The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste
by Marie-Louise Gregory and illustrated by Nicola Brooks
[Review]

My Daughter's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

History fan Sophia Slewfoot is a budding amateur detective who loves nothing more than curling up with a good whodunnit or, even better, finding a real life mystery to unravel. Join Sophia, her best friend Betty and her beloved Beagle Toby, as they embark on amazing adventures to solve some of the many mysteries which, throughout history and even to this day, have otherwise remained unexplained…

Sophia Slewfoot is an ordinary ten year old girl, but today is not an ordinary day. Today is the day that Sophia makes an extraordinary discovery which catapults her into a world of excitement, intrigue, adventure and mystique.

What happened to the Victorian ghost ship, the Mary Celeste? Was it magic or malevolence of some kind which caused the crew to disappear? Can Sophia solve the mystery that has baffled some of the world's greatest minds over the last century? Can she somehow even save the day?!

Delve into myth, legend, fact and more than a little fiction, to accompany Sophia on the very first of her history's mystery-solving missions.

Review 

My 10 year old daughter was very kindly gifted a copy of The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste for her birthday and has given me some lovely feedback which I wanted to share.

My ten year old is fascinated by history and loves to learn new things about past events and so she was absolutely delighted to receive a copy of this novel as she had already learned all about this mysterious ghost ship. My ten year old is not unlike myself and enjoys a good detective novel but we often find it hard to get a book which really captivates her attention for a lengthy period of time. 

This book managed to keep her attention very well and my daughter particularly found Sophia interesting and enjoyed the similarities between them both, I think it really helped her identify with amateur sleuth detective 10 year old Sophia Slewfoot. 

Sophia Slewfoot has just moved into a historic house built in the 1700's and discovers that the house has plenty of charm and secrets for Sophia to discover. My 10 year old was easily sucked into the magical whirlwind of a story that allowed my daughter to feel like she also time travelled besides Sophia. 

This is a perfect book for 10-12 year olds that will have them eagerly awaiting to find out the secrets that the adventures have to discover. Sophia is a very relatable and amusing character which allows children to easily relate to. Myself and my daughter recommend this book to any history loving child! 

Purchase links here:

Amazon|BookDepository

About The Author

Marie-Louise Gregory - Author

Having always enjoyed curling up with a good book, especially old-fashioned mystery and adventure stories, Marie-Louise studied English Literature at Leeds University.

Marie-Louise’s passion for language, literacy and traditional storytelling prompted her to write the part-fact, part-fiction ‘Sophia Slewfoot Solves History’s Mysteries’ series (https://sophiaslewfoot.co.uk/), with which she hopes to challenge, inspire and entertain a new generation of mystery- and history- loving bookworms.

When she is not reading or writing, Marie-Louise enjoys indulging in food and wine, walking the dog, and taking horse-riding lessons with her daughter and friends.

Nicola Brooks - Illustrator 

Nicky Brooks grew up in a small town in South Cheshire.  Following periods living in Birmingham and Manchester, Nicky returned to Cheshire where she now lives with her husband, two daughters and playful Labradoodle.

 

Nicky studied Printed Textile Design at UCE Birmingham, which led to a career in fashion buying that saw her travelling the world.  When she became a mum, Nicky chose to retrain as a Teaching Assistant, enabling her to spend more time at home with her children.  Nicky has found being a Teaching

Assistant to be hugely rewarding. Helping primary aged children to learn and grow has given Nicky an invaluable insight into what motivates children, which has been inspirational in her illustrations.

When not working or illustrating, Nicky enjoys being creative around the house and garden.  She also loves family outings to the beach, socialising with friends, walking her dog, Rusty, and attending ballet classes.