www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk

3

Also AvAilAble by JAcqueline Wilson

Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers:THE DINOSAUR’S PACKED LUNCH

THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER

Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers:LIZZIE ZIPMOUTH

SLEEPOVERS

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books:

Collections:JACQUELINE WILSON’S FUNNY GIRLS

includes THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER andTHE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR

JACQUELINE WILSON’S DOUBLE-DECKERincludes BAD GIRLS and DOUBLE ACTJACQUELINE WILSON’S SUPERSTARS

includes THE SUITCASE KID and THE LOTTIE PROJECTJACQUELINE WILSON’S BISCUIT BARREL

includes CLIFFHANGER and BURIED ALIVE!

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Books, for older readers:DUSTBIN BABYGIRLS IN LOVE

GIRLS UNDER PRESSUREGIRLS OUT LATEGIRLS IN TEARS

KISSLOLA ROSE

LOVE LESSONS

Join the Jacqueline Wilson fan club at www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk

BAD GIRLSTHE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR

BEST FRIENDSBIG DAY OUT

BURIED ALIVE!CANDYFLOSS

THE CAT MUMMYCLEAN BREAKCLIFFHANGER

COOKIETHE DARE GAME

DIAMONDTHE DIAMOND GIRLS

DOUBLE ACTDOUBLE ACT (PLAY EDITION)

EMERALD STARGLUBBSLYME

HETTY FEATHERTHE ILLUSTRATED MUM

JACKY DAYDREAM

LILY ALONELITTLE DARLINGS

THE LONGEST WHALE SONGTHE LOTTIE PROJECT

MIDNIGHTTHE MUM-MINDERMY SECRET DIARYMY SISTER JODIEOPAL PLUMSTEAD

PAWS AND WHISKERSQUEENIE

SAPPHIRE BATTERSEASECRETS

STARRING TRACY BEAKERTHE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER

THE SUITCASE KIDVICKY ANGEL

THE WORRY WEBSITETHE WORST THING ABOUT MY SISTER

3

Also AvAilAble by JAcqueline Wilson

Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers:THE DINOSAUR’S PACKED LUNCH

THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER

Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers:LIZZIE ZIPMOUTH

SLEEPOVERS

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books:

Collections:JACQUELINE WILSON’S FUNNY GIRLS

includes THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER andTHE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR

JACQUELINE WILSON’S DOUBLE-DECKERincludes BAD GIRLS and DOUBLE ACTJACQUELINE WILSON’S SUPERSTARS

includes THE SUITCASE KID and THE LOTTIE PROJECTJACQUELINE WILSON’S BISCUIT BARREL

includes CLIFFHANGER and BURIED ALIVE!

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Books, for older readers:DUSTBIN BABYGIRLS IN LOVE

GIRLS UNDER PRESSUREGIRLS OUT LATEGIRLS IN TEARS

KISSLOLA ROSE

LOVE LESSONS

Join the Jacqueline Wilson fan club at www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk

DOUBLEDAYDOUBLEDAY

5

OPAL PLUMSTEADA DOUBLEDAY BOOK 978 0 857 53109 4TRADE PAPERBACK 978 0 857 53110 0

Published in Great Britain by Doubleday,an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

A Random House Group Company

This edition published 2014

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2014Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014

The right of Jacqueline Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

The Random House Group Limited supports the Forest Stewardship Council®

(FSC®), the leading international forest-certification organisation. Our books carrying the FSC label are printed on FSC®-certified paper. FSC is the

only forest-certification scheme supported by the leading environmental organisations, including Greenpeace. Our paper procurement policy

can be found at www.randomhouse.co.uk/environment

Set in New Century Schoolbook

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www.randomhousechildrens.co.ukwww.totallyrandombooks.co.uk

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Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

5

Opal Plumstead is fiercely intelligent: a proud scholarship girl, with plans to go to university. Yet her dreams are shattered when her father is sent to prison, and fourteen-year-old Opal must abandon school and start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory.

Opal struggles to get along with the other workers, who think her snobby and stuck-up. But Opal idolises Mrs Roberts, the factory’s beautiful, dignified owner, who introduces Opal to the legendary Emmeline Pankhurst and her fellow Suffragettes. And when Opal meets Morgan - Mrs Roberts’ handsome son, and the heir to Fairy Glen – she believes she has found her soulmate.

But the First World War is looming on the horizon, and will change Opal’s life for ever.

The brilliant new story from the nation’s best-loved storyteller, starring her most outspoken, fiery and unforgettable heroine yet.

were thinking of him all the time and would visit himas soon as we’d saved the rail fare.

I was totally dashed when Father responded asfollows:

Dearest Lou, Cassie and Opal,Please do not put yourselves to the trouble and

expense of visiting me. I don’t think I could bear to letyou see me in my current situation. It would only bedistressing, most of all to me. Far better that you putme out of your minds altogether, until I can returnhome and be

Your loving husband and father,Ernest

‘Perhaps he doesn’t really mean it,’ I faltered.‘He’s made it plain enough, Opal,’ said Mother.‘I think we should go anyway,’ I said.‘It would be foolish to go all that way and spend so

much money if your father refuses to see us. We mustrespect his feelings. He’s ashamed.’

‘But he shouldn’t feel ashamed. Mrs Roberts hasbeen in prison and she acts as if she’s proud of it.’

‘What? The Mrs Roberts who owns Fairy Glen?She’s been in prison?’

‘She’s a suffragette and she’s been arrested atdemonstrations,’ I said.

‘Then she’s a total fool,’ said Mother. ‘I don’t hold

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with these hysterical women throwing bricks atwindows and behaving like hoydens. They’ve nobusiness interfering in politics. They should leave itto the men who know best.’

‘I think women should be educated until they knowjust as much as men,’ I said. ‘Mrs Roberts is utterlysplendid. I think I shall become a suffragette whenI’m older.’

‘Then you’ll end up in prison too, and God help us,’said Mother. ‘I don’t want to hear any more of thisnonsense. And anyway, it’s different when you go toprison for a political cause. I’ll bet she had an easytime of it because she’s a high-born lady. She won’t bedoing hard labour like your father.’

‘It’s so wicked that he’s been given such a hardsentence. We know he didn’t embezzle all that othermoney,’ I said passionately.

‘We can’t positively know, Opal,’ said Mother. ‘Andwe do know he wrote out a cheque to himself. That’sa crime in anyone’s book. When I was a girl, I knewan old man who was so hungry he dug up somepotatoes in a farmer’s field – just four or five potatoes.He was caught and sentenced to five years’ hardlabour.’

‘But that doesn’t make Father’s case any lessunfair,’ I said.

‘Opal, you’re making my head spin. You can be soaggravating at times. Why can’t you be more like your

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sister?’ Mother nodded at Cassie. She was sittingdemurely in her chair, making herself a newpetticoat, embroidering daisies all around the hem.

Yes, and I dare say she’ll be showing off thosedaisies to her darling Mr Evandale, I shouted – butonly inside my head.

I stomped up to my room and read The Blue FairyBook. When was my fairy godmother going to appearand wave her magic wand?

When I trudged into the factory the next morning, MrBeeston beckoned to me.

‘Hold your horses, Opal Plumstead. Mrs Robertswants to see you this morning,’ he said.

My throat went dry. What had I done now? I hadn’tbeen in any more fights. I had moulded obediently,hour after hour. I completed more boxes than any ofthe other girls because I had a steady hand and Ididn’t waste time gossiping.

‘Don’t look so stricken,’ said Mr Beeston. Hereached out and snatched at my nose with his fingers.Then he made a fist of his hand with the thumbpoking through, like a little nose. ‘Dear, oh dear, whatam I doing, stealing your funny little button nose.Shall I give it you back?’ He dabbed at my forehead.‘There! Back in place. No – whoops! Doesn’t it gounder your eyes?’

‘Mr Beeston, I’m not a child.’

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7777

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