Time Wish

Julia Bailey

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Why I wrote this book

Time Wish is my first novel. It is a children's book aimed at 9-12 years plus readers. It is an historical/time travel novel set in Victorian and modern times. It tells the story of an eleven year old Victorian girl who travels forwards in time and a present-day child who travels back to the 1890s.

The book deals with issues of illness, death, fear and the desire to escape. But I've also tried to show the children as hopeful, funny and, ultimately successful, in overcoming their difficulties.

I am a Psychiatrist, currently working with a young people's drug project. I am married and live in a Victorian suburb of Bristol, very much like the one described in the book. I have taken part in Eye Camps in the Thar Desert and lived in a Leprosy colony on an island in the Mekong Delta. But by far the scariest thing I have ever done is to have children of my own. My experiences working with adults and children facing life threatening situations have inspired the story, but it is my own home and family that have produced the setting and the characters.

I have spent the last twenty years writing my patients’ life histories in their medical notes. My experiences have convinced me that extraordinary things happen all the time and time travel may be just one of them.

If you enjoy Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce or Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr or The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson then you will enjoy this book.

Synopsis

This is a story about time travel, love, death and friendship. A lonely Victorian girl named Rose is terrified of dying from the Diphtheria outbreak that is sweeping through Bristol. It has already killed a number of children in the streets around her and now her best friend, Aubrey, has fallen sick. In a curious, old wool shop she meets Mrs F. who reads Rose's fortune and warns her she is in terrible danger. She then breaks her crystal ball into four pieces, she gives one to Rose and tells her if she wishes ‘very, very hard ' she may escape her fate .That night Rose holds the crystal and wishes hard to escape the epidemic; the following morning ,she wakes up to find herself in a strange bed in the year 2008 .

Rose discovers there are other children, who hold the remaining pieces of crystal. She must work out who they are and how they can all come together to save Aubrey. She persuades her new friend, Lily, to swap places with Aubrey and travel back in time, where she has to endure a ghastly Victorian boarding school. In the meantime, Rose must learn to cope with television, cars and wearing shorts, whilst making sure Aubrey gets the right treatment at their local hospital.

Mrs F. appears and disappears throughout the story, leaving the children guessing right up to the end. Who is she? Why does she get younger as they get older? There is a twist at the end of the story- and will Rose and Lily ever time travel again?

Reviews

5 out of 5 stars Great read for 9-12 year olds, 27 Nov 2010
By
Meryl Coleclough
This was a great read. Reminded me a bit of Tom's Midnight Garden. Lovely writing, the main characters are very likeable and the story line is very exciting. The book is set in Redland, Bristol, with the main characters time-travelling between Victorian times and the present day. Really recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars Wish for more time with this book, 26 Nov 2010
By
David Newc
I gave this book to my children and they loved it so i am buying it for my nieces for xmas. If your children are aged 9 - 12yrs and love adventure and time travel with a historical twist they will love this book.

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