I approached this book with caution because I've read too many children's novels (most of them Australian admittedly) that are simply thinly disguised history or cultural studies lessons, with a pretense at a story on top. And there's certainly an element of that in this book. However, I can forgive the history lesson because the journey of the characters is so fascinating and the characters themselves are wonderful. The prose is beautifully descriptive and metaphoric - at times too much so. The descriptions can get in the way of remaining lost in and believing in the fictional world. The perspective of the child characters is sometimes depicted in such "adult" language that their reality is lost.

I can also forgive it because it was written at just the time that I found a wonderful English friend with exciting stories to tell, and a fierce resentment and distrust of "the welfare". It was an attitude that I had never previously encountered and, without a frame of reference, couldn't even begin to comprehend. I had, in fact, never even heard of "the welfare" before I met my friend, let alone considered them as a body to be feared. But here are found the same language and the same attitudes, reminding me powerfully of being 10 years old and dreaming of England... ( )