A remarkable story about a little-known tragedy in Australian history.
It's 1900. thirteen-year-old Issy McKelvie leaves school and starts her first job - very reluctantly - as a maid in an undertaking establishment. She thinks this is about as low as you can go. But there's worse to come. Issy becomes an unwilling rat-catcher when the plague - the Black Death - arrives in Australia. Issy loathes both rats and her father's four yappy, snappy, hyperactive rat-killing terriers.
But when her father becomes ill it's up to Issy to join the battle to rid the city of the plague-carrying rats.
'A brilliant and richly evocative insight into a fascinating and little-known aspect of our past.' -- Jackie French, Australian Children's Laureate.
- ISBN10 1743099762
- ISBN13 9781743099766
- Publish Date 1 April 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country AU
- Imprint HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 240
- Language English