The Prisoners of September

A compelling mix of tragedy and comedy set in the French Revolution, from acclaimed writer Leon Garfield.

A richly exuberant blend of elaborately plotted narrative, weaving between the comic, the tender and the macabre

Leon Garfield was born in Brighton in 1921. He was the acclaimed author of more than thirty novels for children and adults including Devil in the Fog, winner of the inaugural Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 1967, The God Beneath the Sea, winner of the 1970 Carnegie Medal, and John Diamond, winner of the 1980 Whitbread literary award. He was also elected a member of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in 1996.

Two boys, Lewis and Richard, travel to paris in 1789 for very different reasons, and find their ideals challenged in the events of the French Revolution and the September massacre.

Guilt and Gingerbread

A delightfully witty tale from the highly acclaimed children's writer Leon Garfield.

Will bring a glow of pure grinning pleasure

'When you take out the heart of gold, you must put something back in its place. Otherwise our princess would die.' 
 
Giorgio, a poor student, sets out on a journey to win the heart of Princess Charlotte of Oberweselberg. On the way an old woman promises he shall have the princess - but for a price. Giorgio must bring her the princess's golden heart. Can he do the wicked deed which will possess for him the fortune he desires?

Blewcoat Boy

Victorian London comes to life in this sparkling comedy-adventure from the pen of Leon Garfield.

In a cave on the wild side of St James's Park live two ragged children; young Nick and his nine-year-old sister Jubilee. Once they had a father, but now they are alone – and Nick knows it is his responsibility to find Jubilee a husband. But who would want to marry a girl who can neither cook nor sew, read nor write?

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens final incomplete novel, with an ending written by Leon Garfield.

Charles Dickens (Author) Charles Dickens was born in Hampshire on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended up in financial troubles. When Dickens was twelve years old he was send to work in a shoe polish factory because his family had been taken to the debtors' prison. His career as a writer of fiction started in 1833 when his short stories and essays began to appear in periodicals. The Pickwick Papers, his first commercial success, was published in 1836. The serialisation of Oliver Twist began in 1837. Many other novels followed and The Old Curiosity Shop brought Dickens international fame and he became a celebrity in America as well as Britain. Charles Dickens died on 9 June 1870. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Leon Garfield (Author) Leon Garfield was born in Brighton in 1921. He was the acclaimed author of more than thirty novels for children and adults including Devil in the Fog, winner of the inaugural Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 1967, The God Beneath the Sea, winner of the 1970 Carnegie Medal, and John Diamond, winner of the 1980 Whitbread literary award. He was also elected a member of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in 1996.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood was Charles Dickens final novel, and remained unfinished at the time of his death. In this edition, beloved children's author Leon Garfield gives the story a satisfying ending.

The Drummer Boy

A gripping and insightful story of war from master storyteller Leon Garfield.

'As far as the eye can see, scarlet men are marching . . . A rich and splendid company, but none more so than the drummer boy.' 
 
But a moment later, the sound of Charlie Samson's drum was swallowed in a wild thunder. The glorious scarlet troops had been ambushed. Men were dead and dying all around, and all the beauty was gone. All that was left was himself and his drum, and a few shady nightwalkers - cowards who came crawling from the ditches and knaves who scoured the dead for wealth . . .

The Empty Sleeve

A tale of murder on the streets of old London, from acclaimed children's writer Leon Garfield.

A tale of twin apprentices and foul murder set in the wintry alleys of old London

'Him what's born on the chime . . . he's the one what'll have communications with the devil.' 
 
At the age of fourteen, 'chime-child' Peter Gannet is apprenticed to a locksmith in Covent Garden. But his desperate longing to escape from the insufferable adults around him and go to sea leads him into some dubious undertakings. Before long, the old ship's carpenter's dire prophecy comes true, for in the locksmith's workroom he meets a phantom with an empty sleeve. 
 
Tense and atmospheric, this is a gripping thriller about ghosts, a wall of hands, envy, dishonesty and finally murder!

Leon Garfield

Charles Dickens

Joe Dempsie

Ian Holm

Tim McMullen

Mark Payton

Full Cast

Moir Leslie

Simon Treves

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

A full-cast historical mystery by award-winning author Leon Garfield, plus his captivating conclusion to The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens 
 
Leon Garfield was the renowned author of more than 30 novels for children and adults. He won numerous awards for his work, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the inaugural Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Inspired by Charles Dickens, he set many of his tales in the 18th and 19th century, and became Dickens’ co-author when he wrote an ending to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was left unfinished on Dickens’ death. Their joint version was dramatised for radio in 1990, and is included here, together with an adaptation of one of Garfield’s own thrilling adventures. 
 
Devil in the Fog – The oldest child in a family of travelling actors, 14-year-old George Treet lives a happy life with his father and six siblings. The only blot on his happiness is ‘The Stranger’, a shadowy, mysterious figure who arrives twice-yearly, hands Mr Treet a sum of money and disappears. But the Stranger’s final visit leads Mr Treet to reveal a terrible secret: George is the son of a nobleman, and must return to his real family. Reluctantly reunited with his true father, Sir John Dexter, George does his best to settle into his forbidding new home. But danger is waiting in the fog that surrounds the house – and George soon realises that someone is out to kill him... Tim McMullan and Joe Dempsie star in this rip-roaring tale of highwaymen, duels, swirling fogs and escaped convicts. 
 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Orphan Edwin Drood is engaged to the beautiful Rosa Bud. But his uncle John Jasper, the choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral and a secret opium addict, wants Rosa for himself. Then Neville Landless arrives with his twin sister, Helena, and he too falls in love with Rosa. When Edwin disappears, presumed murdered, both Neville and Jasper have a motive – but which of them is the killer? Dickens’ famously unfinished novel never answers this question, but in this suspenseful drama, starring Ian Holm, Mark Payton and Moir Leslie, Leon Garfield provides an ingenious and satisfying solution. 
 
Devil-in-the-Fog text copyright © 1966 by Leon Garfield 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood text copyright © 1980 by Charles Dickens and Leon Garfield 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Devil in the Fog & The Mystery of Edwin Drood

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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.

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