The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Sally Lockhart’s father dies suddenly and she is forced to move to London. There, she receives an anonymous letter with a warning so dire that it makes a man drop dead of fear. What really happened to her father?

Themes: Victorian Britain, detective, mystery

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Bonnie and Sylvia’s new governess, Miss Slighcarp, is cruel and neglectful, sending the two cousins far away from their home of Willoughby Chase, to a place they will never be found. Can they outwit Miss Slighcarp and her nefarious network?

Themes: 1800s England, family, peril

My Story: Mill Girl by Sue Reid

Eliza is shocked when she is sent to work in Manchester’s noisy, suffocating cotton mills. The work is dangerous, and as Eliza watches her friends’ lives wrecked by poverty, sickness, and hardship, she realises she must fight to escape her fate.

Themes: Victorian Britain, poverty, found family, work

Eliza is shocked when she is sent to work in Manchester’s noisy, suffocating cotton mills. The work is dangerous, and as Eliza watches her friends’ lives wrecked by poverty, sickness, and hardship, she realises she must fight to escape her fate.

Themes: Victorian Britain, poverty, found family, work

Street Child by Berlie Doherty

When his mother dies, Jim Jarvis is left all alone in London. He is sent to the workhouse but quickly escapes to a life on the streets. He finds friends, but is soon captured and forced to work for cruel Grimy Nick. Can he find his freedom?

Themes: Victorian Britain, poverty, found family, work

Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna

When tragedy strikes in famine-stricken Ireland, three siblings are left to fend for themselves. Desperate to avoid the dreaded workhouse, they go in search of the great aunts from their mother’s stories, taking them on a journey which will test them to their limits.

Themes: Victorian Ireland, famine, family, loss

Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin

Toby, saved from an African ship as a child, and Aaron, the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate, are linked by the Coram Man, a shady figure who collects abandoned children from across the country and sells them into slavery.

Themes: 1750s Britain, slavery, human rights, peril

The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland

The year is 1199, the place the Welsh Marches. Young Arthur de Caldicot is given a magical shining stone in which his legendary namesake is revealed. Stories of the boy King Arthur begin to echo - and anticipate - the secrets and mysteries that emerge in his own life.

Themes: historical fantasy, medieval history, Arthurian legend

Outlaw by Michael Morpurgo

Homeless and lost in a dark, strange forest, young Robin Hood is rescued by a motley crew of misfits. He yearns to avenge his father and seek justice against cruel oppressors, to finally defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham, once and for all.

Themes: historical fantasy, Robin Hood, found family

Homeless and lost in a dark, strange forest, young Robin Hood is rescued by a motley crew of misfits. He yearns to avenge his father and seek justice against cruel oppressors, to finally defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham, once and for all.

Themes: historical fantasy, Robin Hood, found family

Fire, Bed, and Bone by Henrietta Branford

A nameless hunting dog is torn away from her beloved masters after they are arrested for heresy during the Peasants’ Revolt. She struggles to raise her puppy, Fleabane, and forge a life away from the cruel landlord and violence happening all around her.

Themes: Peasants’ Revolt, animals, loyalty, hope

Castle Diary by Richard Platt

Sent to his uncle's castle to learn to be a page, eleven-year-old Toby keeps a detailed journal of everything that happens there during the year of 1285 – from such great events as a boar hunt and a tournament, to more everyday activities like baking bread and cleaning out the garderobes (toilets).

Themes: medieval history, castles

Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Catherine's in trouble. her father is trying to marry her off to disgusting old Shaggy Beard, and her mother's determined to turn her into the perfect medieval lady. Will either of them succeed? Not if Catherine has anything to do with it!

Themes: medieval history, coming of age

Catherine's in trouble. her father is trying to marry her off to disgusting old Shaggy Beard, and her mother's determined to turn her into the perfect medieval lady. Will either of them succeed? Not if Catherine has anything to do with it!

Themes: medieval history, coming of age

Longbow Girl by Linda Davies

For centuries, Merry Owen’s family have bred ponies in the Welsh mountains. They were given their land in the 1300s when one of Merry’s longbowmen ancestors saved the life of the Black Prince, and her family are still ready to protect the crown: Merry herself is skilled with the longbow. But the farm is under threat, not least from their neighbours the aristocratic De Courceys. The discovery of a treasure trove offers a chance to save the farm, but it’s linked to old rivalries and, seemingly, ancient magic.

Themes: historical fantasy, medieval history, magic, animals