The Accidental Stowaway

Eagle, Judith and Rioux, Jo (illus.) The Accidental Stowaway

July 1, 2025 by Walker Books US

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Esme Leonard, called Patch, is a girl in 1910 whose mother has run away and whose father has died. She's been sent from relative to relative, but always gets passed on. Her latest placement, according to Mr. Ringe, the lawyer, is with Miss Alice Grey, a family friend who teaches at a girls' school in Liverpool. Patch gets herself there with little help; she has become very resourceful over the years. She gets settled into Miss Grey's home by Mrs. Blakeney, but when out on an errand, has a run in with Turo, who works on the Cunard ship The Glorious, and asks for her help in locating a candy store. Once there, he steals candy and puts the blame on her! She manages to go after him, and even board the ship... which sets sail before she can find him! Armed with only one skate, she is lucky enough to be helped by Lilian de Haviland, whose parents have sent her off to New York by herself, watched over by Esty, a stewardess. The girls decide that Patch should hide in plain sight, and go to eat in the dining saloon, where they are seated at a table of "outsiders" including the older June Fortune, Jimmy, who plays piano on the ship, and the shifty Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. Patch eventually locates Turo, who feels bad, and makes some friends among the staff. She also rescues a famous stowaway, Babbette. Patch has a ring that she picked up at Miss Grey's that she feels was meant for her, and it turns out to be a Tiffany ring. She decides that she should try to solve the mystery of the jewelry when she lands in New York, but there are a lot of other mysteries that surface on the trip. Why is Lilian unsure of who will meet her when the ship docks? Why do the Reynolds want to kidnap Lillian? Even after Patch is found out and put to work in the kitchen to pay for her passage, she and Lilian must work to solve some of the mysteries.

Strengths: Students still have a fascination with the fate of the Titanic, and the fictional Glorious offers an interesting look at a happier voyage. This starts with a labeled map of the ship, which is quite interesting. Patch and Lilian's friendship makes perfect sense, and the two help each other out while they have fun exploring the ship. There are LOTS of mysteries to be solved, but I don't want to say too much about them and spoil the suspense! It's very clear that Eagle has done her homework reading vintage literature from the early 1900s. 
Weaknesses: There are a lot of people who are hiding secrets, and I would have found the story more believable if there had been more characters who WEREN'T hiding something. 
What I really think: This was a very fun and fast paced mystery, and fans of historical fiction like Salerni's The Tontine Caper,  Nesbet's 2020 Darling Darleen, Queen of the Screen or Rose's Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine (2017) will enjoy Patch's adventures. I personally love Eagle's quirky, British mysteries, but they're a hard sell to my students, even with Rioux's delightful illustrations.