The Lost Prince (32 page)
Authors: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Nan, Robert, Timothy and Betsy have escaped from their grandmother’s house, and are heading for a new life filled with animals, magic and love amongst the rolling hills and moors of Devon. Discover the magical writings of Elizabeth Goudge (who inspired J.K. Rowling) and find out why
The Runaways
was the winner of the Hesperus ‘Uncover a Children’s Classic’ competition.
‘Well, my dears, welcome to High Barton, but don’t you never climb to the top of Lion Tor. It’s a dangerous place for children,’ said Emma, her bright glance piercing him again. ‘Something nasty might happen to you there.’
‘A thread of gently ironic humour runs throughout, and each child is beautifully drawn with that humour and insight; flawed individuals with complex inner lives and their different perspectives and responses to challenges and loss.’
– Adrienne Byrne,
Winner of the Hesperus
‘Uncover a Children’s Classic Competition’, 2013
foreword by marcus sedgwick
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Una and Dan get the shock of their lives as their play acting summons forth a real-life elf. Enchanted by the tales he tells them, they beg to hear more but Puck can go even further, he can show themâ¦
âYou've broken the Hills â you've broken the Hills! It hasn't happened in a thousand years⦠Unluckily the Hills are empty now, and all the People of the Hills are gone. I'm the only one left. I'm Puck, the oldest Old Thing in England, very much at your service if â if you care to have anything to do with meâ¦'
âIt's the stuff of the imagination of anyone who ever lay on an English hilltop on a lazy summer Sunday and wondered about the history of the landscape around them â what do these strange names of the villages and hills around us mean? Why do we feel there must be hidden things in the forest and hedgerows around us?'
â Marcus Sedgwick,
author of
The Raven Mysteries
foreword by jeanne willis
Edward and Tom might look absolutely identical, but their lives couldn’t be more different. Edward is a prince while his lookalike, Tom, is a pauper. So when the boys switch places there is no telling what might happen…
In the ancient city of London…a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him too.
‘It is easy to see why this book is still in print – it’s as relevant today as it’s always been… Long live the king of the Great American Novel.’
– Jeanne Willis,
author of
Who’s in the Loo?
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