Book description
Dido Twite, heroine of Black Hearts in Battersea and
Nightbirds on Nantucket, is on her wildest adventure yet. On
her way back to London aboard the Thrush, Dido and crew are
summoned to the aid of the tyrannical queen of New Cumbria. Her island
is an infernal place where birds carry off men and fish eat human
flesh. The queen is greatly distressed because a neighbouring king has
stolen her lake. Dido faces fire, flood, wild beasts and, ultimately,
threat of execution in order to get the lake back. Is she equal to the
challenge?
A rich mixture of legend, fantasy, humour and pure snowballing adventure.
Prize-winning Joan Aiken was born in Sussex in 1924 and came from a
family of writers. Her father was the novelist and poet, Conrad Aiken
and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge, writes historical fiction for adults.
Before joining the 'family business' herself, Joan had a variety of
jobs, including working for the BBC, the United Nations Information
Centre and then as features editor for a short story magazine. Her first
children's novel, The Kingdom of the Cave was published in 1960. Since
then she has written over 100 books for young readers and adults and has
been awarded the MBE for her services to literature. Joan Aiken died in
2004.
