The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton

Hans doesn't know who he is or where he came from. When he was a baby, he washed ashore in a wooden box and was adopted by the conniving grave robber, Knobbe the Bent. Now fate has thrown him together with Angela von Schwanenberg, a young countess fleeing for her life from the evil Archduke Arnulf and his dreaded Necromancer. Together, these friends are on a daring quest to discover Hans' true identity and to save Angela's parents from the archduke.

Join Hans and Angela on their grand adventure as they ride through the depths of the great forest, sled down a mountain in a coffin, and sneak along the secret passageways of the archduke's palace. The Grave Robber's Apprentice is a world of highwaymen, hermits, and dancing bears; and of a boy separated from his family by the sea.

In this world anything is possible with luck and imagination—even for a grave robber's apprentice.