properly.

Why is that important? Fran asked. Why do we need such a library?

Well, said Katy s mother. Besides adding to humanity s scientific knowledge about the Earth, it also means we have an amazing resource for research. We have seeds here from plants that were found on the other side of the globe that we can then try to cultivate here at Kew. Many of the garden s most exotic plants have been grown in this way.

Have you ever gone out on an expedition yourself? Fran asked.

Mary Willacott laughed quietly. That s not really an opportunity available to me.

Fran frowned. But there are women in the field, aren t there? I m sure I ve come across some in my research. Amalie Dietrich, for example, whose specimens of Australian wood won prizes at the Paris International Exhibition in 1867?

That s true, Katy s mother agreed. Ms Dietrich s work is exemplary - we have some of her specimens here at Kew, in fact. But she is still an exception. Women don t usually form part of an official expedition. They re more likely to be travelling with their husbands and helping where they can.

Right, said Fran. She looked at Katy and made a comical face. Katy grinned. She could tell that Fran Brocklehurst wouldn t want to spend her time waiting at home to be sent specimens to look after. She would want to be out...

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