by Peter Bunzl
Electricity: electricity is everywhere around us, from electric lights to telephones, trains to electrical cars… But what is it? Electricity is a form of energy, which can also be converted into other forms of energy, including heat and light. Scientists realized that electricity could be useful, and from the early 1800s, lots of scientists were researching what you could do with it. In 1809, an English scientist, Humphry Davy, invented the first electric light, and in 1879 Thomas Edison, an American inventor, made a long-lasting light bulb, while in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the first telephone. For Robert and Lily, then, electricity was still a very new idea, very exciting and full of possibilities – particularly for Papa! (You might be there for hours if you ask him about it, though…)
Encyclopaedia: a large book or collection of books which covers everything one might need to know about, from aardvarks and angels to zeppelins and zoetropes! Mind you keep them out of the way of Malkin’s snapping jaws…
Mechanimal: a mechanical animal, such as Malkin.
Minute steak and French fried potatoes: when Robert, Lily and Papa stop for a quick New York lunch, they eat minute steak and French fried potatoes. The steak is called a minute steak because it should only take a minute to cook! Confusingly, the “French fry” has a disputed origin, with some historians claiming it originally came from Belgium in the 17th century. French fries were, however, then taken up across Europe, North America and Canada. Indeed, President Thomas Jefferson is rumoured to have introduced them to America!
New York Elevated Railways: also called the “El” or “Els”, were railway lines which ran across New York on metal rails elevated above the city below. First opened in 1878, it must have been quite a sight to behold as trains rushed by overhead. But as Lily and Robert discover when they first arrive, it was a little scary to stand underneath the rails, as ash and soot would fly off and coat anyone standing in the wrong place…not to mention making it very loud and very dark!
Ouroboros: a symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Originally used by the Ancient Egyptians, it has come to mean the eternal cycle of life and death. It’s quite a difficult word to pronounce, so Robert suggests you might try it like this: “oor-oh-boh-rus”.
Phonograph: a machine that could record and play music. The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison (wasn’t he a busy man!), and came in very useful on the Shadowsea Base to distract the zombies…
Submersible: a small vessel that can travel under the sea.
Zeppelin: a type of airship. It has an oval-shaped “balloon”, beneath which is a rigid metal framework filled with bags of gas to keep the ship afloat. The passenger and crew area – or gondola – is usually situated under the main balloon, and can be quite roomy.
1. Brackenbridge Manor
2. Deportment with Mrs McKracken
3. He was a clockmaker at Townsend’s Horologist’s
4. Grantham
5. Four: Mrs Rust (Rusty), Captain Springer, Mr Wingnut and Miss Tock
6. Anna Quinn
7. Jack Door
8. The Mechanists’ Guild. Their symbol is a golden cog, and they visit the headquarters in Moonlocket
9. They use the empty mail bags to sail down the mail line into the Hampstead Heath ponds!
10. The Magnificent Theatre of Curiosities
11. Queen Victoria, on the back of the mechanical elephant: the Elephanta
12. A painted miniature of Robert, his ma and his da, and a tiny photograph of Caddy and his ma
13. Paris
14. Madame Verdigris, who used the name “Madame Lyons-Mane” in Skycircus
15. The Lunk
16. 23rd of September
17. Getting wet or going swimming!
18. Chief Inspector Fisk of Scotland Yard; Commandant Oiseau of the French Police; Inspector Tedesko and Lieutenant Drumpf of the New York Police Department
19. Penny Dreadfuls
20. A bright-green coat knitted by Mrs Rust and a nice bone to chew on
21. Tiger-striped – orange and black!
22. The Murray Hill Hotel
23. The Wonderlite
24. New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, platform 9
25. The Tempest
26. Boston (to go to Harvard, for Papa’s lecture)
An ocean of thanks to the following people… My excellent editors Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, without whom I would still be drowning in streams of incomprehensible plot and words. My wonderful agent Jo Williamson for aiding me once again in navigating the stormy sea of publishing.
To everyone at Usborne who helped bring this book and the whole series to life. Most especially, Kath Millichope for her gorgeous design work and Becca Stadtlander for her stunning illustrations. Sarah Cronin for her beautiful type. Katarina Jovanovic for her publicity know-how. Stevie Hopwood for her marketing brilliance. Jacob Dow for his able assistance. Sarah Stewart, Anne Finnis and Gareth Collinson for copyedits and proofreading. Christian and Arfana for their sales prowess, and Lauren and the rights team for taking the Cogheart Adventures to so many far-flung places.
To Michael for being my co-pilot through the storms and squalls and becalmed seas that seem to come with writing.
And, last but not least, to you, dear reader, who’ve braved each fantastic voyage of danger and daring, catastrophe and courage, trickery and tightropes, terror and triumph!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the stories as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. I shall miss Lily, Robert and Malkin terribly, but I can always relive their adventures by reopening one of their books, just as you can.
Right now they’re headed off on a train to somewhere new, and this is where we must leave them. I have another place I’m excited to visit too. A world filled with pirates, princesses and wild boys, and I hope you’ll be along for the ride as I embark on that new, as yet untold, adventure…
Peter grew up in South London in a rambling Victorian house with three cats, two dogs, one sister, an antique-dealer dad and an artist mum. He is a BAFTA-winning animator, as well as a writer and film-maker. Like Lily and Robert, he loves adventures and reading penny dreadfuls, but wishes dearly that he had a mechanical fox called Malkin. Shadowsea is Peter’s fourth novel.
First published in the UK in 2020 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England., usborne.com
Text © Peter Bunzl, 2020
Photo of Peter Bunzl © Thomas Butler
Cover and inside illustrations, including map by Becca Stadtlander © Usborne Publishing, 2020
Clockwork Key © Thinkstock / jgroup; Border © Shutterstock / Lena Pan; Crumpled paper texture © Thinkstock / muangsatun; Plaque © Thinkstock / Andrey_Kuzmin; Newspaper © Thinkstock / kraphix; Old paper texture © Thinkstock / StudioM1; Brick Wall © Thinkstock; Brick Wall © Istock / forrest9
The right of Peter Bunzl to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
The name Usborne and the devices are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EPUB: 9781474984263 KINDLE: 9781474984270
Batch: 05325/02
