Mr Arthurs lead the g roup up the stairs at the John Rylands Library and stopped on the landing. Sophie already felt like she was in another world, as some of the others talked of Lord of the Rings o r Harry Potter . She had been taken ba ck in time, to ancient cathedrals, the palaces of old kings. Instead of being watched by CCTV cameras there were carved faces and stern-looking st atues. “It’s not as old as you might think,” said Mr A rthurs. “Victorian, in fact. Just over a hundred years really .” That seemed quite old enough to Sophie. “And while it’s called John Rylands, the real power behind it was his wife, who went by the fabulous name Enriq ueta Augustina.” “Y eah, go girl,” came a voice from t he back of the group. “Well quite,” said Mr A rthurs. “Although a lar...