Coram Boy is an amazing piece of historical fiction based in the eighteenth century in both London and Gloucester. In those days if you were unmarried but pregnant, had learning difficulties, were poor or had a different skin colour then life was going to be tough. To be a baby born poor, or out of wedlock, was especially difficult. But for the Coram Man, these poor babies were nothing more than a business opportunity not to be passed up. The Coram Man, otherwise known as Otis Gardiner and later as the respectable Mr Gaddarn, roamed the country with his learning challenged son, Meshak, promising frightened and vulnerable mothers that, in exchange for payment, he would see their precious babies were delivered to the Coram Foundling Hospital where a better life awaited them. He very rarely kept his promises, killing or selling these children as slaves instead. He gets his just desserts in the end though and Meshak breaks free of his cruelty to become the hero of this story.
The story has got some gruesome and upsetting situations in it but these are balanced by inspirational characters like Meshak and the two Coram Hospital boys Aaron and Toby who, despite their difficult starts, still manage to make a life for themselves. By the end of the book, you really do care for them all and you understand the world they are struggling in so much better.
This is a really original and thought provoking book and I loved it. I would recommend it to anyone age 9 + especially if they enjoy history.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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