I got this hardcover from a local thrift shop, attracted by the woodcut-style illustrations on the cover. It was written in the 1970s but has the feel of a rollicking Victorian "orphan's journey" tale, centered around a young orphan's life as the adopted son of a coachman and his wife. His only clue as to his origins: a plain pewter ring and a fancy silver-ornamented pistol...

The style's rather dry and droll, including some amusing child's-eye-view scenes from young Sam in his early days, and weaving together the lives of his coach-driving adopted parents, the residents of the village of Dorking where Sam was born, and the staff of the Red Lion Inn there, who've more or less adopted the boy as well. As Sam grows up, his father the coachman grows fearful that his beloved boy prefers that pistol - and the dreams of a highwayman father - than the handmade whip he gave him, and when Sam eventually does set out to seek his fortune, his father's convinced that he's lost him.

Sam's adventures lead him to a traveling company of players, including a persuasive actor who might just be the man Sam's been looking for - but the actor has secrets of his own, and his path has crossed that of other characters, with devastating consequences.

Given all this, the story wraps up surprisingly sweetly, while retaining a kind of snark regarding the true motives, hopes, and fears of the characters, as opposed to those they reveal to others. Quite charming!

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the LFL shelves inside the pawn shop on this lovely day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2020 April Showers/May Flowers challenge, for the sunflower on the back cover. ***