The Sound of Coaches is an interesting book describing the strange circumstances of Sam Chichester. Sam was named by his foster parents, a coach driver and his wife, the coach's guard.
He was born at an inn and left a pewter ring and pistol by his mother who passed away that night.
Sam grew up on the coach, the "Flying Cradle," and learned all its routes well. (SPOILER ALERT)
As he grew older he learned without meaning to that the Chichesters weren't his real parents and that all he had left of his true ones were the ring and pistol.
As time goes on Sam grows older and learns to drive the coach. For his birthday his foster father presents him with a driving whip to take his mind off the pistol. Chichester did not hold with that kind of stuff.
Lately Sam had become more absorbed in the pistol which bothered Chichester as he ignored the whip. One day Sam did something which angered his father and he would not let Sam or his wife come on his rounds with him.
A few hours later as he was driving along he saw a man on the road asking for a ride. The coach was packed so Chichester had to continue on. But the man stepped in the middle of the road, stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a ..............

This book is one of my favorites and worth reading over and over again. ( )

The Sound of Coaches is the story of Sam Chichester, who was not born to that name naturally. His mother was a passenger on the Chichester Road coach and died at The Red Lion inn after giving birth to him. She left the baby no hint of her name or family — nothing but a barber's box with a cheap pewter ring and a gentleman's pistol inside. The passengers who had been riding the coach that night were seized with a charitable impulse and pitched in to give the child a small sum as his birthright. And to everyone's surprise, the coachman (known as Chichester for the road he owned) and his wife volunteered to adopt the boy. The child was therefore christened Sam Chichester and grew up in the rocking home of Chichester's coach, The Flying Cradle.

Garfield follows Sam's story as he grows from an infant to a lad of seventeen. We are there when Sam learns about his true parentage, and we go through his childhood nightmares with him. What is the legacy he has been left in the pewter ring and the pistol? Who was his mother? Did Sam inherit the violent nature inferred from the pistol his true father seems to have left him?

The humor and insight into childhood are wonderful. Garfield's comic sense is understated and wry, and reminds me of Dickens a great deal. Like Dickens' characters, Sam's life is dogged by the most extraordinary coincidences — but they are easy to forgive in this kind of story. It's the nineteenth century, after all.

The characters are very well-written. I especially enjoyed the character of Chichester. He is very simple, but he feels things intensely and his relationship with Sam is touching. Mr. Roggs, the proprieter of The Red Lion, is also great. Though he is a minor character, it was fun getting inside his head and hearing all the puns and jokes he thinks of regarding his customers but doesn't say for fear of offending someone. Parson Talbot is interesting with his philosophies about destiny, and Jenny was quite comical! I don't want to give away the story so I won't say any more about Jenny. You'll have to read it yourself and see what you think of how her story ends.

Overall, this is quite an enjoyable read, especially for fans of Dickens. At 216 pages, it's also a much shorter commitment than most of Dickens' books! Recommended. ( )