The Apprentice Thief by Guy Gardner
Norfolk 1890. 14-year-old Sebi and his mother lead an idyllic life on the barges with a travelling community. When they befriend a local man, disaster strikes, and they are forced to leave their community behind to make their way to London. Despite being initially content, they soon struggle to make ends meet and must move to a poorhouse.
Conditions are terrible, and Sebi and his mother are separated, he is beaten by a bully and thief called Moss who is in charge of the children’s section. After Moss attacks and nearly kills him, Sebi knows he must escape, but fate intervenes in the form of charismatic Billy Flinn who releases them and promises them a better life.
After a few weeks it becomes clear that Billy is a thief, and he begins to train Sebi in his arts, mostly working at the Savoy Hotel. One night the unthinkable happens and Sebi’s mother goes missing, with only a bloody handprint left to give any clue what happened.
Sebi escapes from the controlling Billy and begins a desperate search around London. Finally, his search takes him on a dangerous journey to Bombay and a past he never knew he had. After coming up against the British Army and the East India Trading Company, Sebi realises there are secrets people will kill to protect. Will he be able to unravel his past and find his mother before it’s too late?
About the author
Guy Gardner is a professional jazz pianist, and has played both at home and around Europe in venues such as The National Theatre, Pizza Express Soho, the 02 and The Royal Albert Hall. Having earned his degree in Music at Dartington College of Arts, he went on to gain a PGCE in teaching, which he used to teach in a prison for a time. Currently, he combines his writing with teaching piano in Dorset, where he lives with his wife, two young sons and dog. He is working on two more novels.
Review
This is the second book that I have read by the author and it was just as enjoyable. The first was his debut ‘The Mirror Game’ which was set between the wars and dealt with the issues of trauma and the repercussions of the war. ‘The Apprentice Thief’ takes up back a bit more into the Victorian age and examines a mother and son relationship, the issues of poverty, manipulations and relations between the British and English in India. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for his future books!
Sebi and his mother lead an idyllic life on the waterways in Norfolk as part of a travelling community. When a horrible incident takes place they are forced to leave their community and make their way to London. They soon fall into abject poverty and are forced to enter the poor house. Sebi and his mother are separated, and Sebi is beaten and bullied by a member of the staff Moss. After a dreadful attack Sebi knows he must escape but help arrives in the form of Billy Flinn who takes Sebi and his mother out of the poor house. They are grateful but soon realise they Billy is a thief and accepts them to embrace and help them in his nefarious schemes. One night the unthinkable happens and Sebi’s mother goes missing. Sebi’s life mission becomes to find her. His search takes him on a dangerous journey to India and he realises that he needs to unravel his past to find his mother.
I really liked Sebi as a character. He is young and naive at the start of the book but also is a lot older than his age suggests. As we see him struggle he becomes aware of his strength and he grows into a well-balanced young man. Although, he is lost as until he finds his mother he can't really begin to start his own story and life. I wish there had been more exploration of his time in India but that's just my love for that country coming through. I really enjoyed that section of the book and it was packed full of adventure and revelations!
This was a quick read and I read it in a couple of sittings. Sebi’s story was engrossing and I was eager to find out how his story was resolved. The locations were extremely well written and I would read more about Sebi’s life!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
