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parsed(2023-08-03) - pubdate: 1/24/2001
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pub date: 1691038800
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Castle in the Air

August 3, 2023 | Children's paperback
ISBN: 9780006755302
Reader Reward Price: $11.69 info
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Description

Far to the south in the Land of Ingary, lives a young carpet merchant called Abdullah. In his dreams, he is the long-lost son of a great prince. This dream is a complete castle in the airor is it?

Abdullah′s day-dreams suddenly start to come true when he meets the exquisite Flower-in-the-Night, daughter of the ferocious Sultan of Zanzib. Fate has destined them for each other, but a bad-tempered genie, a hideous djinn, and various villainous bandits have their own ideas. When Flower-in-the- Night is carried off, Abdullah is determined to rescue her - if he can find her.

A high spirited Arabian Nights fantasy, the dazzling sequel to Howl′s Moving Castle.

DIANA WYNNE JONES was born in August 1934 in London, where she had a chaotic and unsettled childhood against the background of World War II. The family moved around a lot, finally settling in rural Essex. As children, Diana and her two sisters were deprived of a good, steady supply of books by a father, ‘who could beat Scrooge in a meanness contest’. So, armed with a vivid imagination and an insatiable quest for good books to read, she decided that she would have to write them herself.

She was extremely dyslexic, so when she told her parents she wanted to be a writer, they just laughed. However between ages of 12 and 14, the young writer completed two epic tales scrawled in a total of 20 copy books. This taught her from an early age the invaluable lesson of how to finish a book.

Her higher education began in 1953 when she went up to St Anne’s College Oxford, and attended lectures by CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein. It was here she met her husband, John A Burrow, who is Professor of English at Bristol University. They married in 1956 and have three sons.

She has written both children’s books and plays (mostly performed at the London Arts Theatre) and her first book was published in 1973. Since then she has written over 40 books. Her enviably fertile mind has allowed her to write prolifically, even when her three boys were small, and quite a handful! When writing, she is totally absorbed in the book and on one never-to-be forgotten occasion, her sons returned from school ravenous to find she had shoved a pair of muddy shoes in the oven for their tea! She says, ‘I am an inspirational writer. I forget meals and write with ever-increasing speed.’

Diana Wynne Jones first conjured up the enigmatic and embroidered dressing-gowned enchanter Chrestomanci in 1977. The adventures in his magical worlds – for, as every budding sorcerer knows – there are many series of parallel worlds – continue to enthral readers all over the world.

‘Charmed Life’, the first book in the Chrestomanci series, won the 1977 Guardian Award for Children’s Books. Diana was runner-up for the Children’s Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 1999, she won two major fantasy awards: the children’s section of the Mythopeic Award in the USA, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award in the UK – which is awarded by the British Fantasy Society to individuals or organisations who have made a significant impact on fantasy. JK Rowling was runner-up on both occasions.

Meeting Diana you wouldn’t be surprised to find she has second sight (though she hasn’t as far as I know). You’d think it quite natural that she should be a writer of fantasy, a connoisseur of witchcraft, a creator of parallel worlds. For her, magic isn’t something that floats about unrooted in human nature. ‘Things we are accustomed to regard as myth or fairy story are very much present in people’s lives.’ She says, ‘Nice people behave like wicked stepmothers. Every day.’

About this Author

Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) spent her childhood in Essex and began writing fantasy novels for children in the 1970s. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she enthralled generations of children and adults with her work. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981 and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal.

ISBN: 9780006755302
Format: Children's paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2023-08-03

Reviews

"This is the Arabian Nights with a twist. Readers won't put down the book until they figure out all its secrets."SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review) "A bewitching romp, gratifying to mind, imagination, and funnybone."KIRKUS REVIEWS Praise for Diana Wynne Jones "...Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones's most outrageous plots to her readers' hopes and fears..."Publishers Weekly "Diana Wynne Jones ought to be crowned with coloured garlands because she is the best writer of magical fantasy for children in this country " Evening Standard "Diana Wynne Jones could teach Stephen King and JK Rowling a thing or two ... [she] has a skill for inserting just the right amount of detail in her written words, leaving you satiated but not stuffed." SFX

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