Wow Amazing story we all loved this amazing book and all the other book in the Cat Royal series they had us laughting & sad some times to but mostlywe giggled. ( )

Sequel to 'The Diamond of Drury Lane', in which plucky orphan Cat Royal finds herself caught up in the fight against the slave trade, exiled from her home in the Theatre Royal, enrolled as a pupil at Westminster School, and, finally, forced into an uneasy alliance with her arch-enemy Billy Shepherd. A more or less rollicking adventure, although I found that, for me, the tone sat uncomfortably with the seriousness of the subject matter. Still, I doubt that would bother the target audience overmuch and, on the whole, I’d rather see children reading this series than certain other, more popular, ones. ( )

Simply Amazing! ( )

Cat is an orphan who has been adopted by the people in the Royal Theater and she earns her keep by helping with the productions. Another child, Pedro, has recently become an actor at the theater and is getting rave reviews as Ariel in Shakespeare's Tempest. Pedro was a slave and his owner is trying to reclaim him. Cat, her friends and the members of an abolitionist group are fighting to keep him free. Cat comes in conflict with the man who is trying to take Pedro and also with a criminal who has been hired to help make this happen. This story starts a little slowly but picks up speed and Cat is a brave heroine who keeps her head in many dangerous situations. An interesting historical novel for readers in 5th through 8th grades.

Disappointing sequel to The Diamond of Drury Lane. All the characters retain their charm and the account of life at Westminster School is interesting but the core plot about the fate of the slave in London is undermined by a sense of the inevitable. ( )