What do you think?
A Little Silver Trumpet
243 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1885
About the author
L.T. Meade
374 books56 followersMrs. L.T. Meade (Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Toulmin Smith), was a prolific children's author of Anglo Irish extraction. Born in 1844, Meade was the eldest daughter of a Protestant clergyman, whose church was in County Cork. Moving from Ireland to London as a young woman, after the death of her mother, she studied in the Reading Room of the British Museum in preparation for her intended career as a writer, before marrying Alfred Toulmin Smith in September 1879.
The author of close to 300 books, Meade wrote in many genres, but is best known for her girls' school stories. She was one of the editors of the girls' magazine, Atalanta from 1887-93, and was active in women's issues. She died in 1914.
The author of close to 300 books, Meade wrote in many genres, but is best known for her girls' school stories. She was one of the editors of the girls' magazine, Atalanta from 1887-93, and was active in women's issues. She died in 1914.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 24, 2026
L.T. Meade was a prolific writer of children's books in the late Victorian era, she also collaborated with Robert Eustace on some very
chilling crime stories. She blended both genres for "A Little Silver Trumpet" a very dark children's story set among the slums of London
with a good healthy dollop of religion thrown in.
When Mrs. Jessop finds what she believes is a 5 pound note sewn into the hem of a petticoat that her daughter Alison has purchased for
her at a pawnbrokers, she wants to buy her daughter something special. She can't understand the suspicious treatment she receives at
the shop but the reason becomes plain - the 5 pound note is in reality 50 pounds and she is soon being questioned by a constable who
doesn't believe her story. Suddenly the happy (though poor and struggling) life she and Alison have lived is thrown upside down. Most people
feel because of her good character she will be found not guilty but it all depends if there is someone out there who hates her enough to
take the witness stand and blacken her name!! But there is someone who feels they have cause enough to see her taken to prison. In the same boarding house is another family, a drunken father and a mother who struggles
to make ends meet by taking in washing. When the story begins Mrs. Jessop is relating a tale with links to her former life, when she and
her daughter lived at the seaside when Mr. Jessop was alive. She was given the responsibility of looking after a box for "father's mate" - it
had all his life savings in it but it had been ten years and no one had heard from him. A year before the box was stolen and sure enough,
"father's friend" turns up to claim his savings.
Much of the story takes up with Johnnie Cleaver, a boy from the other family, who desperately wants to help Alison and her mother and
figures out a plan to keep his father out of the way. This leads him into Spitalfields and there was definitely a lot of research by the author
on the dreadful living conditions.
I thought it was a terrific page turner but I'm not sure who it would have been aimed at in 1885 - maybe young adults, older children who
were not going to get nightmares by reading about the poverty and brutality that's present in the story.
chilling crime stories. She blended both genres for "A Little Silver Trumpet" a very dark children's story set among the slums of London
with a good healthy dollop of religion thrown in.
When Mrs. Jessop finds what she believes is a 5 pound note sewn into the hem of a petticoat that her daughter Alison has purchased for
her at a pawnbrokers, she wants to buy her daughter something special. She can't understand the suspicious treatment she receives at
the shop but the reason becomes plain - the 5 pound note is in reality 50 pounds and she is soon being questioned by a constable who
doesn't believe her story. Suddenly the happy (though poor and struggling) life she and Alison have lived is thrown upside down. Most people
feel because of her good character she will be found not guilty but it all depends if there is someone out there who hates her enough to
take the witness stand and blacken her name!! But there is someone who feels they have cause enough to see her taken to prison. In the same boarding house is another family, a drunken father and a mother who struggles
to make ends meet by taking in washing. When the story begins Mrs. Jessop is relating a tale with links to her former life, when she and
her daughter lived at the seaside when Mr. Jessop was alive. She was given the responsibility of looking after a box for "father's mate" - it
had all his life savings in it but it had been ten years and no one had heard from him. A year before the box was stolen and sure enough,
"father's friend" turns up to claim his savings.
Much of the story takes up with Johnnie Cleaver, a boy from the other family, who desperately wants to help Alison and her mother and
figures out a plan to keep his father out of the way. This leads him into Spitalfields and there was definitely a lot of research by the author
on the dreadful living conditions.
I thought it was a terrific page turner but I'm not sure who it would have been aimed at in 1885 - maybe young adults, older children who
were not going to get nightmares by reading about the poverty and brutality that's present in the story.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review