she discovers that most people in the area now live in an underground town called Holdernesse, set in a vast natural cavern. She also learns more about the coal-mine and the appalling conditions here. Meanwhile, she is also learning about medicine from Dr. Lemman and occasionally experiencing something she comes to call 'the Touch' – a sort of psychic cry for help. She continues to search for the lost boys, aggravating her Uncle Roy, and eventually ends up going to work in the mine herself. Here, she discovers that the king's son is dead, and that her cousin Arun Twite has escaped and suffered some sort of mental breakdown. She discovers 'the Touch' is the collective psychic voice of the enslaved children and together, with Is as a guide and leader, they begin to hone this talent into a means of communication. In this way they are able to organise a full escape when predictions of a tidal wave that will collapse the mine reaches them. After the escape, Is Underground is captured and left to die in the derelict library by her Uncle Roy but with the help of her new friends escapes in time to see the Playland Express taking children back to London and Uncle Roy killed when he runs in front of it. She is left with the ability to mentally talk to her friends all over the country, and with a new companion is Arun, who has recovered from his breakdown. Nursery rhymes Unlike the other books in the sequence, chapters in this book are headed with excerpts from the Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book. The story is also prefaced with a poem written by Joan Aiken's sister Jane 'when she was seven, or thereabouts' which has clearly provided some of the inspiration for the story. References 1992 British novels English novels Novels by Joan Aiken British alternative history novels Children's historical novels British magic realism novels British children's novels 1992 children's books Jonathan Cape books