Coram Boy

Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin is a children's novel that takes place in the mid-1700s. The plot follows three threads. The first is of "The Coram Man," and his son Meshak, who murder and traffic illegitimate children under the guise of shepherding them to the Coram Hospital. The second is of Alexander, the son of a wealthy family who would rather become a musician than inherit the family estate. The last is of a mysterious, illegitimate boy who is brought up at Coram hospital.

In 1700s England, Otis Gardiner and his son, Meshak, peddle their products throughout the villages. When Captain Thomas Coram opens a foundling hospital in London, Otis sees an opportunity to take advantage of the mothers of illegitimate children. Otis begins charging mothers a substantial amount to take their children to Coram Foundling Hospital. This occupation earns him the name "The Coram Man."

Otis, however, has no intention of holding up his end of the bargain. Instead, he traffics the older children, selling them into slavery or the military. He forces his son to bury the infants alive.



Another narrative in the book is that of the Ashbrook family. Alexander Ashbrook, the family's successor, is a talented musician who sings and plays the harpsichord. The story finds him on a scholarship as a chorister at a Cathedral in Gloucester. There, he becomes good friends with a boy named Thomas. Alexander has dreams of being a composer, but his father is adamant that he should concentrate on matters of the family estate.

Meanwhile, the governess' daughter and Alexander's cousin, Melissa Milcote, catches his eye. The two fall in love. When Alexander returns from the cathedral to find that his father has taken all of his music paraphernalia, he decides to run away. In his absence, Melissa discovers she is pregnant with his baby. Unbeknownst to the pair, Meshak has also fallen in love with Melissa. He secretly refers to her as his "angel."

A woman named Mrs. Lynch is working for the Ashbrooks and is privy to Otis' business dealings. She tells him that Melissa is expecting. Feeling that she has no other options, Melissa's mother arranges for Otis to take the baby, Aaron, to the Coram Hospital. She tells Melissa that the baby was stillborn.



Otis assumes that since his son is "simple-minded," he does not have an emotional reaction to the crimes he's asked to commit. In reality, the cries of his infant victims torment him at night so that he's unable to sleep. When Otis orders Meshak to drown baby Aaron, Meshak instead saves the boy and takes him to Coram Hospital. He thinks of the child as his angel's baby.

Otis' operation is soon discovered and shut down. Otis is thought to have been hanged for his crimes.

The narrative next finds Aaron at age eight. He's a gifted musician, like his father, and is close friends with a black child named Toby. A man named Mish regularly visits Aaron and calls him "my angel."



Toby works for a man named Philip Garddarn who employs him to attend parties so that his friends can pet him. He later discovers that Philip is selling children into slavery on different continents.

Eventually, a composer recognizes Aaron's talent and sends him to be trained by a pair of his fellow musicians, Burny and Alexander Ashbrook. When the Coram hospital boys choir visits the Ashbrook estate, Alexander's father is moved by the music and asks his son to come back home.

Melissa comments that Alexander and Aaron resemble each other, and Mish worries that Aaron's parents will take him. He and Aaron run away together and become lost.



Mish and Aaron seek help from Philip Gaddarnn, who sells the pair to a slaver, bound for a different continent. Before they can be shipped off, however, Toby intervenes and gets Alexander and his friend to intercept them at the quayside. Aaron is rescued, but Mish is not. Alexander's childhood friend, Thomas, is shot and killed during the rescue effort.

As the story closes, we learn that Mish is actually Meshak and Philip Gaddarn is Otis Gardiner. Melissa and Alexander are finally able to reunite with their son, Aaron. Mish later dies of old age.

The novel won the Whitbread Books Award in 2000, an award given to books with authors based in Ireland or Britain. The New York Times Book Review applauded Gavin for her in-depth historical research and "lyrical and luminous style."



Helen Edmunson created a theatrical adaptation of the book, which ran at the Olivier Stage at the National Theatre. The play was well-received, with four Oliver Awards nominations in 2006 for Best New Play, Best Director, Best Sound Design, and Best Performance in a Supporting Role. It was also nominated for a Tony Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award.