A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem: A Dastardly Plot

Gr 4–6—The author of the "Hero's Guide" books offers the first in a new historical series trilogy focusing on the age of invention in the late 19th century. During that time, the world was in awe of Thomas Edison's electric light bulb and Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. Edison and Bell appear in the story alongside would-be inventors Cassandra Pepper and her 12-year-old daughter Molly, who create unique machines and gadgets in the back of their pickle store. Both are infuriated when their spot in the Inventor's Guild at the 1883 World's Fair in New York City is taken from them and instead awarded to a man. Frustrated, the duo breaks into the Inventor's Guild offices and happen upon what looks to be a "dastardly plot" to injure the thousands of people who will be attending the World's Fair. The author's appended notes comparing the facts and fiction of the story are valuable for historical context.