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Useful Idiots

Useful Idiots

Set in a highly realistic dystopic future, where the lowlands of Britain are flooded, this beautifully realised novel explores a world where archaeology is controlled for fear of social unrest. One bleak morning, a storm across the North Sea unveils a human skull, which leads to a series of events that changes the lives of those involved. Merrick, a young graduate archaeology student becomes embroiled in the task of discovering the origins of the skull. His interest in this bizarre case brings him into contact with the Inglish, a remnant tribe eking out an existence on the edge of Europe. In this wildly progressive new world, it is they who will be affected the most. This is a compelling vision of England as it could be in the not-so-distant future.

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About the Author

Jan Mark

Jan Mark was born in Welwyn, Herts in 1943. She grew up in Ashford, Kent and attended Canterbury College of Art. She taught in a secondary school in Gravesend for six years, before becoming a full-time writer. Her book THEY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY THERE was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Whitbread Children's Award. She won the Carnegie Medal twice, for THUNDER AND LIGHTNINGS and HANDLES, and was a regular reviewer for the Guardian. She sadly died suddenly in January 2006; a huge loss to the world of children's books.

Jan Mark

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