The Sisters of Pythagoras

Age 9 and up. Towards the end of the 1700s, Peter Elliot, a soon to be 12 year old boy, finds himself the unwitting target of a sinister group of women called the Sisters of Pythagoras (Pythags). They possess magical skills including the ability to change into animals in an instant. The Pythags intend to drain the boy’s life force to ensure their own immortality. Fortunately for Peter, they have reckoned without the intervention of a resourceful talking jackdaw called Jebediah, or Jeb for short. Jeb is often pompous, sometimes misguided but always well-meaning. To complicate matters, the Pythags aren’t Peter’s only foes. Due to his accidental involvement with the affable smuggler Tom Crocket and his gang, the boy also has a reward posted for his capture by the local excise men. With help from a mysterious white haired professor and his coachman, Jeb sets out to prevent the Pythags proceeding with their plan for Peter’s demise. After a series of dramatic showdowns with both sets of adversaries the story reaches its climax on the morning of Peter’s twelfth birthday.