Leslie Ross; Or, Fond of a Lark

In the golden light of a Victorian seaside summer, Leslie Ross runs wild. He is twelve years old, fearless, and perpetually in search of his next diversion, what he cheerfully calls "a lark." Whether racing boats along the shore, sneaking into forbidden cove, or outwitting the local shopkeepers, Leslie approaches life with an irrepressible energy that charms everyone around him, even as it drives his parents to despair. His mother frets; his father watches with a mixture of pride and growing alarm. The trouble is that Leslie's adventures carry real stakes. The sea that offers such thrilling playgrounds also harbors danger, and when his pursuit of excitement leads him to the edge of tragedy, the Ross family faces a difficult choice. The result is a story that captures something true about childhood: that wildness and vulnerability live in the same small body, and that love sometimes means letting go. Originally published in 1871, this is a vanished piece of children's literature that still pulses with life.