Cat Among the Pigeons

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Authors: Julia Golding

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Cat Among
the
Pigeons

J
ULIA
G
OLDING

C
AT GOES TO SCHOOL

First published 2006
by Egmont UK Ltd
239 Kensington High Street, London W8 6SA
This edition published 2010
Text copyright © 2006 Julia Golding
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Bowles's New Plan of London map courtesy of the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4052 3759 8
eBook ISBN 978 1 7803 1086 2
3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Books (Cox and Wyman)
www.egmont.co.uk
www.juliagolding.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Egmont is passionate about helping to preserve the world's remaining ancient forests. We only use paper from legal and sustainable forest sources, so we know where every single tree comes from that goes into every paper that makes up every book.
This book is made from paper certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), an organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of forest resources. For more information on the FSC, please visit
www.fsc.org
. To learn more about Egmont's sustainable paper policy, please visit
www.egmont.co.uk/ethical
.

For Grace, Robert, Olivia and
Miranda Amakye Saunders

T
HE
C
RITICS
‘A welcome return to the London stage for Drury Lane's favourite child' – J
OHN
P
HILIP
K
EMBLE
‘Cat Royal's prose grips the reader like an ancient mariner intent on telling you his tale (now there's an idea . . .)' – S
AMUEL
T
AYLOR
C
OLERIDGE
‘Starched small linen all morning, admired daffodils with William, read Cat Royal with great pleasure in evening' – D
OROTHY
W
ORDSWORTH
,
extract from her journal
‘Cat Royal serves no utilitarian function whatsoever – clearly a case for the poorhouse' – J
EREMY
B
ENTHAM
‘I have forbidden my children to read this pernicious stuff!' – H. M. Q
UEEN
C
HARLOTTE
‘Cat Royal gives us quite a giggle' – D
OROTHY
J
ORDAN AND
H.R.H.
THE
D
UKE OF
C
LARENCE
‘I'm sure Cat Royal must be a fake dreamt up by an educated gentleman!' – J
AMES
‘O
SSIAN
' M
ACPHERSON
‘Fit only for the bonfire' – T
HE
S
OCIETY OF
G
ENTLEMEN
P
LANTERS
, J
AMAICA
‘Her work is music to my ears!' – L
UDWIG VAN
B
EETHOVEN
‘Degenerate stuff – enough to cause a mutiny!' – C
APTAIN
W
ILLIAM
B
LIGH
,
late of the Bounty
‘Her pen paints a picture better than a brush' – S
IR
J
OSHUA
R
EYNOLDS
‘Not enough Scotsmen for my taste' – W
ALTER
S
COTT
‘A book that every right-thinking person in this nation of slave traders should read and reflect upon' – W
ILLIAM
W
ILBERFORCE
A
N
OTE TO THE
R
EADER
If you have not yet read the first instalment of my adventures,
The Diamond of Drury Lane
, there are a few things you need to know. In that book, I explained how I made friends with Pedro Hawkins, a former slave from Africa, during an eventful balloon ride in Drury Lane. I recounted how, after Pedro's theatrical triumph, we became acquainted with the two children of the Duke of Avon: Lord Francis and Lady Elizabeth (Frank and Lizzie to you). Together we saved a cartooning rebel lord from the gallows and I narrowly escaped death myself. Unfortunately, in the course of my adventures I managed to make myself the enemy of Billy Shepherd, a ruthless gang leader. Something told me even then that I hadn't heard the last of him. If you want to find out what happened next, read on.

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