''Fleabee's Fortune'' is a

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

novel for children by British author

Robin Jarvis Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British young adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a mo ...

. It is the first book in ''The Deptford Mouselets'' series, prequels to Jarvis's '' Deptford Mice'' trilogy aimed at a slightly younger audience. It was first published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2004. The story is set in the sewers of

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

and focuses on a rat girl named Fleabee who is unusually kindhearted.

Synopsis

Fleabee, a young rat living in the sewers of Deptford, is unlike others of her kind. She is good-natured and doesn't wish to harm anything. However, the Festival of the First Blood is approaching, a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

tradition for the rats when they must commit their first murder. If they fail to do so, they will be killed themselves. Even the dark magic of Jupiter, lord of the rats, cannot instill bloodlust in Fleabee. Though rat culture requires that they be cold and uncaring, Fleabee's mother Klakkweena is secretly concerned for her daughter's safety. She wonders if Fleabee is not meant to follow Jupiter but the Raith Sidhe, the three ancient usurped gods of the rats. Klakkweena surreptitiously takes Fleabee to the

fortune-teller Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...

Madame Akkikuyu, who agrees that Fleabee should consult Mabb, the goddess of the Raith Sidhe. Akkikuyu gives Fleabee a Mabb Rest, a special pillow used to summon her in dreams. That night, not only does Mabb appear but also 'Orace Baldmony, the ghost of a rat who defected from Jupiter and converted to the religion of the benevolent Green Mouse. Baldmony tells Fleabee she has a good heart and should resist the evil Mabb. But Fleabee cannot see another way out of her predicament and agrees to become Mabb's new high priestess. When she wakes up, Fleabee finds an

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

-encrusted

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

on her pillow, a gift from the goddess. At the Festival of the First Blood, Fleabee keeps wondering what Mabb is going to do to help save her. Then a light appears on the enchanted dagger, and she is led to an ancient temple of the Raith Sidhe hidden deep within the sewers. In it are three

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s dedicated to the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Hobb, Mabb, and Bauchan. Behind the altar of Mabb, Fleabee suddenly hears frightened sobs. A young grey squirrel named Ambrose is hiding there. He was captured that night for the purpose of being a victim for the juvenile rats, and managed to escape from them. Fleabee realises that Mabb intends for her to sacrifice Ambrose on the altar. She refuses, stating that she wouldn't kill for Jupiter and she won't for Mabb either. 'Orace Baldmony's ghost appears and informs Fleabee that she must leave the sewers as soon as possible. After telling her sister Scabmona goodbye, Fleabee escapes with Ambrose to the world above where she plans to start a new life. The epilogue reveals that one day after many years have gone by, Fleabee will return to the sewers and have a final confrontation with the affronted and vengeful Mabb.

Background

In writing this book Jarvis says he "wanted to show life from the rat point of view for a change and had lots of fun with it, especially with Fleabee's sister, the completely horrible Scabmona."

Reception

Dani Colvin of ''

The Sunday Tasmanian ''The Mercury'' is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd (DBL), a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of News Corp. The weekend issues of the paper are called ''Mercury on Sa ...

'' called the book "a deliciously, delightfully dark read for ages nine and up" and added that "the characters, though ghastly, are hugely enjoyable and some, most notably Fleabee's mother Klakkweena and sister Scabmona, still manage to be more than one-dimensional."

References

{{The Deptford Mice 2004 British novels British fantasy novels Novels by Robin Jarvis The Deptford Mice series Headline Publishing Group books