The Boy Who Stepped Through Time

by Anna Ciddor

Overview

An accidental trip back to the Roman Empire sets off a race against time to save a friendship - and a life. A thrilling time-slip adventure from a much-loved Australian author.

When Perry steps into a crumbling ruin while on holiday in France, he is not expecting to be transported back 1700 years to Roman times. While he hunts desperately for a way home, he must blend in as a slave - even if it means eating mice for dinner! Gradually, Perry is caught up in the fascinating world of grand Villa Rubia and a life he could never have imagined. But when he makes a new friend, he thinks he might already know her terrible fate.

Perry is faced with an impossible choice: to find his way home or stay and guard his friend's life - and risk being trapped in the past forever...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781761061882
Publisher:	Allen & Unwin
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 13 Years

About the Author

Anna Ciddor has always been fascinated by the past. It would be her dream come true to step through time! Instead, she immerses herself in research and hunts out the tiniest details so she can bring the past to life in her imagination - and in her books.

Anna's meticulous work has been recognized by a grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council, three of her novels have been selected as Notable Books by the Children's Book Council of Australia, and several have been translated into other languages to be enjoyed around the world. Most recently, in 2021 Anna was the recipient of the Nance Donkin Literary Award.

Read an Excerpt

CAMILLA... WHO?
‘I CA N ’T WEAR T H AT ! ’wailed Perry, when his mother
pulled his costume out of the suitcase.
‘It’s what Roman boys used to wear,’ she insisted,
dropping it over his head.
‘But...’
Perry looked in the mirror and groaned. He was
wearing a bright yellow dress that reached down to
his knees, with big red circles on the skirt and sleeves.
‘Why couldn’t Ijust be a soldier?’ he grumbled.
‘Because we’re going to a Roman grape harvest
festival,notabattlere-enactment,’saidMum.
‘Icouldn’t let you dress up as a legionary.’
Perry rolled his eyes.
‘I copied a picture of a boy from late Roman
times,’ Mum went on. ‘It’s...’
‘Authentic!’yelledPerryandhisbigsister
together, and they both started laughing. ‘Authentic’
was Mum’s favourite word because she couldn’t just
say ‘correct’ like a normal person.
‘Well, itisauthentic,’ protested Mum. ‘I even
made it for you in my weaving class.’
That explains the lumpy, scratchy wool, thought
Perry.
‘Actually, Ithinkyoulookquitecool,’ said
Melissa, snapping photos of him with her phone.
Mum turned to her suitcase again. ‘Melissa and
Iare getting dressed now. You wait in the guest
lounge,’ she said.
Perry goggled at her. ‘I’m not...’
‘You can take off the tunic for now,’ said Mum,
dragging out something blue. ‘Just put it on when
we get there.’
With a surge of relief, Perry scrambled into shorts
and a T-shirt, and kicked his costume under the bed.
If he was lucky, they’d forget it and leave it behind.
In the hotel lounge, Dad was scrolling through
the sports news on his iPad.
‘Did we win?’ demanded Perry.
Dad nodded, and leaned back, smiling, in the
squeaky leather chair.
‘Yes!’ cheered Perry. The only bad part about
coming on holidays to the south of France was
missing out on going to footy matches back in
Australia.
‘Aren’tyousupposedtobeputtingona
costume?’ said Dad.
‘I’ll chuck it on when we get there,’ Perry
grunted.‘HowcomeMumhasn’tmadeyou
dress up?’
‘Mum knows Inever dress up,’ chuckled Dad,
and went back to reading his news.
Perry stood beside him, fidgeting with the mini
high-bounce ball he kept in his pocket, and gazing
at the tempting expanse of hard, tiled floor. He
slipped the ball from his pocket, bounced it once,
and looked around. No one was watching. Grinning,
he bounced it again, harder this time. Whoops...
the fluoro green ball went skittering across the floor.
Perry lunged after it, crashed into the wall, and
scooped up the ball.
‘This is no place to play rough games,’ snapped a
voice with a posh English accent.
Perry straightened up guiltily. There was a small
man, almost hidden in a high-backed armchair,
glaring at him over a pair of spectacles.
‘You could have damaged that picture,’ scolded
the man, gesturing at the wall behind Perry. ‘That’s
a rare fragment of Roman wall painting. Nearly two
thousand years old.’
Perry turned.
A square of glass covered part of the wall, and
behind it was a section of old, cracked plaster with
flecks of coloured paint on it. Perry looked at it,
trying to see how it made a picture. Those green,
faded shapes could be leaves, and that might be a
thin, curvy tree trunk, and...
‘Hey Dad, check this out,’ he said, hurrying back
to his father. ‘There’s an old Roman painting over
there. But...’ He lowered his voice to a whisper.
‘Watch out for the old grouch in the armchair.’
Dad turned off his iPad, stretched noisily, and
strolled across the room.
The man scowled at them, but went back to
reading his book.
Perry pointed at the painting on the wall.‘See?’ he
whispered. ‘It looks like a tree with a cat peeking out.’
Dad tilted his head to one side. ‘I think you’ve
got a good imagination,’ he said. ‘All Icansee are
green and brown blobs.’
The morning was nearly over by the time Mum
and Melissa came downstairs. To Perry’s disappoint-
ment, Mum was carrying his tunic.
‘How do we look?’ asked Melissa, and they both
twirled around to show off their dangly bead earrings
and long dresses with wide, colourful stripes down
the front.
Dad raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought Romans
wore those sheet things– what were they called?
Togas?’
‘Togas! Women didn’t wear togas,’ scoffed Mum.
‘Anyway...’ She glanced down at her dress. ‘This is
late Roman style. When togas weren’t the fashion
anymore.’
Perry caught Melissa’s eye. ‘It’s authentic, Dad,’
they chorused together.
Dad smiled. ‘Of course it is,’ he said. ‘Well, we’d
better get going if you want to reach the festival
before it finishes.’
Mum slid into the driver’s seat of the hire car.
‘Don’t get us lost, Martin,’ she warned, turning
to Dad. ‘Which way first?’
‘Uh...’ As usual, Dad swivelled his phone round
trying to work out the satnav directions.
‘Oh, Dad,’ snorted Melissa. ‘Give it to me. Mum,
just go straight,’ she instructed.
Then she picked up her own phone again.
‘Hey, Perry, everyone loves your costume,’ she
said, holding the screen towards him.
‘Melissa, which way?’ screeched Mum, as an
intersection loomed in front of them.
‘Oops, hang on...right, no...go round that
old Roman ruin.’
‘Hey, that’s Constantine’s bathhouse,’ said Perry.
‘This is the way we came yesterday when we went
to the museum.’
‘Don’t mention that museum,’ groaned Melissa.
‘I still can’t believe you and Mum spent twohours
looking at dead people.’
‘It wasn’t dead people. It was ancient stone
coffins. From Roman times,’ protested Perry.
‘Same thing.’
‘Well, they were interesting. Ifound one of a
girl who died when she was exactly my age: eleven
years, two months and one day old. Her name...’
‘You and your numbers,’ burst in his big sister.
‘Anyway, how do you know? You can’t read Latin.’
‘I can a bit,’ he said. ‘Mum was teaching me on
the plane, but...’
‘Mum, Mum, turn here!’ shrieked Melissa.
Mum swung the wheel, and the next moment
they were zooming down the autoroute.
ButPerry’sthoughtswerestillbackatthe
museum. He was trying to remember the name of
the girl from that coffin. It had started with C...
Camilla something? And then he forgot about her
as he noticed the other cars flying past so fast they
were almost a blur.
‘Wow, what’s the speed limit here?’ he asked.
‘I don’t think there is one!’ cried Mum.
‘I need something to eat,’ said Melissa, tapping
on her phone. ‘It’s ages since breakfast. I’m checking
where there’s a good cafe.’
‘Can we at least get out of Arles first?’ pleaded
Dad

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
I CAMILLA…WHO? 1
II THE FESTIVAL 8
III ROMAN TREASURE 17
IV THE VILLA 23
V THE GIRL WITH THE CAT 32
VI SLAVE 38
VII CEREMONY 46
VIII IN THE KITCHEN 51
IX NIGHT TIME 59
X THE NAME ON THE COFFIN 65
XI THE GRAPE HARVEST 69
XII BOXERS 80
XIII THE HOLE IN THE STONE 86
XIV WINE 92
XV THE WAX TABLET 100
XVI BUCCO 109
XVII NEWS 118
XVIII THE NEW PRESS 125
XIX GOODBYE 130
XX THE JOURNEY BEGINS 137
XXI THE SECRET 149
XXII ARELATE 157
XXIII TOWN HOUSE 165
XXIV BATHHOUSE 172
XXV SCHOOL 183
XXVI RUFUS 191
XXVII HAPPY BIRTHDAY 198
XXVIII THE PAINTED TREE 210
XXIX WHO DID IT? 222
XXX SNAILS AND RIDDLES 227
XXXI SATURNALIA 233
XXXII THE MAGICIAN 243
XXXIII NEW YEAR’S EVE 249
XXXIV EMPEROR CONSTANTINE 255
XXXV THE PLAN GOES WRONG 269
XXXVI THE IMPERIAL MINT 276
XXXVII HERO 285
XXXVIII WILL IT WORK? 289
XXXIX A REAL BALL! 295
XL ARLES MUSEUM 302
GLOSSARY 311
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BOOK 316

Editorial Reviews

"Ciddor has vividly brought the Roman era to life with authentic historical flourishes. . . .  A sweet, funny romp perfect for history buffs ages 8+." —READINGS

"A page turner that will thrill young adventure seekers while also introducing them to past periods in history in an accessible way." —MAGPIES

From the Publisher