Ivy by Julie Hearn.

Ivy is an orphan being looked after by her aunt, uncle and counsins in Victorian England.  She is sent to school, but lasts less than one day.  In running from school, her life is turned upside down when she is snatched by Carroty Kate, a con artist who steals clothes right off of children’s backs.  Kate sees potential in Ivy, who catches her eye because of her startlingly red hair.  Ivy is pushed into the con-artist business and because she has nightmares is heavily dosed with laudanum to keep her quiet.  Even as a teen, returned to her relatives, she is an addict, who struggles to make money to help support their family.  Ivy is glimpsed by a young painter, who decides that she is his muse, and once again Ivy’s life takes a sharp turn into danger.

I enjoyed The Minister’s Daughter by Hearn and this second novel is equally as successful.  Here Hearn has created a real historical fiction piece that doesn’t have the fantasy elements of her first novel.  The grinding nature of poverty in Victorian England is successfully explored as is the nature of theft and conning people.  Ivy is a vivid creation of a character who even to the reader remains aloof and distant, until she is ready to reveal herself.  It creates a beguiling novel of subterfuge and intrigue that is nearly impossible to put down.

Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction.  Appropriate for readers age 14-17.