A spellbinding tale of a mysterious disappearance
Joan Aiken was born in Sussex in 1924. She was the daughter of the
American poet, Conrad Aiken; her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge, is also
a novelist. 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.
Joan Aiken wrote over a hundred books for young readers and adults
and is recognized as one of the classic authors of the twentieth
century. Amanda Craig, writing in The Times, said, 'She was a
consummate story-teller, one that each generation discovers anew.'
Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which The
Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first title, published in 1962
and awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Both that and Black Hearts in
Battersea have been filmed. Her books are internationally acclaimed
and she received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as
well as the Guardian Award for Fiction in this country for The
Whispering Mountain.
Joan Aiken was decorated with an MBE for her services to children's
books. She died in 2004.
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