The Story of Emma-Louise Bradshaw

Emma-Louise and the Ragamuffin!
Come and play with Emma-Louise, a nine year old girl living in Victorian Britain! The Emma-Louise doll is the picture down the right side of the page.

When Emma-Louise met Paddy, a young Ragamuffin from Ireland, she could barely imagine the adventure that would soon begin ! Travelling to the big city, meeting mysterious strangers, experiencing the magic of the docks, and finding a most valuable pocket watch, all add up to an incredible story that her parents would never believe ! But please.....don't let Emma-Louise travel there on her own ! Follow her, and see what other adventures she might get into along the way !

But make sure you're home for dinner !

What is a Ragamuffin?
Ragamuffin is a word that described young children who lived on city streets, and dressed in worn and shabby clothes, often with no shoes. They may have been orphans, they may have been abandoned by their parents, or they may have escaped from unhappy lives as servants or apprentices. Sometimes they lived alone, but often they formed into small gangs, to help look after each other.

By the way, there’s also a breed of cat called a Ragamuffin. Click here to see a picture of a Ragamuffin cat.

Queen Victoria
Victoria reigned in Britain for longer than any other king or queen. She was on the throne for over 60 years, and died aged 81. When she was 21 she married a German prince, Albert, and they had nine children. During her reign, Britain became the most powerful country in the world, building up a wide empire, and becoming the “world’s factory”. Today, one of the many statues of Victoria is outside of Buckingham Palace.

To see a picture of Queen Victoria on her wedding day, click here.

In front of them
was the dirtiest, scruffiest, scrawniest young boy she had ever seen. He couldn’t have been much older than Emma-Louise, but it was hard to tell under all of that dirt.