The Fire Cats of London - Anna Fargher

 

Set just after the Great Plague, The Fire Cats of London follows Asta and Ash, two wild cats who live with their mother in the forests away from the city.  However, when their mother is killed, they are captured and taken to an apothecary’s shop in London where they will be used to create potions and medicines for the locals.  Whilst Asta is suspicious of the shop and Beauty, the cat that already lives there, Asha feels very differently.  Asta wants to escape and return to their life in the forest, whilst Asha feels they are safer where they are. 

Like Umbrella Mouse and its sequel, this was a wonderfully written book where you quickly forget that the main characters are animals.  You are quickly drawn into the London of 1666 where the great Fire of London makes an appearance.  Following the plague, suspicion and doubt can be found on every corner and this is seen in the humans as well as the animals in the book.  This creates a real tension within the pages of the story which carries the reader on at a pace.  And the ending will have you gripped.

As the book progresses, you realise that, although they are siblings, Asta and Asha are very different characters with Asta’s fierce desire for independence coming to the fore whilst Asha is clearly influenced by others.

With beautiful illustrations from Sam Usher, The Fire Cats of London is a book full of emotion that will captivate readers.