“I thought I’d searched the whole caravan thoroughly for liquor bottles,” grumbled Lisa.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for Zorilla’s drinking,” said Socrates, “God knows you do your best. But time is running out: now we go to plan B!”

“What? You mean that I should… but I thought you were just kidding when you said that?!”

“No, no, no, this is serious. Time for you to step in, Lisa. Or lets call you… Lizette. Yes that’s good. You can write Lizette on the sign.”

In this book we follow Lisa who has run away with the Ribokoffs, a touring troupe of performers. Now they’ve arrived in Gothenburg and Samuel gets an evening job with them as a lamplighter. They are a motley crew. There is Madame Zorilla, fortune-teller with a big heart and a drink problem. The dwarf Socrates, the troupe’s “ clown and brains”, and Ling, the worlds tallest Chinaman.

Lisa generally dresses as a boy, to avoid being spotted. But one day she has to help out in the guise of fortune-teller, Lizette. Sometimes she also has to be part of Trixo the Magician’s performance, which she really hates. Samuel realises immediately that there is something fishy about the smooth-talking magician and it’s the crystal ball that shows the magic signs…

Lisa is thirteen and nearly an adult. In the middle of the 1800s this would mean that she would have to wear a long skirt and a corset. Childish games are over and real life closes in. She is fascinated by adult life but at the same time daunted by the prospect. Lisa shifts in and out of different roles. One minute she is dressed as a boy, but then as a fortune-teller she has to pad out her breasts and put on make up. The Fortune-teller’s apprentice is about the ambivalence felt toward adult life and developing sexuality.