Smith: The Story of a Pickpocket (New York Review Children's Collection)

Set in the teeming streets of 18th-century London, Leon Garfield’s Carnegie-Medal–winning novel follows twelve-year-old Smith, a swift-fingered pickpocket whose life changes the moment he steals a document from a well-dressed gentleman—seconds before the man is murdered. Unable to read, Smith must uncover why ruthless villains will kill for the paper while protecting his two sisters and staying one step ahead of the law. His search leads him from the squalor of Seven Dials to the grandeur of St. Paul’s, and finally into the courtroom of a blind barrister who may be friend or foe. Part mystery, part adventure, the tale delivers suspense, humor, and a vivid portrait of Georgian London.