Books with author Ralph Lister

A lyrical coming-of-age story about a boy, a girl, and a horse - and how a chance encounter can lead to a life of intrigue and learning, a life beyond imagining.When Thomas Rose first spots the girl hidden by the roadside, she looks as drab as a lark, with only her red kerchief giving her away. But French Hélène, who goes by "Ling," is no ordinary bird. Tiny Ling enchants Thomas with her wild spirit and tales of a circus where she danced atop her beloved horse, Belladonna. But the horse has been sold, and Ling must fetch her back. Now Thomas’s life as a clever but unschooled wheelwright’s son is about to change. Their search leads to painter George Stubbs, who euthanizes ailing animals in order to study their anatomy. Stubbs draws eerie horses that stride as if they could move out of the paper world into the real one―but he assures his young friends that their horse is safe at a nearby estate. As Ling and Thomas devise a risky plan to recover Belladonna, Stubbs hires Thomas as an apprentice, teaching him to read and write as well. In this fascinating story, Mary Finn incorporates a real eighteenth-century artist into a beautifully imagined tale of adventure and young romance.

Basil of Baker’s Street, the masterful mouse detective who studied under Sherlock Holmes, is on his way to a school reunion with his old friends from Ratcliffe College. Along for the trip is his steadfast companion, Doctor Dawson. But all is not well, as they soon learn that the dastardly Ratigan has escaped from prison in London. Could the rat possibly be planning revenge against his old nemesis, Basil himself? But before Basil and Dawson can worry too much about the wily rat, they hear another piece of worrying news. The duo arrives in Oxford only to be informed that the library of Basil’s old college is haunted! The students are thoroughly spooked, and the whole mess threatens to sour the festive mood of the reunion. Basil, for one, doesn’t believe in the supernatural and plans to put the rumors to rest. But the strange occurrences continue, without any obvious explanation. Is this one case that can stump even the Great Mouse Detective? And as Basil and Dawson dig deeper, are there even more sinister secrets afoot?