Books with author AIKEN JOAN

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, Dutiful Penitence, are left in the care of Dutiful's sinister Aunt Tribulation. In Tribulation's farmhouse, life is unbearable. When mysterious men lurk about in the evening fog, the resourceful Dido rallies against their shenanigans with help from Dutiful, a cabinboy named Nate, and a pink whale.

‘Wait, wait! Save us! What’ll we do?’Simon is determined to become a painter when he grows up so he sets off to London to make his fortune. But the city is plagued by wolves and mysterious disappearances. The Twite household, where Simon is lodging, seems particularly shifty. Before he even gets a chance to open his glistening new paints Simon stumbles right into the centre of a plot to kill the King. And worse than that Simon is kidnapped and sent to sea! Luckily there are two friendly stowaways aboard – the feisty Dido Twite and the spoiled young Justin. But when the ship catches fire things look pretty dire. Can they escape? Will they save the king in time?BACKSTORY: Test your knowledge of Black Hearts in Battersea and play the name game.

Lucas is lonely. Orphaned and sent to live with his formidable guardian in a vast mansion, he longs for a friend. Then Anna-Marie arrives. She's spoilt and wilful - and practically half his age. Lucas feels more alone than ever. But one night something terrible happens. Lucas and Anna-Marie face a terrifying and treacherous ordeal, alone in the hostile city streets. Together, they must fight to survive ...The 40th anniversary edition of a compelling tale of villainy and suspense - from the best-selling author of THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE.

"Simon paid off the driver and turned to follow Mrs Twite. But she seemed to have locked the door behind her and, as he rattled the latch unavailingly and then rapped the locker, something dark and suffocating was forced down over his head and a pair of hands gripped his throat."Simon, coming to London to study painting with his old friend Dr Field, finds he has vanished without trace. Determined to discover what lies behind his disappearance, Simon is trapped in a fiendish plot. Why has his landlord got guns in his cellar and how does one deal with his irrepressible daughter, Dido . . .?

Dido Twite is waylaid by her father, the shady Abednego Twite, acting on instructions from his evil patron. Why is Dido so urgently needed in Wapping? Why are King Richard's friends all accidentally drowning in the Thames? How does hard-drinking Mrs Lily Bloodvessel figure in this intricate plot, with her cellar full of sleeping guttersnipes? Another rollercoasting story by Joan Aiken, in which Dido's scheming Pa finally receives his comeuppance.

While her friend Capt Hughes recovers from a carriage accident, Dido is marooned with the odd inhabitants of the Tegleaze estate. Soon suspicious things happen; a priceless possession is stolen, a boy kidnapped, a twin sister found and when Dido catches a glimpse of her rascally father in Petworth, she is sure she is in the midst of another wicked Hanoverian plot. Can she combat mass hypnotism, smugglers, and a gang of murderers to prevent the plot to put St Paul`s Cathedral in the River Thames?

After the sad demise of Sir Thomas, Edmund Bertram and his new wife Fanny must sail to the West Indies in order to oversee the family’s affairs.Back at Mansfield Park, Fanny’s younger sister Susan is left at the helm. The household faces disarray, and she must guide the estate through gossip and grievances. Yet the news of Henry and Mary Crawford’s return to Mansfield heralds the greatest storm yet. With the arrival of this dangerous pair, romance is once more in the air, and hearts are set to be broken . . .Featuring a cast of characters from Jane Austen's classic, including Susan Price, Thomas Bertram, Lady Bertram, Julia Yates and, of course, the infamous Crawford siblings.

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 is more dangerous than they imagined.

1832 - a period of English History that never happened. Good King James III is on the throne and the country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When Sylvia and Bonnie (both orphans) fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they must use all their wits to escape unscathed - for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.