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60th Anniversary Edition

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this special edition of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. 
 
It's 19th Century England, 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 young orphans Bonnie and Sylvia get caught by the governess, Miss Slighcarp - they need their wits and Simon the goose-boy - to escape unscathed. 
 
For Miss Slighcarp is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase. . .

A wild and evocative fantasy, stylishly told, with a tremendous romantic appeal

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

One genuine small masterpiece. Almost a copy-book lesson in those virtues that a classic children's book must possess

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.

More Arabel and Mortimer

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this highly anticipated edition of More Arabel and Mortimer. 
 
Late one night, as Mr Jones drove his taxi home through a storm, he spotted a large black bird with a hairy fringe round its beak sprawled out in the road. 
 
Mr Jones decides to take the bird home to meet his daughter, Arabel, she'll know what to do - she loves animals! 
 
'His name's Mortimer', she said. 
 
Return to Number Six, Rainwater Crescent, London, NW 3 ½ with Arabel and Mortimer as this mischievous bird continues to cause chaos in the Jones household. . .

Joan Aiken (Author) 
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. 
 
Quentin Blake (Illustrator) 
Quentin Blake has illustrated more than three hundred books and was Roald Dahl's favourite illustrator. In 1980 he won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. In 1999 he became the first ever Children's Laureate and in 2013 he was knighted for services to illustration.

Arabel and Mortimer Stories

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this treasured edition of Arabel and Mortimer Stories. 
 
Late one night, as Mr Jones drove his taxi home through a storm, he spotted a large black bird with a hairy fringe round its beak sprawled out in the road. 
 
Mr Jones decides to take the bird home to Number Six, Rainwater Crescent, London, NW 3 ½, to meet his daughter, Arabel, she'll know what to do - she loves animals! 
 
'His name's Mortimer', she said. 
 
But it doesn't take long until the mischievous Mortimer causes chaos in the Jones household. . .

The Kingdom Under the Sea

Folktales have never been so beautifully told or illustrated as in this collection, now available as a beautiful hardback gift edition to celebrate its 40th anniversary

Anyone who enjoyed the works of Joan Aiken and Jan Pienkowski at an impressionable age will coo fondly over the reissue of 1971's The Kingdom Under the Sea, Aiken's retelling of a series of Eastern European folk-tales. It too, is chock-full of ghastliness, as vintage children's tales used to be. Pienkowski's illustrations are whimsically macabre

The Kingdom Under the Sea is a collection of traditional European folk takes retold by Joan Aiken and illustrated by Jan Pienkowski. A book for reader and listener to enjoy

First published in 1971, when it won the Kate Greenaway medal, this timeless collection of stories with enigmatic titles such as The Imprisoned Queen and The Sun's Cousin, all complemented by Jan Pienkowski's atmospheric sillhouette illustrations, will captivate a new generation. A book for keeps

"Would you like to listen to some fine stories? I know stories about heroes, stories about magicians, stories about birds and beasts, summer and winter, the sun, the moon and the stars." 
 
From the creators of the much-loved A Necklace of Raindrops comes a collection of stories filled with magic. 
 
Travel deep to the kingdom under the sea, where lies the sea-king's palace filled with mermaids and dragons, the fearsome and the monstrous... Wicked fairies rub shoulders with sun-gods, goblins make mischief and noble knights go into battle within these pages. Meet Baba Yaga, who eats men up as if they were chickens, and meet the most beautiful creature on the whole round of the earth! There are brave deeds, granted wishes and mythical creatures in these traditional European folk tales retold with the inimitable touch of master storyteller Joan Aiken, and illustrated with the iconic silhouettes of Jan Pienkowski. 
 
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration in 1971, The Kingdom Under the Sea celebrates 40 years of transporting you to a land of mystery and drama, of beauty and humour, where anything is possible...

Joan Aiken (Author) Joan Aiken was born in Sussex in 1924. She was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken; her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge, is also a novelist. Before joining the 'family business' herself, 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 of 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. Amanda Craig, writing in The Times, said, 'She was a consummate story-teller, one that each generation discovers anew.' Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first title, published in 1962 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. 
 
Joan Aiken was decorated with an MBE for her services to children's books. She died in 2004. Jan Pienkowski (Illustrator) Jan Pienkowski was born in Warsaw in 1936. After creating his first book at the age of eight, Jan went on to excel in his chosen field of design, working in such diverse areas as television, theatre and greetings cards. Published in 1968, A Necklace of Raindrops was the first of several wonderful collaborations between Jan and Joan Aiken - and it was also the very first book Jan illustrated. He has since twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration, and has created many instantly recognizable classics.

A wonderful new reissued edition of the classic Joan Aiken short story collection illustrated with Jan Pienkowski's iconic silhouettes. 
 
These East European fairytales have it all: drama, magic, heroes, fairies, dragons, mermaids, adventure, bravery and beauty...

The Shadow Guests

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this thrilling edition of The Shadow Guests. 
 
Following the double disappearance of his mother and older brother, Cosmo Curtoy is sent to live with his strange cousin in England. 
 
When he arrives, Cosmo decides to explore the ancient Mill House on his cousins' estate - where he meets the Mill's spirited guests. . . 
 
But can he trust them? 
 
Join Cosmo on this supernatural time-travelling adventure and break the Curtoy's curse!

Jane Fairfax

A companion novel to Jane Austen's Emma, by literary legend Joan Aiken.

Others may try, but nobody comes close to Aiken in writing sequels to Jane Austen

Fun to read, an affectionate tribute, and companion volume to the original, Joan Aiken's novel will intrigue and entertain

Here's a treat for the reader - Aiken's view of Jane Fairfax where the darker side of Regency life is reflected, and Emma is only a minor character - something that would have annoyed that self-important young lady. Great fun

Jane Fairfax can't fail to charm and intrigue with its deft array of anticipations and explanations of what really went on

The great achievement of the book is not to let the lovers find each other, but to have Jane and Emma learn they should have been friends

What is so terrific about this book is that you fall in love with Jane, she really is the second heroine of the novel

I felt like I was reading Emma for the first time, even though it is one of my most beloved books over the decades, frequently re-read

Joan Aiken was born in Sussex in 1924. She was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken; her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge, is also a novelist. Before joining the 'family business' herself, 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 of 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. Amanda Craig, writing in The Times, said, 'She was a consummate story-teller, one that each generation discovers anew.' Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first title, published in 1962 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. 
 
Joan Aiken was decorated with an MBE for her services to children's books. She died in 2004.

A favourite game of the rich and beautiful Emma Woodhouse is dabbling in the marriage market, where she plays with everyone’s hearts except her own. 
 
But, for Jane Fairfax, the other heroine of Jane Austen's Emma, marriage is not a game. Orphaned and without a dowry to attract a husband, she must rely on her charms to secure an engagement, or find work as a governess. 
 
In a superb companion novel to Austen's romance, Joan Aiken reveals another world unknown to Emma - this is Jane's secret story of love and heartache.

Joan Aiken

Quentin Blake

Join master storyteller Joan Aiken and illustrator extraordinaire Quentin Blake for eight original and wildly imaginative modern fairy tales. 
 
From eight-legged horses and Martian dinosaurs to a girl cursed to turn into a pink snake, these weird and wonderful short stories weave folktale and fantasy into something entirely unexpected. 
 
Told with Joan Aiken&rsquo;s wit and creativity, and illustrated with Quentin Blake&rsquo;s distinctive style, these surreal, sublime and endlessly enjoyable stories are perfect for young readers and fairy tale fans to share.

Joan Aiken

Books by Joan Aiken

Series by Joan Aiken

The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase Sequence

Articles featuring Joan Aiken

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