Bearkeeper
A thrilling adventure set in the dark and dangerous streets of Elizabethan London.It was a bad time for bears: every day, people paid a penny to enter the Bear Gardens and watch bears fight dogs, men and one another.
It is a bad time for Pip too: his father is dead and his home has just been robbed. He heads to London, determined to get his revenge. But he finds a lot more than he had expected.
Why I wrote Bearkeeper
I've written a short article explaining why I wrote Bearkeeper. Follow the link to read it.Reviews
“A vivid, unusual portrait of boyhood in Shakespearian England".The Daily Telegraph
"Lacey inserts brief segments of history lesson into the narrative, but in such a way that they don't intrude and instead make the past more tangibly real to readers... Bloody, brutal and bold, Bearkeeper informs as it entertains and intrigues as it enlightens."
The Financial Times,
“The delights of the story and setting come through strongly in a most engaging and powerfully dramatic adventure... We recommend it firmly."
The Bookbag
"Boys of 9+ will love Josh Lacey's Bearkeeper... Pip is someone that every boy will identify with... Like C.S. Lewis, Lacey addresses his readers in informative asides that some will find reassuring and others irritating. But the humour and wisdom of his tale will win him new fans."
The Times
“Josh Lacey brings alive Elizabethan England, especially London, with the relish of a tour guide... Bearkeeper is a well-told story with a strong sense of time and place. Pip is drawn with engaging sympathy as a growing lad trying to make his way honourably in a brutal world... this is a highly enjoyable read that firmly hooks into the turn of the 17th century, triggers interest in Shakespeare's plays and makes you pause to think about cruelties humans inflict on animals, now as well as then.”
The Guardian
"A fast paced historical tale that breathes life into Shakespearian London."
tBK mag
"Perfectly-pitched historical novel which depicts the down-side as well as the excitement of living in Shakespearian England."
Chris Powling, Classic FM
Bearkeeper is about an Elizabethan boy called Pip. who goes to London in search of the father who he'd thought was dead, and also a man called the Weasel who has stolen all of his family's money. London is a horrible, smelly place where people throw the contents of their chamber-pots out of windows and Pip has to scavenge for food in a rubbish dump. He has lots of adventures, including a trip to the Bear Garden and an audition to be an actor at the Globe Theatre. Josh Lacey tells you interesting things about the time Pip lives in and I liked this a lot, although there's a very violent bit where a dog is torn to pieces by a bear.
Leo Taylor, The Independent
Bearkeeper is published by Marion Lloyd Books, an
imprint of Scholastic.
You can buy a copy from any good bookshop.