Michael Gallagher is the author of two series of novels set in Victorian times. "Send for Octavius Guy" chronicles the attempts of fourteen-year-old Gooseberry?reformed master pickpocket?to become a detective, aided and abetted by his ragtag bunch of friends. "The Involuntary Medium" follows the fortunes of young Lizzie Blaylock, a girl who can materialize the spirits of the dead, as she strives to come to terms with her unique gift.
For twenty-five years Michael taught adults with learning disabilities at Bede, a London-based charity that works with the local community. He now writes full time. Follow Octavius Guy @sendforOctavius. Author photo courtesy of Elaine Jeffs.

Octavius Guy and the Case of the Quibbling Cleric. London, 1853. The well-heeled residents of Highbury have a problem: the Reverend Allaston Burr, the rector who's been foisted upon their congregation by an ancient yet legally-binding right known as an advowson. When a final appeal to Queen Victoria?as the head of the Church of England?fails to remove him from his post, they turn to Gooseberry for help.
Join fifteen-year-old Octavius and his ragtag bunch of friends as they investigate the detested cleric, only to discover that someone has a far more permanent form of removal in mind.