The Wild Man

Another rollicking adventure following likeable hero, Joe Rat, as he continues to face the challenges of life in Victorian London.

A book with intrigue building and building until it thrusts us into more dramatic escapades, to create a very readable story

A great story about boys, for boys at KS2 level with plenty of action

Mark Barratt was born and bred in London and lives with his wife and three children on a leafy hill not far from the Thames. In a highly varied working career he has been an actor, theatre director, writer and teacher, while always spending as much time as possible fishing. His script for the audio play <i>The Wizard's Spell </i>won a prize for Best Entertainment at the New York Festival in 1994.

Having escaped the clutches of Mother in Poundsfield, Joe Rat is back, now working as a sweeper in the more upmarket Lomesbury Square. Having foiled a burglary at one of the 'posh' houses on the square, the owner, Mr Harvey - a rich philanthropist - determines to help Joe. Harvey manages to track down Joe's father, a British army deserter now living wild in Canada. Joe has never met his father, but Harvey brings the wild man back to England and helps set them both up in better jobs. However, Alec Harvey has other ideas - he's jealous of the kindness his father shows Joe and the relationship Joe seems to have with this exciting man from Canada. He determines to show his father once and for all that he's just as good, but in so doing risks the lives of those around him.

Mark Barratt

Gritty, flawed characters, propulsive plot and brooding atmosphere yield a gripping mash-up of Dickensian tropes with an Adam Rapp-like concern for throwaway children. A chilling mystery that will haunt readers long after the final page

A vivid and atmospheric story, with graphic descriptions of steaming sewers, that incorporates mystery with Dickensian overtones

This exciting 'Dickensian' story has echos of Coram Boy . . . Keen readers over 10 who enjoy historical novels will definitely appreciate this one

This is a great book, full of mystery and the horror of Victorian low-life

Set in the underbelly of Victorian London's East End, JOE RAT follows the fortunes of a tosher, Joe, who lives by scavenging in the sewers around the area of Whitechapel. It's a fast-paced and vivid tale of survival in a society which fosters neither friendship nor trust. But Joe comes to know both after a chance encounter with a runaway girl, Bess, and the 'madman' who inhabits Pound's Field. With gangs lurking round every corner and a life spent in the rat-infested tunnels below the streets, Joe needs more than a prime piece of tosh to change his fortunes . . .

Mark Barratt

Praise for Joe Rat

Gritty, flawed characters, propulsive plot and brooding atmosphere yield a gripping mash-up of Dickensian tropes with an Adam Rapp-like concern for throwaway children. A chilling mystery that will haunt readers long ...

A vivid and atmospheric story, with graphic descriptions of steaming sewers, that incorporates mystery with Dickensian overtones

This exciting 'Dickensian' story has echos of Coram Boy . . . Keen readers over 10 who enjoy historical novels will definitely appreciate this one

Gritty, flawed characters, propulsive plot and brooding atmosphere yield a gripping mash-up of Dickensian tropes with an Adam Rapp-like concern for throwaway children. A chilling mystery that will haunt readers long ...

A vivid and atmospheric story, with graphic descriptions of steaming sewers, that incorporates mystery with Dickensian overtones

This exciting 'Dickensian' story has echos of Coram Boy . . . Keen readers over 10 who enjoy historical novels will definitely appreciate this one

Gritty, flawed characters, propulsive plot and brooding atmosphere yield a gripping mash-up of Dickensian tropes with an Adam Rapp-like concern for throwaway children. A chilling mystery that will haunt readers long ...

A vivid and atmospheric story, with graphic descriptions of steaming sewers, that incorporates mystery with Dickensian overtones

This exciting 'Dickensian' story has echos of Coram Boy . . . Keen readers over 10 who enjoy historical novels will definitely appreciate this one

Books by Mark Barratt

Series by Mark Barratt

Joe Rat Adventures

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