The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel

The suspenseful tale of two courageous kids and one inquisitive scientist who teamed up to stop an epidemic.

"A delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical mystery and outwit-the-bad-guys adventure." --Publishers Weekly, Starred

Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a "mudlark," he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He's being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he's got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe. But even for Eel, things aren't so bad until that fateful August day in 1854--the day the deadly cholera epidemic ("blue death") comes to Broad Street.

Everyone believes that cholera is spread through poisonous air. But one man, Dr. John Snow, has a different theory. As the epidemic surges, it's up to Eel and his best friend, Florrie, to gather evidence to prove Dr. Snow's theory--before the entire neighborhood is wiped out.

"Hopkinson illuminates a pivotal chapter in the history of public health. . . . Accessible . . . and entertaining." --School Library Journal, Starred

"For readers] who love suspense, drama, and mystery." --TIME for Kids


About the Author
DEBORAH HOPKINSON has written more than 40 books for young readers. Her picture books include Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book; Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and a Junior Library Guild Selection; A Boy Called Dickens; and the ALA Notable Book Apples to Oregon. She is also the author of the middle-grade novel Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco, 1906. Visit her at DeborahHopkinson.com.