M.P. Barker's A DIFFICULT BOY

When M.P. Barker stumbled upon a two centuries-old document in the course of her day job ten years ago, she knew she was on to something. She just didn't know what. The antique paper was a bill that a man had sent to the mother of his indentured servant. Seems the boy had run away, and now the man was charging the mother for all of the costs associated with finding the boy and returning him to his servitude. Barker was intrigued – and A Difficult Boy was born.

The tale of the stormy relationship of two young indentured servants of 1839 and their struggle to escape their master's abuse, Barker's young adult novel is one of the best historical fiction works I've read in a long time, emotionally authentic, full of period detail, and beautifully written. Barker talks about A Difficult Boy's long road to publication and gives loads of practical advice for historical fiction writers in my June children's market column at Authorlink.com. It's free for the next 10 days or so; be sure to check it out.

Barker also shared with me the story behind the book's striking cover, a sepia-toned photo montage featuring an amazing shot of a pair of boys who look every inch the duo described in her story. At first, I assumed the two kids were models, chosen to fit the roles of the boys in the book. But on closer examination, they seemed too pinched, too weathered, to be 21st century children.

"The photo isn't exactly the book's period, but it is very old, according to Marc Tauss, the artist who did the cover," Barker told me. "He doesn't know who the boys are. The photo looks to me to be later in the 19th century than 1839. 1839 was the very, very first year that commercially practical photography was being done in this country–one of the first daguerreotype studios in the country opened in my hometown that year. Although I didn't ask Marc if he used a daguerreotype (they're made on glass) or a paper print (which came later), it doesn't have the look of a daguerreotype to me. I think it's probably from a paper print from later in the century. But the boys' workclothes are pretty generic, so they're fine for the 1830s. The boys do kind of grab you, don't they?"

I'll say. Learn more about Barker and A Difficult Boy at the M.P. Barker website and blog.