''Cat among the Pigeons'' is a young adult novel by

Julia Golding Julia Golding (born 1969), pen names Joss Stirling and Eve Edwards, is a British novelist best known for her ''Cat Royal'' series and '' The Companions Quartet''. Biography Born in London, 1969, she grew up on the edge of Epping Forest. She orig ...

, published in 2006. It is a story about Pedro the slave's fight for freedom. The main character is Cat, a girl of around 12 who is Pedro's best friend.

Plot summary

It is

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in the late 18th century, and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

has just been ruled illegal in England but is still common in the British West Indies. Pedro's old slave master, Mr. Hawkins, comes to London and tries to reclaim Pedro as one of his properties. He is at first thwarted by Cat, but he vows to return. Pedro's friends, Cat, Frank, Lizzie, Syd and the gang try to secure his freedom. Cat finds trouble following her once more as she is chased around London by the Bow Street Runners, coming for her arrest for biting Mr Hawkins after he taunted her. Disguising herself as a boy with the help of her friends, Frank and Charlie, she enters an aristocratic boarding school and learns

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

, things that girls are never taught. Cat is bullied for being clever and a 'pretty boy' by Richmond, the son of a plantation owner. When they find Cat with a medallion abhorring slavery Richmond and his gang beat Cat up. When Syd arrives, he's furious and wants to take Cat home immediately, but soon realises that she's safe where she is as the Bow Street Runners are still looking for her. Meanwhile, Pedro is caught and held by Billy Shepherd for Mr Hawkins. Cat finds out where he is, but can't inform the police as she has no proof against Mr Hawkins. As Mr Hawkins is about to set sail with Pedro on board, Cat arrives with Lizzie, Frank, Mr Equaino and the Duchess to rescue Pedro. The Magistrate is called and Cat blackmails Mr Hawkins into setting Pedro free.

References

2006 British novels Children's historical novels British children's novels Novels by Julia Golding Novels about slavery Novels set in London 2006 children's books British children's books Egmont Books books {{2000s-child-hist-novel-stub Children's books set in London Children's books set in the 18th century Children's books set in schools Children's books about slavery