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Joan Aiken (1924 - 2004) spent part of her childhood living in a haunted house. After leaving school, she worked at the BBC, the United Nations, and in the editorial department of a magazine. All this time, she had been writing stories and after her first major novel was published in 1961, Joan left her job to write full-time. She has now written almost 100 books for adults and children, Including the hugely popular The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts In Battersea.
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted!
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted! This edition is part of the Vintage Children's Classics series which is aimed at and shaped by 8-12 year olds, and the adults in their lives. It is a broad, affordable selection of books that will inspire a life-long love of reading; these stories that have secured a place in the hearts of thousands. They are all unabridged. To view all the Vintage Children's Classics titles click here. They are books to be given as gifts, and passed down the generations. In addition, story hungry children often don't want the adventure to end, so why not take a look at the fully interactive website - World of Stories - which contains lots of extra material - the backstory: with quizzes, activities and fascinating facts about the books and their authors.
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted!
A favourite book chosen by Philip Pullman: "If Ransome was Mozart, Aiken was Rossini. Unforced effervescence."
A tale of adventure, attack, deceit, bravery, murder, abduction and high glory set in a small Welsh town. This book was also the winner of the prestigious Guardian fiction award. What Ali Sparkes, author of Dark Summer and also the Shapeshifter series says of the title and its author: JOAN AIKEN - Most people know Joan Aiken for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase but for me her best was The Whispering Mountain, featuring the wonderfully bookish Owen, unloved grandson of a Welsh museum curator, caught up in a dark plot involving an ancient harp, dodgy Cockneys, a girl with a pet hawk and a travelling poet – to say nothing of the school bullies he has to enlist to help save the day. Joan inspired me so much, I know my stories bear her mark! Sadly, this title is currently out of print so we’re unable to get a copy for you. However, you may be able to get one through second hand bookstores. To see Ali Sparkes’ 5 favourite children’s books click here
A beautiful Cornish coastal village is the setting for a highly sinister conspiracy involving a kidnapped baby, mysterious monks and an almost irresistible new perfume... 'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book Review Martha works for an advertising agency, filming a TV commercial on location on the stunning Cornish coast. The client is the eccentric owner of a chemicals company that has invented a new, almost irresistible perfume, and Martha is in charge of shooting the romantic ads - unfortunately starring his beautiful but highly manipulative daughter-in-law. Before long, Martha finds herself embroiled in the conspiracy over the perfume's true origin - to say nothing of a kidnapped baby, sinister monks, her own long-since vanished ex-husband and a series of exploding soup cans. And what of her own floundering love life...? 'Witty and acute ... a nice romantic thriller' Punch
'Waiting for her, he was on edge with expectation. He had never planned a murder before ... Only sheer necessity was making him do it now ...' Coincidence couldn't explain the three accidental deaths. It had to be something more - something sinister? One old lady had fallen and broken her neck; the others had died in hit-and-run accidents. And now beautiful young Caroline Conroy, who has returned to her poisonous family after a mysterious tragedy abroad, must face the enemy: a smiling stranger who is calmly and ruthlessly planning her destruction. 'Terrifyingly enclosed spine-chiller' Sunday Telegraph
Dark family secrets can be murder . . . 'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book Review Married to an ambitious but feckless architect and living in the pretentious show home they can ill afford, Jane is forced to return to work, leaving her children in the care of a less than reassuring childminder. As the weeks pass, her disintegrating marriage and the discovery of her husband's secrets lead Jane into a battle to save both herself and her children from an explosive summer of hatred, jealousy - and murder. This claustrophobic thriller, based on events from the author's own life and her struggles as a young widow, marries the desperate ring of truth with all the added horror of Joan Aiken's gothic imagination.
When Charles is given just twelve months to live, his doctor sister takes him to a small Cornish village to end his days. They are joined by other friends including Tuesday, the young author of an unexpectedly sensational novel that brings her nothing but trouble. Combining doomed love, a beautifully groomed and immaculately behaved psychopath, an escaped circus leopard and a fortune hidden in the pages of a library of books Joan Aiken once again serves up all the ingredients for an explosive finale. 'Unusual, enthralling, full of wry fun' Sunday Times
Joan Aiken, one of Jane Austen's most sparkling successors, takes up Austen's pen yet again, this time continuing where Pride and Prejudice left off in Lady Catherine's Necklace.In Austen's classic novel, the arrogant Lady Catherine de Bourgh tried vehemently to prevent the betrothal of her nephew Mr. Darcy, whom she had intended for her daughter Anne, to the less socially connected Elizabeth Bennet. Defeated, she retreats to her grand estate-- Rosings Park. This enchanting sequel tells the story of what happens one balmy April day when a sudden blizzard disrupts the weather, causes a carriage accident, and affects the lives of all those involved in a most amazing way.From out of the blizzard emerge the Delaval siblings. Miss Delaval, having twisted her ankle in the carriage accident, accepts Lady Catherine's gracious hospitality while she recovers. But the Delavals' presence proves disturbing to the entire household-- first causing the removal of two artists from their cottage home on the de Bourgh property, then meddling in Miss Anne's marriage plans. Suddenly, Lady Catherine is kidnapped, revealing some members of the household to be not at all what they seemed.
'It's a rotten old job being King!' says Dido Twite. Her friend King Simon agrees - his scheming courtiers want to marry him off to a pushy princess, and he has to lead his army against a tribe of invading Wends. Their only hope is to find a long-lost heir to take Simon's place on the throne of England, with the help of failed witch Malise and her prophesying parrot. The last book in the series that first introduced Simon as the hero of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a helter-skelter of battles, vicious villains and mysterious monsters, packed full of magic and humour. If you don't know the Wolves Chronicles, this gives a wonderful taste of Joan Aiken's fantastic world - and you still have all the rest to discover!
What does a cockatrice enjoy most for dinner? Anyone it can find.So the alarmed inhabitants of England discover when a plague of monsters--known as cockatrices--invade their country and begin gobbling them up. They must be stopped! A plucky band of survivors dubbed the Cockatrice Corps--including youngsters Dakin and Sauna--decide to fight back. But how? A rollicking adventure filled with breathtaking twists and turns, The Cockatrice Boys is Joan Aiken at her comic best.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
There is eerie trouble once again in the Cornish village of St Boan, often known as Thunder's Pocket. Some hundred-year-old water pipes are being replaced and the digging has disturbed the ghosts of the past, namely the twins Matthew and Ben Pernel who were killed in mysterious circumstances and their musician father blamed. The three are now trying to be reunited but less innocent forces are also at work and the present townspeople are involved as the unhappy incidents of a hundred years ago are relived. Aunt Lal calls on her nephew Ned to help. She believes only he can bring the Pernels together again and thus truly bury the past. But even Ned is not immune to the horrors of the disturbed spirits. A thrilling sequel to In Thunder's Pocket by this prestigious author.
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