This is a marvelous story of a young boy's adventures during a cholera epidemic in London in 1854. Eel is an orphan with a wicked stepfather whom he has escaped. He fears running into Fisheye Bill and hopes to keep his secret, his younger brother, safe. Formerly a mudlark - a river scavenger, he secured a position as a messenger which earns him enough to keep his secret safe. When Mr. Griggs - the tailor, falls ill, Eel appeals to Dr. John Snow for help. Snow makes Eel his assistant in his attempt to prove that cholera is spread by unclean water not bad air. The Great Trouble is "part medical mystery, part survival story, and part Dickensian adventure, a story with a hard-working, right-minded protagonist who deals with life as he finds it...and makes it better." Along with Florrie, his best friend, he provides indispensable aid to a just cause.
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2015-16
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