Gary Blackwood: 9 books

Intrigue, danger, chess, and a real-life hoax combine in this historical novel from the author of The Shakespeare Stealer Philadelphia, PA, 1835. Rufus, a twelve-year-old chess prodigy, is recruited by a shady showman named Maelzel to secretly operate a mechanical chess player called the Turk....

In 1776, the rebellion of the American colonies against British rule was crushed.  Now, in 1777-the year of the hangman-George Washington is awaiting execution, Benjamin Franklin's banned rebel newspaper, Liberty Tree, has gone underground, and young ne'er-do-well Creighton Brown, a fifteen-year-old...

History?s amazing secrets and codes?and how to crack them yourself. This fascinating look at history?s most mysterious messages is packed with puzzles to decode and ciphers that kids can use themselves. Here are the encrypted notes of Spartan warriors, the brilliant code-crackers of Elizabeth...

Picking up where Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days left off, Phileas Fogg's teenage son, Harry, is in trouble. He has made a bet that he can drive a steam-powered motor-car around the world in 100 days. So along with a brilliant but shy mechanic, a sly female journalist, and the son of...

A delightful adveture full of humor and heart set in Elizabethan England! Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of...

When an outbreak of the deadly Black Plague closes the Globe Theatre, William Shakespeare's acting troupe sets off on a tour of England. Widge, the orphan-turned-actor, knows that he'll be useful on the trip. Not only does he love the stage, but his knack for a unique shorthand has proven him one...

Introducing private investigator Charley Field, the true-life inspiration behind Charles Dickens’ Inspector Bucket, in an intriguing new Victorian mystery series. December, 1853. Having found fame as the inspiration behind Inspector Bucket in Charles Dickens’ recent bestselling serialization,...

Intrigue, betrayal, and romance surround Widge as we find him back in London and at the center of things, as usual. Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare's patron, has died, but the new king and his queen love drama-on stage and off. Shakespeare has begun a new play about political intrigue, but real intrigue...

At 14 years old, Ryan Waite is not a bad actor -- in fact he's quite a good one. But when he messes up an audition for a part in Les Mis, he comes into contact with a character named Burton who launches the boy into the most challenging role of his life. You see, Burton is a private investigator out...