Menace and mystery lie in wait on a young girl's courageous journey of discovery in this powerful work of historical literary fiction. An advert in the Calcutta Gazette is looking for an apprentice draughtsman to accompany a scholar on an expedition to record avian life in Bengal. How can Anila Tandy, left to fend for herself in a city of rogues, dare to apply for a position that is clearly not meant for her? But the talented "Bird Girl of Calcutta" has never shrunk from a challenge. And perhaps this voyage up the Ganges might be just the thing to equip Anila in her search for her father, missing for years and presumed dead.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12+ years.

This book was published 2011 by Walker Books Ltd .

Mary Finn is Irish and lives in Dublin. She used to be a journalist but is now a parliamentary reporter - a very different job - in the Oireachtas, or Irish houses of parliament. Her previous books for Walker are Anila's Journey (9781406306590), which won the Eilis Dillon Award, and The Horse Girl (9781406329100).