First published in hardback in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2014
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Copyright © Michael Morpurgo 2014
Michael Morpurgo asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Source ISBN: 9780007339631, TPB ISBN 9780007339648
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780008104856
Version: 2014-09-18
For Philip and Jude
Contents
WE ALL COME FROM SOMEWHERE. But, in a way, I come from nowhere. Let me explain. My grandma simply came up out of the sea a long time ago, like a mermaid, except that she had two legs instead of a fish tail. She seemed to be about twelve years old at the time, but no one could tell; and that was because there was no clue as to who she was, nor where she came from. She was half starved, mad with fever and could speak only one word: “Lucy”.
This is her story, as I later heard it told to me, by those who knew her best, by my grandpa, by other relations and friends, and, most importantly, by herself. Over the years I have pieced it all together as well as I could, using only the evidence of those who saw it with their own eyes, those who were there.
I want to thank the Museum of the Isles of Scilly for its help, for access to school logbooks and other sources, and especially the family of the late Dr Crow MD of St Mary’s, for allowing me to quote from his journal. My family, and many others also, too numerous