The Mystery of Wickworth Manor (19 page)

The painting that Curtis and Paige discover in the story was inspired by a real painting. Called âA Negro Coachboy', it is an eighteenth-century painting of a boy who lived in North Wales. Almost nothing is known about the life of that boy. I saw the painting often when I was growing up and I always wanted to know more about him. That was going to be impossible, so, instead, I imagined a story for him.

I learned a lot while researching the story. For example, I discovered that estimates put the number of black people living in Britain during the late eighteenth century at around 10,000. I also found out that there was a lot of confusion around whether slave ownership was legal in Britain at all. Some people living then believed that a decision by the courts in 1772 (the Somerset ruling) made slavery illegal, but, in fact, it was not that simple and the practice continued for a long time after that. It continues in some forms to this day.

The original painting is from the first half of the eighteenth century, but I took liberties and made Christopher live after the Somerset ruling was made.

I can't know what life was like for a slave living in Britain more than two hundred years ago, but I hope that the boy in the painting would be happy that people are thinking about him so long after his death.

About the Author

Elen Caldecott graduated with an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. Before becoming a writer, she was an archaeologist, a nurse, a theatre usher and a museum security guard. It was while working at the museum that Elen realised there is a way to steal anything if you think about it hard enough. Elen either had to become a master thief, or create some characters to do it for her – and so her debut novel,
How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant
, was born. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Prize and was followed by
How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini
and
Operation Eiffel Tower
. Elen lives in Bristol with her husband, Simon, and their dog.

www.elencaldecott.com

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Also by Elen Caldecott

How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant

How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini

Operation Eiffel Tower

Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney

First published in Great Britain in July 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP

This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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