Dustjacket by Charles Pickard. Smith’s story of a thirteen-year-old Irish girl searching across London for her father provides a panoramic view of the underside of the city. Certainly many of the characters are clichés of the period, but the novel provides a record of archetypes that have long since faded from view. The main character Barbara Sherman is well-drawn, and Smith is skilful in portraying the way others react to her mixture of innocence and worldliness.