In a period of English History that never happened, when Good King James III is on the throne, and the whole country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When orphans Bonnie and Sylvia fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they need all their wits - and the help of Simon the goose-boy - to escape unscathed, for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.
Filled with brilliantly-drawn Dickensian characters, it would make an excellent choice for strong preteen readers who like an old-fashioned story with a strong plot and good characterisation. This book often appears on lists of best-loved children's books.
Joan Delano Aiken (1924-2004) was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken. Joan had a variety of jobs, including working for the BBC, the United Nations Information Centre and then as features editor for a short story magazine. Her first children's novel, The Kingdom and the Cave, was published in 1960. Joan Aiken wrote over a hundred books for young readers and adults and is recognized as one of the classic authors of the twentieth century. Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first title, published in l962 and awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Both that and Black Hearts in Battersea have been filmed. Her books are internationally acclaimed and she received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as well as the Guardian Award for Fiction in this country for The Whispering Mountain. In 1999 Joan Aiken was awarded an MBE for her services to children's books.
Title: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (A Puffin Book)
Author: Aiken, Joan
ISBN: 9780141362663
Binding:
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
Publication Date: 2015-07-02
Number of Pages: 272
Weight: 0.1996 kg
A wild and evocative fantasy, stylishly told, with a tremendous romantic appeal * Observer *
Altogether an invigorating book, in which the wit and nonsense make such a sparkling fizz together that it is hard to tell one from the other * Times Educational Supplement *
One genuine small masterpiece. Almost a copy-book lesson in those virtues that a classic children's book must possess * Time magazine *
Joan Aiken is a marvel -- Philip Pullman * The Guardian *
