Literary horror stories in the tradition of Saki and Edgar Allan Poe, beautifully illustrated throughout by David Roberts.
Chris Priestley lives in Cambridge. He is the author of The White Rider, Redwulf's Curse and Death and the Arrow, all published by Corgi. This is Chris's first book for Bloomsbury and he is currently working on his second. David Roberts was born in Liverpool and started working as a fashion illustrator in Hong Kong in 1993, but already had dreams of illustrating children's books after sharing a house with two other illustrators in Manchester. His talent was quickly spotted and since then David has worked with authors such as Philip Ardagh and Georgia Byng. He created the award-winning Dirty Bertie character.
Gr 5-8-Ghosts, demons, jinns, and deadly trees populate these 10 chilly short stories set in the late 19th century, with the language and black-and-white illustrations capturing the feel of Victorian times. Young Edgar hears these tales while visiting his eccentric Uncle Montague, and each one is connected to a strange object in his uncle's study. Trees are at the center of "Climb Not" and "Winter Pruning," the former featuring an elm with a murderous occupant, the latter a blind old woman and badly behaved boys who are transformed into trees that need painful pruning. "The Un-Door" is the passage to a life trapped inside a doll's house for fake spiritualist Harriet. In the particularly scary "The Demon Bench End," Thomas steals part of an old church bench that he is drawn to, only to find it possessed by a demon. "Jinn," the only story not set in England, tells the story of Francis, who ignores the children in a small Turkish village and ventures too close to what he thinks is a girl in rags. The mirror inside "The Gilt Frame" exposes Christina's horrible deeds, and in "Offerings" and "A Ghost Story" readers learn to pay attention to haunted-house tales. The last story reveals why Uncle Montague must stay in his house guarding the stories, objects, and ghosts he has accumulated. An enjoyable collection with enough creepy atmosphere (and some gruesome action) to hold readers' attention.-Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
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