Books with author Joan Aiken (author)

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease.With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?This edition of the beloved classic features an introduction by Aiken's daughter, Lizza, providing insight into the struggles Aiken—much like her heroines—had to endure before finally finishing this classic story a decade after she started writing it.

Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

Arabel and her notorious raven Mortimer make a welcome return to the Puffin nest!When Arabel's father, Ebenezer Jones, drives his taxi home late one night he comes across 'a large black bird, with a hairy fringe around its beak.' He takes it home and from that moment on, life is never the same again for the Jones family. Arabel's raven is called Mortimer - and he's one in a million. 'Nevermore!' he cries when astonished or upset, 'Down the hatch' he thinks before gobbling bowler hats, stairs, telephones. He dislikes flying except in emergencies, and with disaster-prone Mortimer around there are plenty of those. There are six hilarious stories in this classic collection by the much-loved storyteller Joan Aiken and renowned illustrator Quentin Blake.Including: ARABEL'S RAVEN; THE ESCAPED BLACK MAMBA; THE BREAD BIN; MORTIMER'S TIE; MORTIMER AND THE SWORD EXCALILBUR and THE SPIRAL STAIR.

Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

Can you go a little faster? Can you run?Long ago, at a time in history that never happened, England was overrun with wolves. But as Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia discover, real danger often lies closer to home. Their new governess, Miss Slighcarp, doesn't seem at all nice. She shuts Bonnie in a cupboard, fires the faithful servants and sends the cousins far away from Willoughby Chase to a place they will never be found. Can Bonnie and Sylvia outwit the wicked Miss Slighcarp and her network of criminals, forgers and snitches?BACKSTORY: Find out a few things you didn't know about wolves and learn all about the wonderful world of the author.

Jane Austen's Emma has been a favorite novel for Austenites since 1816. But while the story of its heroine Emma Woodhouse is well known, the same can't be said for her childhood friend, Jane Fairfax. The turmoil underlying Jane's obscured background and reduced circumstances have always remained a mystery for readers of Austen's beloved novel.Now, at last, we learn her whole story in Joan Aiken's superb retelling of Emma-this time from Jane Fairfax's point of view. When Jane Fairfax was originally published, Aiken's wit, style, and skill prompted Booklist to say, "Brilliant...extraordinarily well done and highly recommended."Austen fans won't want to miss this worthy companion to the original, now available in paperback for the first time.

After the mysterious disappearance of both his mother and older brother, Cosmo is sent away to live with his eccentric mathematician aunt. Lonely and confused, Cosmo must also deal with being the new kid at school. Not an easy assignment! But things take a weird twist when Cosmo is visited by ghosts from the past. Ghosts who claim to need his help fighting an ancient curse!Only in time will Cosmo learn that he is at the center of that ancient...and deadly...curse.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

'This is how it all began'. From "A Necklace of Raindrops" to "The Patchwork Quilt", here are eight classic stories to treasure and enjoy. Beginning and ending with a birthday, this spell-binding collection conjures up a world filled with magic, where wishes can come true. A necklace of raindrops that keeps its owner dry in the heaviest rainstorm; a tiger that runs faster than the wind; a huge floating apple pie with a piece of sky in it; a baker's cat who swells to the size of a whale when his mistress feeds him yeast; and, a house that stands on one leg - these are just some of the objects and characters that figure in these delightful stories.

Winner of the Guardian Prize for FictionIn the small town of Pennygaff, where Owen has been sent to live after his mother's death, a legendary golden harp has been found. Knowing of the prophesy of the Harp of Teirtu, Owen must prevent the magic harp from falling into the evil clutches of its reputed owner, the sinister and diabolical Lord Mayln. But it won't be easy. Owen and his friend Arabis are plunged into a hair-raising adventure of intrigue, kidnapping, exotic underground worlds, savage beasts...even murder.For only too late will Owen learn that Lord Mayln will stop at nothing to have the golden harp.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Jane Austen's Emma has been a favorite novel for Austenites since 1816. But while the story of its heroine Emma Woodhouse is well known, the same can't be said for her childhood friend, Jane Fairfax. The turmoil underlying Jane's obscured background and reduced circumstances have always remained a mystery for readers of Austen's beloved novel.Now, at last, we learn her whole story in Joan Aiken's superb retelling of Emma-this time from Jane Fairfax's point of view. When Jane Fairfax was originally published, Aiken's wit, style, and skill prompted Booklist to say, "Brilliant...extraordinarily well done and highly recommended."Austen fans won't want to miss this worthy companion to the original, now available in paperback for the first time.