The Double Life of Cora Parry
When orphan Cora’s brutal guardian dies, she imagines she will be free to do whatever she wants. Instead, she finds she is to be returned to the workhouse – a fate she is determined to resist. She runs away and plunges into the dangerous underworld of Victorian London. She falls prey to a tough, manipulative girl named Fletch, who trains her to be her accomplice as they pick pockets and break into houses. Cora hates stealing; she knows it is wrong and she feels pity for the victims. But she is dependent on Fletch for food and shelter. Her only link with normal life is her friendship with Joe, a pawnbroker’s son. All her other friends are people who have fallen on hard times and become thieves or down-and-outs. Cora longs to escape and not to have to lie to Joe. To distance herself from her crimes she calls her thieving alter ego Carrie – and soon Carrie begins to take on a life of her own.
This novel has lively storytelling, pace, and sympathy for the lives of the London poor. However, I found the characters rather flat and stereotyped. The most interesting one is Fletch, and I was looking forward to seeing her relationship with Cora develop. Instead, Fletch disappears halfway through the book and in her place comes an element of the supernatural when Cora – by imagining and calling on Carrie – somehow brings the real Carrie to life. I found this aspect of the story unconvincing.
This is a story with fast action, secrets, and many twists and turns, suitable for readers of about nine to twelve.
