Young adult
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It’s 1848. Drover’s boy, fourteen-year-old William Evans, is thrilled to be on his first long-distance cattle-drove, walking Welsh Black cattle for two hundred and fifty miles, from North Wales to London. He’s desperate to impress his dad with his droving skills, but the journey turns out to be far more dangerous and difficult than he’d expected.
Soon, William discovers railways and tries to persuade Dad to transport the cattle by train. But Dad is stubborn and refuses to adapt to the rapidly changing times. His attitude involves him in a serious accident and leaves him unable to continue. William and the other drovers carry on, but William’s enemies, Cade and Mostyn Jones, catch up with them and cause havoc. William’s close friend, Lizzie, is there to help... but can they reach Smithfield Market in time to sell the cattle and will their friendship survive the journey?
The Speed of Lightning, Jennie Richmond’s first novel for young adults, is a captivating page-turner. You will find yourself rooting for William to succeed. You will be drawn into William’s love-hate relationship with Lizzie and share their fun. You may find that the challenges facing young people in the Mid-Victorian age are not so different to the challenges of today.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
I loved the setting descriptions of the Welsh mountains and bustling market places and the characters were really believable. The developing relationship between William and Lizzie (as well as the suspense created by presence Cade and Mostyn throughout) was really well written and made it a real page turner! The background of the developing industrial revolution and spread of the railway network was interesting and I can really imagine the book being read in class alongside a history topic of a similar nature. A really good read!
I loved this book. It is a really interesting story and the characters are beautifully drawn. Such a tough life, they had. And not too many years ago, really.
I would not normally be interested in a book for young adults, but as I know the author, I gave it a read. I'm glad I did! The story brings together the interesting historical strands of Welsh cattle droving and the advent of the steam engine, offering a fascinating glimpse of life in Wales and England at a time of great change. I highly recommend it for adults as well as young people.
Just finished this book absolutely brilliant a really good story Fast moving Lots of intrigue
I started reading The Speed Of Lightning' whilst on a long train journey. It was very absorbing and l couldn't put it down till l had finished it. The characters were well drawn and very relatable. My grandchildren who are similar ages to William and Lizzie are looking forward to reading the book so we can discuss it together in the near future.
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