The Coster Boy: Reading Adventure & Quiz

I started shouting the wares as soon as we were back in Whitechapel. I had a voice like a canary, being only ten, and my sandy-coloured hair helped too. Poll said it made me look honest, but that's a load of rubbish. Some of the worst twisters I know have got fair hair and a straight pair of blue eyes – but whatever it was, I always did well at selling. 'Fresh red apples!' I'd sing out. 'Sweet oranges, two a penny!' And if the customers smiled at me, I always smiled back. They like that.

By mid-afternoon we'd sold the whole barrow-load except for a couple of cabbages and a few leeks, and when we got home Curly nodded at them and said, 'You can have those.' If there was a lot left, he'd keep it to sell the next day, but when there wasn't much he let me sell it myself and keep what I made on it. All the coster boys worked that way, for 'bunts' as we called it. So I unharnessed Daisy and rubbed her down and fed her, then went off out again with the leeks and cabbages in a shallow basket (we always called them 'shallows'), the leather strap round my neck.

Joey is a coster boy — a child street seller of fruit and vegetables in Victorian London. He sells from a barrow (a wheeled cart) pulled by his donkey, Daisy.
The simile 'a voice like a canary' compares Joey's young, high-pitched voice to a singing bird — perfect for calling out to customers in a busy street.
Joey is streetwise and self-aware. He knows his fair hair and youthful looks help him sell, but he's honest enough to admit that looking trustworthy doesn't actually mean you are trustworthy.
'Bunts' was the coster slang for leftover goods a boy could sell on his own and keep the profit. This was a common arrangement — a small reward for a day's hard work.
Joey clearly cares for Daisy, taking time to unharness her, rub her down, and feed her before going out again. This shows his responsible, kind nature despite his tough life.

Wares — goods for sale, especially those carried by a street seller
Canary — a small yellow songbird known for its high, sweet singing voice
Twisters — dishonest people; cheats and swindlers
Coster — short for costermonger: a person who sells fruit and vegetables from a street barrow
Bunts — coster slang for leftover goods that a boy could sell on his own and keep the money
Shallows — coster slang for a shallow basket used to carry produce, worn with a leather strap around the neck

1. What does 'shouting the wares' mean?

2. Why does Joey say his fair hair is 'a load of rubbish' as a sign of honesty?

3. What are 'bunts'?

4. What evidence is there that Joey cares about Daisy the donkey?

This was the best time of the day. I felt like a proper person when I was out on my own, with nobody telling me what to do. I walked up to the street market. The daylight was fading and most of the stalls were packing up, but the butcher's shop was still open in a blaze of red and white under its row of gas lamps, and I could smell chestnuts roasting, and a meaty whiff from the pie stall. A barefoot girl a bit younger than me was trying to sell the last of her violets, but she wasn't having much luck. She looked at me as I passed and shrugged, and I gave her a smile, trying to remember her name. Rose, that was it. Red Rose, on account of her mop of hair, bright as new carrots.

Joey describes going out alone as 'the best time of the day' — he values the independence and freedom of working for himself, without anyone telling him what to do. This tells us a lot about his character: he is self-reliant and takes pride in standing on his own feet.
The market scene is rich in sensory detail: the fading daylight, the 'blaze of red and white' of the butcher's shop, the smell of roasting chestnuts and meat pies. These vivid descriptions bring Victorian London to life.
Gas lamps are a key historical detail — electric street lighting hadn't been invented yet, placing this story firmly in the past.
Rose is another child worker, barefoot and selling violets. The fact that she 'wasn't having much luck' shows how difficult life was for these children, who depended on selling to survive.
The simile 'bright as new carrots' compares Rose's red hair to carrots — a natural, earthy comparison that fits Joey's world as a fruit-and-vegetable seller. He sees the world through his own experience.

Fading — gradually becoming weaker or dimmer; here, the daylight is slowly disappearing as evening approaches
Blaze — a bright, intense display of light or colour
Gas lamps — lamps that burn gas to produce light, used before electricity was invented
Whiff — a brief, faint smell of something
Violets — small purple flowers with a sweet scent, commonly sold on the streets by poor children in Victorian London
On account of — because of; for the reason that

5. Why does Joey say this was 'the best time of the day'?

6. The writer describes Rose's hair as 'bright as new carrots.' What kind of literary technique is this?

7. Which detail in this paragraph tells you the story is set before electricity was widely used?

'Good leeks and cabbages!' I sang out. 'All fresh and lovely!' I got no takers for a bit, then a woman stopped and looked. 'Last ones left, lady,' I said. 'Beautiful leeks, white as milk they are.'

'How much d'you want for them?' she asked. I could see she was the bargaining sort – her thin mouth told me that – so I asked her a halfpenny more than I wanted, and settled on twopence for the lot, which was good money. 'You drive a hard bargain, lady,' I told her while she pushed the stuff into her basket, and she gave a little nod, pleased with herself.

Rose had caught up with me, and I gave her a quick wink and said to the woman, 'She's my sister. Twopence halfpenny the violets, clear 'em up? Smell how sweet they are – fresh picked this morning.'

'Ought to be threepence,' said Rose.

'Absolute nonsense,' the woman said. 'I'll give you twopence, and that's more than they're worth.'

'Done,' said Rose quickly.

Neither of us laughed until the woman had gone.

Joey is a skilled salesman. He deliberately asks a halfpenny more than he actually wants, knowing the woman will bargain him down. When she does, he flatters her by saying 'You drive a hard bargain, lady' — making her feel clever even though she paid exactly what Joey intended.
Joey calls the woman 'lady' to her face, which is a respectful and flattering form of address. But in his own thoughts, he just calls her 'a woman' — showing that the politeness is a deliberate sales tactic, not genuine respect.
The trick with the violets is brilliantly planned. Joey and Rose pretend she is his sister, and Joey suggests the violets at twopence halfpenny. Rose then says 'Ought to be threepence,' making the woman feel she must bargain — and she 'wins' by knocking the price down to twopence, the exact amount Rose actually wanted all along.
The final line — 'Neither of us laughed until the woman had gone' — shows the children sharing a private joke, having outwitted an adult. It also shows discipline: they know not to laugh too soon and give the trick away.
The simile 'white as milk' describes the leeks, but it's also another sales technique — Joey uses vivid, appealing language to make ordinary vegetables sound irresistible.

Takers — people willing to buy something or accept an offer
Bargaining — negotiating a price, trying to get something cheaper
Settled on — agreed upon; reached a final agreement about
Twopence — two old pennies; a very small amount of money in Victorian times
Halfpenny — half of one old penny; the smallest unit of old money
Clear 'em up — buy the lot; take everything that's left

8. Why does Joey ask a halfpenny more than he actually wants for the leeks?

9. Joey calls the customer 'lady' to her face, but 'a woman' in his own thoughts. What does this show?

10. How do Joey and Rose trick the woman into buying the violets?

11. Why do Joey and Rose wait until the woman has gone before they laugh?

Reading: The Coster Boy

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