Joan Aiken

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this highly anticipated edition of More Arabel and Mortimer.Late one night, as Mr Jones drove his taxi home through a storm, he spotted a large black bird with a hairy fringe round its beak sprawled out in the road.Mr Jones decides to take the bird home to meet his daughter, Arabel, she'll know what to do - she loves animals!'His name's Mortimer', she said.Return to Number Six, Rainwater Crescent, London, NW 3 ½ with Arabel and Mortimer as this mischievous bird continues to cause chaos in the Jones household. . .

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this treasured edition of Arabel and Mortimer Stories.Late one night, as Mr Jones drove his taxi home through a storm, he spotted a large black bird with a hairy fringe round its beak sprawled out in the road.Mr Jones decides to take the bird home to Number Six, Rainwater Crescent, London, NW 3 ½, to meet his daughter, Arabel, she'll know what to do - she loves animals!'His name's Mortimer', she said. But it doesn't take long until the mischievous Mortimer causes chaos in the Jones household. . .

I have been on nodding terms with death since age nineteen. Death holds precious little mystery for me. During the last sixteen years I have eaten death for breakfast . . .For accomplished writer and chef Clytie Churchill suffering and love come hand in hand. The life of each person she loves seems to come to a desperate end – sickness, suicide, death by drowning, orphan and widower Clytie has grieved through it all. During a long night reminiscing in a remote French Chateau she resolves to throw out all this Foul Matter – like the old proofs of a finished book.But there is still one mystery to solve – when she learns there is a chance that little Finn, her dead husband’s son, could have survived the sinking of his father’s boat Clytie seeks out lawyer and ex-lover Anthony to help her track him down.Awardwinning author Joan Aiken touches upon love and death with a thoughtfulness and courage that makes Foul Matter a romantic suspense novel like no other.

Jane Austen gave life to the fictional Watson family in 1803, but sadly abandoned them five chapters in – now Joan Aiken completes their story in her ingenious novel, Emma Watson.Emma Watson has been brought up by her aunt in a wealthy and refined household, an educated lifestyle far removed from her widowed father and five siblings. So when her aunt enters into an imprudent second marriage, nineteen-year-old Emma is sent back home and must join her sisters in their pursuit of a husband . . .Aiken takes on the fate of Austen’s characters with confidence and skill, flawlessly entwining themes of loss and love together in this stunning regency pastiche.

“Among the stories collected in this omnibus, are some of the very first Joan Aiken stories that I ever fell in love with, starting with the title story ‘The People in the Castle,’ which is a variation on the classic tales of fairy wives.”—Kelly Link “[A] haunting and wondrous book.”—Emily Nordling, Tor.com “This short story collection, edited by Aiken’s daughter Lizza and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist Kelly Link, compiles tales of the surreal and supernatural suited for an adult audience.”—Ryan Porter, Toronto Star “Sprightly but brooding, with well-defined plots, twists, and punch lines, these stories deserve a place on the shelf with the fantasies of Saki (H.H. Munro), Sylvia Townsend Warner, and Susanna Clarke.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Here is the whisper in the night, the creak upstairs, the sound that raises gooseflesh, the wish you’d checked the lock on the door before it got really, really dark. Here are tales of suspense and the supernatural that will chill, amuse, and exhilarate. Best known for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken (1924–2004) wrote over a hundred books and won the Guardian and Edgar Allan Poe awards. She supported her family by copyediting at Argosy magazine and an advertising agency before turning to fiction and went on to write for Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, Women’s Own, and many others. Visit her online at www.joanaiken.com.

A magical volume of Joan Aiken's own favourite stories, collected here for the first time.

The Paget family's adventures begin in this Gothic Regency period romance reissue from legendary author Joan Aiken When danger forces expatriate English gentlewoman Juliana Paget to flee her home in Italy, she embarks on a journey full of thrilling adventure. Nothing could have prepared her for outwitting a French mob, crossing the Channel in a hot air balloon, or fending off the advances of the fascinating Count Welcker. Arriving in London just in time for her very first Season, Juliana is going to find all her ideals challenged and the truth of her heart finally revealed. What readers say: "A Regency romp with Gothic overtones, and a lot of fun." "Full of thrills and chills." "Classic Aiken--abductions, mysterious strangers and terrible betrayals." "I stayed up late to find out what would happen next ."

Joan Aiken is the author of many favourite children's books, including The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. When she was just seventeen she wrote her first novel, The Kingdom and the Cave, a thrilling adventure about a cat and his boy.

Joan Aiken, classic author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, wrote the Armitage family stories from when she was a teenager onwards. This is the first time the stories have been collected together.

Dido's sister, Is, travels north to try and find her lost cousin. But instead of the promised Playland, she discovers an underground kingdom where children work as slaves in the worst conditions imaginable - under the rule of the sinister Gold Kingy. . .

Arun returns to his mother's house on Cold Shoulder Road, only to find it deserted and flood-ravaged. Some say she's run off with a Silent Sect, other whisper that she's a witch, and Mrs Boles mutters fearfully about the Emjee and the Handsel child, but dares say no more. With the help of his indomitable cousin, Is Twite, Arun sets off in search of Admiral Fishkin - their only key to discovering the real truth, whatever it may be...

Dark family secrets can be murder . . .'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewMarried to an ambitious but feckless architect and living in the pretentious show home they can ill afford, Jane is forced to return to work, leaving her children in the care of a less than reassuring childminder. As the weeks pass, her disintegrating marriage and the discovery of her husband's secrets lead Jane into a battle to save both herself and her children from an explosive summer of hatred, jealousy - and murder.This claustrophobic thriller, based on events from the author's own life and her struggles as a young widow, marries the desperate ring of truth with all the added horror of Joan Aiken's gothic imagination.

When Charles is given just twelve months to live, his doctor sister takes him to a small Cornish village to end his days. They are joined by other friends including Tuesday, the young author of an unexpectedly sensational novel that brings her nothing but trouble.Combining doomed love, a beautifully groomed and immaculately behaved psychopath, an escaped circus leopard and a fortune hidden in the pages of a library of books Joan Aiken once again serves up all the ingredients for an explosive finale.'Unusual, enthralling, full of wry fun' Sunday Times

An inheritance comes with its own sinister dangers...'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewAnnette, an increasingly amnesiac magazine editor who has inherited an unexpected fortune, leaves London for a new life in a cottage in the country, but falls prey to a series of strange characters who threaten to deprive her of not just her money, but her sanity too. There's a world-famous artist with a dark secret; a New Zealander on an archaeological dig; and a strange neighbour wheeling an invalid 'child' on a lonely road...Set in the picturesque Sussex town where the author was born and spent her early years in a haunted house, this gothic thriller builds to a terrifying climax as the heroine pits her wits against the sinister forces that surround her.

'Waiting for her, he was on edge with expectation. He had never planned a murder before ... Only sheer necessity was making him do it now ...'Coincidence couldn't explain the three accidental deaths. It had to be something more - something sinister? One old lady had fallen and broken her neck; the others had died in hit-and-run accidents. And now beautiful young Caroline Conroy, who has returned to her poisonous family after a mysterious tragedy abroad, must face the enemy: a smiling stranger who is calmly and ruthlessly planning her destruction.'Terrifyingly enclosed spine-chiller' Sunday Telegraph

'It's a rotten old job being King!' says Dido Twite. Her friend King Simon agrees - his scheming courtiers want to marry him off to a pushy princess, and he has to lead his army against a tribe of invading Wends.

In The Lobster's Birthday and Other Stories, discover what happens when you wake up thirsty in the middle of the night. How do you play a trick on the most insufferable boy in the village, while helping out Aunt Arabelle at the same time? What would you do on your birthday if you were a lobster? Find out when you join Harriet, Just William, and Harold and Gloria in this comical collection of short stories. Chucklers is a series of funny novels, short stories, anthologies and comics that make reading a pleasure for 7-11 year olds. There is something for everyone in this varied collection which is packed with fantastic illustrations. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The series is written by top children's authors and edited by award-winning author Jeremy Strong. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

A thrilling, funny and spectacular adaptation of Joan Aiken's classic children's novel, perfectly suited to performance by theatre companies and drama groups of any size. A thrilling adventure set in an alternative history of England, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase tells the story of two brave and determined girls as they fight against ferocious wolves, snowy wastelands and their very evil guardian, Miss Slighcarp. The opening of the Channel Tunnel has led to dangerous wolves roaming Britain, but this is not the only danger that cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, and their friend Simon the Goose-boy, must face as they encounter unforgettable characters and mysterious scheming. Russ Tunney's magical adaptation of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was first performed at the Layard Theatre, Wimbourne, in 2010. It was originally performed by a cast of ?ve, but it has also been staged by – and is suitable for – much larger casts. Featuring a chorus who narrate, sing and comment on the action, and plenty of opportunities for song and dance, this version will suit any theatre company, youth theatre or drama group wanting to exercise their theatrical imagination.