‘ Coram Boy’ by Jamila Gavin, Egmont Children’s Books
(ISBN: 0749732687)
Used in conjunction with Hogarth’s pictures ‘Gin Lane’ and ‘Captain Coram’

‘Coram Boy’ is a complex interweaving of the lives of children from very different backgrounds. The book focuses on a Gloucester family, and their trauma when a baby was born and disappeared. Was it murdered by the Coram Man? Or did it reach the Coram hospital in London?’

Jamila Gavin explains the inspiration behind the story:

‘ I first heard the name ‘Coram’ over ten years ago. A friend said, “The highways and byways of England are littered with the bones of small children”, and then went on to talk about a Coram man. I wanted to know more – but he only knew it was to do with unwanted babies and children who were picked up by a travelling man, a Coram Man, who was a tinker or trader. He charged money for taking the children to the Coram Hospital... It seems there could have been a racket going on in which young women with unwanted babies were being horribly cheated. Most children he took away were probably murdered or died from neglect....

‘I knew immediately there was a story to be told. I let it brew for the next ten years, and then began to research it.’

Set in 18th century England, ‘Coram Boy’ presents a world of strong contrasts between the rich and the poor, town and country. Key places in the story include Gloucester Cathedral, a huge honey-stoned mansion called Ashbrook House, a large ornate townhouse, the ‘Lucky Nancy’ slave ship – and of course Coram Hospital, and the open countryside between London and Gloucester where robbers and highwaymen roam.

Jamila Gavin explains why she chose this period for her novel:

‘It is set in London and Gloucester in the 18th century, and could be said to be about the beginning of the Empire as well as about the transforming power of music, divisions between fathers and sons and the brutal treatment of children in this period.’

There is a wealth of characters, including Otis Gardiner a peddler who secretly ran an evil trade in abandoned children, Meshal, his mentally disabled son, Alexander, a wealthy young man with a passion for music, and Aaron, an orphan at the Coram Hospital, who has a wonderful singing voice.

The story threads together several themes: the fates of unwanted children, the ordeals contained in 18th century childhood, the practice of slavery – and, most powerfully, the search for love.

Jamila Gavin chose ‘Captain Coram’ (1740) and ‘Gin Lane’ (1751) by William Hogarth for her YCC session.
Download a black and white picture of ‘Gin Lane’ from this site’

Captain Coram
‘ Captain Coram’ portrays an elderly man who procured the Royal Charter for the Coram Hospital shortly before the portrait was painted. The captain is sitting among symbols of his achievements: a globe and a ship representing his travelling and, in the background, the depiction of Charity nurturing children.

Gin Lane
‘ Gin Lane’ is an engraving showing the corrosive effects of cheap, lethal gin on individuals and on society. In the picture the very fabric of the city is crumbling from neglect; people are dying in the street or brought to terrible straits.

Author Jamila Gavin explains why she chose these pictures to use alongside ‘Coram Boy’:

‘I chose these paintings to work with because I had just written a book set in the 18th century.... and I thought that the pictures illustrated perfectly what 18th century London was like. It was the kind of background that I had written about and that I wanted the children to learn about and be inspired by.

‘... I wanted them to get a strong impression of the picture I put them in front of. I wanted for them to analyse it and look at the characters. I wanted them to find words for themselves that the picture made them think of... and use it as a basis for their own writing.’

A series of worksheets with ideas to encourage children’s writing, based on the book and the paintings, can be found on this site.