Elsie and her Nan live together happily, occasionally joined by Elsie's mum, a dysfunctional mother if there ever was one. This is the 1950s, and while Elsie and Nan are happy, their life in their basement flat is hardly ideal. Mum is in 'show biz' and the string of 'uncles' that Elsie has met over the years show that the neighbours are right in their assumption that she is 'no better than she ought to be'. When Nan is diagnosed with TB and sent off to a sanitorium, Elsie is bereft, and mum is angry because she has to give up her dancing job to look after her. Of course they have to have tuberculosis tests because of being close to Nan, and it is discovered that Elsie has TB in her knee and must go to an orthopaedic hospital. The hospital and its occupants are described in great detail, both the children and the various nursing staff, some kind, and some far less so. Elsie is frightened and terribly worried about her Nan, and this strange new place takes lots of getting used to. But she is a sturdy soul, and soon she is telling the other children on the ward wonderfully imaginative stories, which help to while away the long hours trussed up in various frames to hold their limbs in place. The details are marvelous, and will make modern children thank their stars that hospitals are no longer the places they were in the 1950s. Two things help keep Elsie going. One is Nurse Gabriel, her special friend, and the other is a white cat called Queenie. She is the ward cat, and she seems to understand the children's need for comfort and help. Elsie, who can be a difficult patient, finds that cuddling the cat is a huge help, and she even holds conversations with her. There is a happy ending, but before we get there, we see lots of angst, lots of tears, and even a visit from the Queen. The characters are wonderfully realised, and Elsie is a plucky little girl who becomes the 'character' on the ward and a lovable heroine. This is a long novel (over 400 pages) but is un-put-downable and will provide particular succor to children in long-stay hospitals. Great stuff!