Joan Aiken
A shipwreck survivor and her friends race to stop a nefarious plot in this classic children's adventure set in an alternate United States.
"A whale of a lot of fun." —Kirkus Reviews
Having had enough of life on board the ship that saved her from a watery grave, Dido Twite wants nothing more than to sail home to England. Instead, Captain Casket's ship lands in Nantucket, where Dido and the captain's daughter,
...In this hilarious classic adventure, an innocent boy and his friends must stop a plot to topple the King of England.
Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew’s fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of
Dido Twite, a roving ambassador to the King of England, is on her way home to London when her friend Captain Hughes is injured in a stagecoach accident. When Dido seeks help, she encounters the odd inhabitants of Tegleaze Manor: strange old Lady Tegleaze, her nephew, Tobit, and his wizened, witchy nurse, Sannie....
In this fantasy adventure, a young girl visits a land where birds carry off men, fish eat human flesh, and she must rescue a pilfered lake.
Readers who have followed Dido Twite’s escapades in Black Hearts in Battersea and Nightbirds on Nantucket will welcome her return in her wildest escapade yet.
Now back in print, The Cuckoo Tree and The Stolen Lake continue the Wolves Chronicles, the exhilarating
Winner of the Guardian Prize for Fiction
In the small town of Pennygaff, where Owen has been sent to live after his mother's death, a legendary golden harp has been found. Knowing of the prophecy of the Harp of Teirtu, Owen must prevent the magic harp from falling into the evil clutches of its reputed owner, the sinister and diabolical Lord Mayln. But it won't be easy. Owen and his friend Arabis are plunged into a hair-raising
After visiting his family in England, Felix is on his way back to Spain when he's shipwrecked off the coast of France. He is taken in by monks to recover from his ordeal—but it soon becomes clear to him that he is actually being held prisoner. Felix encounters an injured boy, Juan, on the grounds of the monastery and saves him from death. The two boys escape and continue on to Spain together—but a gang is pursuing Juan, and the journey
...First comes marriage.
Then comes love.
Then things start to get really complicated.
Desperate to help her ailing mother, Delphie Carteret agrees to a sham wedding ceremony to her cousin, Gareth. Her mother will be guaranteed annuity for life, and Gareth's obligation to marry before his sick uncle passes is fulfilled. The plan is perfect.
But perfect plans usually go awry.
...11) Dido and Pa
Dido Twite is finally back in London and reunited with her old friend Simon, now the Duke of Battersea and a favorite of King Richard. But no sooner does Dido start to settle in than her rascally father, Abednago, appears and drags her off into the night.
Soon Dido finds herself caught...
When Is Twite and her cousin, Arun, return to Cold Shoulder Road in Folkestone after their astonishing adventures in the North, the town is deserted and Arun’s mother is missing. Some say she took off with the sect Arun was raised in before he ran away. Known as the Silent Folk,...
Felix Brooke, the orphaned son of an English soldier and an aristocratic Spanish mother, has been raised in the strict, loveless household of his grandfather in Villaverde, Spain. When Felix gains possession of a letter that contains a clue to the whereabouts of his father's family, he gladly runs away form home to pursue the trail. His journey from Spain to far-off England begins the adventure of a lifetime.
14) Dangerous Games
Sailing the high seas in pursuit of Lord Herodsfoot, roving ambassador to the ageing King James III, Dido Twite’s search has led her to the remote South Sea island of Aratu. She arrives with a new friend she made en route, the enigmatic Dr. Talisman, who is returning to the isle after many...
From a mysterious traveller who leaves an injured horse with a stranger, to a garden plant that slowly creeps into a house during a thunderstorm and a man who comes across two angry forces in the middle of a forest, this chilling collection of stories will have readers jumping at bumps in the night.
Much-loved author Joan...
The author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase presents a darkly humorous adventure starring two troubled orphans in a weird and wild world.
Lucas Bell is lonely and miserable at Midnight Court, a vast, brooding house owned by his intolerable guardian, Sir Randolph Grimsby. When a mysterious carriage brings a visitor to the house, Lucas hopes he’s found a friend at last. But the newcomer, Anna Marie, is unfriendly and spoiled—and
Now eighteen, Felix sets out across the mountains of Spain to rescue three children kidnapped by their father. Along the way, he hopes to see his true love, Juana, who has entered a convent. But his rescue party is being followed, and Felix fears he and the children are being led into a trap.
In “Fog Hounds,” Tad and his sister, Ermina, know better than to venture outside after dusk. Twilight is the time when huge misty creatures roam the land on silent feet, their eyes glittering like red pennies. No one who is chased by the hounds lives to tell the tale—that is, until the night Tad meets an unusual...
In “Clem’s Dream,” a boy loses his dream and asks the Slipper, Tooth, Apple, Bread, and Water Fairies to help get it back for him. In “The Queen With Screaming Hair,” 5-year-old Princess Christina of Laurestinia...