A remarkable story about a little-known tragedy in Australian history. 'A brilliant and richly evocative insight into a fascinating and little-known aspect of our past.' Jackie French, Australian Children's Laureate It's 1900. thirteen-year-old Issy McKelvie leaves school and starts her first job - very reluctantly - as a maid in an undertaking establishment. She thinks this is about as low as you can go. But there's worse to come. Issy becomes an unwilling rat-catcher when the plague - the Black Death - arrives in Australia. Issy loathes both rats and her father's four yappy, snappy, hyperactive rat-killing terriers. But when her father becomes ill it's up to Issy to join the battle to rid the city of the plague-carrying rats. Ages 10+

 

This book has been graded for interest at 10+ years.

There are 240 pages in this book. This book was published 2014 by HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd .

Pamela Rushby is a well- known, award-winning Australian author. Her YA title When the Hipchicks Went to War won the Ethel Turner Prize in the 2010 NSW Premier's Awards. HCPA published Circles of Stone in 2003 and The Horses Didn't Come Home in 2012. Pam lives in Brisbane.