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Celia Rees has written over twenty books for Young Adults and is best known for her historical fiction. Her first historical novel, Witch Child, was translated into 28 languages. Witch Child and subsequent titles, Sorceress and Pirates!, were shortlisted for the Guardian, Whitbread (Costa) and W.H. Smith Awards in the UK and won awards in the UK, USA, France and Italy.
She lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK and divides her time between writing, talking to readers in schools and libraries, reviewing and teaching creative writing.
Photo credit: Sue Foll
November 2021 Book of the Month | Absolutely dazzling. With exemplary research that beautifully integrates details of time and place, outstanding characterisation that rings with empathy and authenticity, and powerfully resonant themes, Celia Rees’ Pirates is a true triumph of historic fiction. I could say what a swashbuckling adventure this is. How brilliantly the book conjures the thrills and dangers of life on the piratical high seas; what an incredible page-turner it is. And, while Pirates! certainly is all these things, it’s also much, much more. Centred around two extraordinary young women readers will truly care about, it conveys the brutality of slavery in the West Indies, and how women were but pawns in a man’s world - forced into slavery on white-owned plantations, and enslaved by marriage, too. Nancy is the free-spirited daughter of a merchant. Minerva is a strong young woman enslaved in Jamaica. Following his death, Nancy travels to Jamaica, where she meets Minerva on her father’s plantation, and they immediately strike up a bond. As grotty circumstances escalate and close in, the young women flee the lives the world has set out for them by becoming pirates. There’s tremendous tension, epic action, and a gorgeous sense of sisterhood (and romance, too) as the women sail the world determined to live the lives they deserve. May this reissue make its way to legions of new readers - teenagers, young adults and adults alike. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Set in Britain against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Sovay once again confirms Celia Rees’ tremendous talent for unpacking and enlivening major historical events through new perspectives, most notably through the eyes and experiences of strong female leads who refuse to do as they’re told. Born into a wealthy English family, Sovay has lived a pretty privileged life, though through her forward-thinking father, she has an acute awareness of the principles of justice and liberty. We meet Sovay in splendidly dramatic style when, dressed as a highwayman, she entraps her lover and proves his intentions and commitment are not what she’d hoped - not what she deserves. Amidst this personal anger and turmoil, her father vanishes, and it seems her brother has vanished from his Oxford college. Cue Sovay’s intrepid investigation of what’s happened, cue many more highwaywoman incarnations, and cue the unravelling of a web of political corruption, secret societies and monstrous science as the impact of the French Revolution hits very close to home. Packed with passion, political intrigue and rip-roaring, death-defying action, this is the kind of page-turner that could well spark a desire to dig deeper into history.
This emotive, richly-detailed novel illuminates a dark period of history with grace and lyricism through a perfectly-paced plot. England, 1659 – an era of terror and persecution for women who might be accused of witchcraft. One such woman is Mary’s grandmother, the wise woman who raised her, someone the community once turned to in times of birth, sickness and death. But those times have passed. When her grandmother is hanged for witchcraft after a ludicrous trial, Mary fears for her own life, but she’s swiftly and quietly brought to safety by a woman she doesn’t know, with a passage to America arranged for her. In the New World Mary will adopt a new identity and make a new life among Puritans. Mary’s life in Salem is described in evocative detail - the heat that “does not fade with the setting sun”, the fireflies, the “dour” people whose “faces show a history of work and hardship.” But the Puritans find Salem too soft for them, and so they press further into the wilderness, to the Beulah (‘Bride of God’) settlement. Life is strict, and worsens for Mary when old superstitions re-emerge after she uses her healing wisdom. It’s while searching for herbs in the woods that she befriends Jaybird, a Native American boy, and meets his shaman grandfather. The novel tells of their history and spiritual beliefs with an engaging deftness of touch, but since the Puritans regard Native Americans as “the Devil’s instruments”, as people who live “in sin, and in degradation”, Mary’s association with Jaybird adds to their suspicion of her. Presented as pages from Mary’s journal found centuries later, this is an engaging joy from start to cliff-hanger finish. As Witch Child ends, so Sorceress begins...
This captivating sequel sees contemporary Native American Agnes discover deep connections to her ancestress Mary, whose story enchanted readers in Witch Child. Deftly interweaving narratives of the past and present, and laced with atmosphere, authenticity and insights into Native American culture, this is an exhilarating, emotion-driven feast for fans of historical fiction. Agnes is proud of her Native American heritage, though her fellow anthropology students don’t call her by her tribal name, Karonhisake - Searching Sky. After reading the historic diaries of Mary Newbury and being struck by a vision type experience, Agnes feels compelled to contact the researcher who found Mary’s diaries. She has a hunch that Mary might be the young woman she’s heard stories about on her home reservation. As things turn out, her formidable Aunt M, a medicine woman, is already miles ahead of her in knowing this. Bristling with intrigue and ethical commentary on the acquisition and appropriation of Native American objects (“What right they got to any of that stuff? Bunch of grave robbers!”), this tells the remarkable tales of two remarkable young women connected across time.
Weaving romance and courage together into a powerful story set in Elizabethean England this tells how Violetta, a young girl in exile, desperately pursues the treasure stolen from her country by the evil Malvolio while also hoping against hope that she’ll find her true love. Violetta travels with Feste, fool extraordinaire, whose clowning antics catch the eye of Shakespeare himself in this gripping adventure that tells another chapter in his story of Twelfth Night.
Weaving romance and courage together into a powerful story set in Elizabethean England this tells how Violetta, a young girl in exile, desperately pursues the treasure stolen from her country by the evil Malvolio while also hoping against hope that she’ll find her true love. Violetta travels with Feste, fool extraordinaire, whose clowning antics catch the eye of Shakespeare himself in this gripping adventure that tells another chapter in his story of Twelfth Night.
This terrific historical romp tells how teenager Sovay fights against the restricting conventions of her time. Escaping from her cheating fiancé, Sovay adopts the dress and lifestyle of a highwayman and takes to the dangerous roads of eighteenth century England. Soon she’s swept up in intrigue in England before crossing the channel and facing the terrible dangers of the French Revolution. To see Celia's other titles, please click here.
This terrific historical romp tells how teenager Sovay fights against the restricting conventions of her time. Escaping from her cheating fiancé, Sovay adopts the dress and lifestyle of a highwayman and takes to the dangerous roads of eighteenth century England. Soon she’s swept up in intrigue in England before crossing the channel and facing the terrible dangers of the French Revolution.
When Mary sees her grandmother accused of witchcraft and hung for the crime, she is silently hurried to safety by an unknown woman. She is taken in a boat to Plymouth and from there sails to the New World where she hopes to make a new life among the pilgrims. But old superstitions die hard.
Richard has hung out at the abandoned house in the woods during his summer vacation for as long as he can remember. But this year, he discovers that a family has moved in. The father, J. A. Dalton, is an internationally renowned artist who insists on painting Richards portrait, while Daltons wife draws the boy into her circle as though he were one of the familys bohemian adult friends.But it is their beautiful daughter, Clio, with whom Richard becomes obsessed. Soon he finds ways to spend daysand nightswith Clio, all the while struggling to understand and fit in with her eccentric clan. How can he know that some mysteries are best left unsolvedand that the passions of a single summer will change his life forever?
The Goodman children are spending their first proper holiday with their estranged archaeologist father since their parents divorced - looking forward to seeing what his new house in the country is like. They know it's a crumbling old pub, which he is renovating, but not long after they arrive, they realise their dad bought the pub for a reason, because of what is said to be buried beneath it. Objects move in the knight, strange noises can be heard coming from the cellar, and a creepy looking guy is hanging around the village asking sinister questions about their dad, and the old pub....13 year old Hugh Goodman is intrigued, and digs a little deeper into the mysteries of the house than he should. Before he knows it he and his siblings are caught up in a horrifying secret, and the discovery of an ancient chamber, where lies the restless ghost of a buried templar knight. Will the ghost avenge his own death using innocent children, or can they manage to beat evil forces?
After Mary sees her grandmother accused of witchcraft and hung for the crime, she is hurried to safety by an unknown woman who gives her tools to keep a record of her days - paper and ink. Then Mary is taken to a boat in Plymouth and from there sails to the New World where she hopes to make a new life among the pilgrims. But old superstitions die hard and soon Mary finds that she will have to make important choices to ensure her survival. Vividly evoked, this is a powerful literary achievement by Celia Rees that is utterly engrossing from start to finish.
It is the dawn of the eighteenth century, when girls stay home and sew while men sail the high seas finding adventure, danger, and gold. But two unusually adventurous girls--a rich merchant's daughter, Nancy Kington, and her former plantation slave, Minerva Sharpe--take to the high seas from Jamaica on a shop the crew renames Deliverance. Not just any trading ship, the Deliverance flies black flags from its mast, proclaiming to all that the newly named, hijacked ship is a pirate vessel, striking fear into the hearts of those she approaches. Or so they hope.For Nancy, the Deliverance is her escape from an arranged betrothal to a controlling and devilish man. For Minerva, it is an escape from slavery, as well as from the fearsome overseer on Nancy's family plantation. But in the end, the money, the adventure, the companionship, and the chance to see the world not as women, but as bold and daring pirates, is an opportunity neither can deny.A powerful, thrilling, and ultimately inspiring journey of two women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.
In the summer of 1976, on holiday in South Wales, fifteen-year-old Richard is shocked and fascinated to meet the tenants of the historic Wish House. Jay Dalton is a well-known artist, and his large, bohemian family - casually stripping naked on the beach, smoking dope, ignoring convention - seem astonishingly glamorous. Richard falls under the spell of beautiful, free-spirited Clio, Jay's daughter. She seduces him in a secret forest grotto, where they spend idyllic days playing out her favourite Celtic myths of brave grail knights and powerful enchantresses. But why does Jay paint so many nudes of Clio? Why is he obsessed with the need to paint Richard? Why does his wife grow poisonous plants in her Witch's Garden? The Daltons' dark secrets draw Richard into a world of disturbing relationships, where he discovers, too late, that his innocent arrival at the Wish House was no accident . . .
Finn hates water. She's haunted by terrifying nightmares in which she is running before a huge wave that threatens to engulf hern watery darkness for ever. And the dreams have been worse since she, her mum and her two younger brothers arrived in Cornwall. Then she discovers the strange curse that was laid upon the cottage years ago, and she's sure vengeful Griffiths has something to do with it. She's seen him, endlessly tying and retying a length of rope, creating the knots that - superstition has it - can conjure storms. Finn knows that she's in mortal danger if she can't find a way to break the curse...
Even if she doesn't believe in the ghost of Michael Bailey, Alex Lewis is still haunted by the memory of the terrifying incident that took place two years ago, and by the fact that she too played the vicious game which led to it - the Bailey Game. And all it takes for the game to start again is the arrival of a new girl, Lauren Price, who doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the class. Alex is suddenly confronted with some difficult decisions, but ultimately her friendship with Lauren and her memory of the unstoppable Bailey Game demand that this time she opts out of the game and faces the perils of being on the outside . . . `A very exciting and disturbing tale which will hold the reader's interest right to the end. I highly recommend THE BAILEY GAME' Michele Elliot, KIDSCAPE
When two young women meet under extraordinary circumstances in eighteenth century West Indies they are unified in their desire to escape their oppressive lives. The first is a slave, forced to work in a plantation mansion and subjected to terrible cruelty at the hands of the plantation manager. The second is a spirited and rebellious English girl, sent to the West Indies to marry well and combine the wealth of two respectable families. But Fate ensures that one night the two young women have to save each other and run away to a life no less dangerous but certainly a lot more free. As pirates they roam the seas, fight pitched battles against their foes and become embroiled in many a heart-quickening adventure. Written in brilliant and sparkling first-person narrative, this is a wonderful novel in which Celia Rees has brought the past vividly and intimately to life.
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