The Rat Catcher by Kim Kelly

 

This is a book Henry Lawson would have been proud of.  It is a lovely story about Patrick O’Reilly who loved Rosie Hughes.  In Sydney in 1900 Patrick took a job with the Plague Department as a rat catcher; the bubonic plague was raging and rats, of which there were thousands in the city, were being infected by fleas and had to be caught and killed. Patrick needed the job in order to have enough money to live on and to send some back to his mother in Ireland.

Patrick’s one big problem was that he loved the rats as he did all creatures and although he understood it was necessary to eliminate them if the plague was to be beaten he hated the cruelty he had to inflict on them.

Rosie Hughes was a beautiful Irish girl whom Patrick loved from the moment he met her. This was all very sweet, but life in old Sydney was harsh and a constant battle for survival. Kim Kelly captures the sights, sounds and smells of the city as well as the day-to-day struggle for survival, the prejudices  and the stark contrast between rich and poor. We are very fortunate that so many old buildings are still standing and anyone who knows Sydney well will find that Kim has recreated a time and a mood that they can put themselves into through places like the Queen Victoria building, the old department stores, the Quay and so on. 

Lots of old terraced houses were still standing when I was a child and, of course, The Rocks area is a wonderful reminder of Sydney’s early days and books like The Rat Catcher are a brilliant way to keep our history alive.

Congratulations, Kim Kelly (and not just on behalf of my Irish ancestors) on this terrific evocation of our early days!

Published by Brio Books