Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief / Time Tub Travellers: Circus Mystery
These are the first books in a series about two Black children, Zula and Milo, who travel back in time by means of a bathtub in an antique shop run by Zula’s aunt.
In the first book, Zula’s teacher tells her that there were no Black people in Britain in Tudor times. Discovering that this is untrue, she and Milo travel back to 1589, where they become embroiled in an adventure with Jane, the daughter of weaver Reasonable Blackman, an actual historical character.
In Circus Mystery, Zula is again subject to microaggressive racism, this time from a riding teacher who carelessly misnames her Zoe and from other pupils, causing her to want to give up learning to ride. She and Milo time travel in the tub to 1845, where they meet Black circus owner Pablo Fanque, a real character (who has appeared in a children’s book before – E. L. Norry’s Son of the Circus in Scholastic’s Voices series), and Zula learns not to give up on her dream.
These are fast-paced stories with some unexpected twists and turns and well-researched historical details that affirm the role of Black people in British history and demonstrate warmth and humour in the relationship between the two main characters and the people of the past and present that they encounter. Claire Linney is of dual British and Nigerian heritage and was prompted to start writing and self-publishing for children by a passion for bringing Black British history to life for children, ignited by reading Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors. She is very active on social media promoting a diverse range of literature.
A third book, Roman Rescue, is due for publication in October 2026.
