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The Weather Witch
Two youngsters travel back to Elizabethan times to confront a witch.
Joe and Kerry, sent to stay in the country with their great-aunt, find themselves whirled into the past when they investigate the mystery of an Elizabethan village that escaped destruction more than four hundred years ago, by simply vanishing overnight. But the spell that saved it then, has now become a curse.
Joe and Kerry, sent to stay in the country with their great-aunt, find themselves whirled into the past when they investigate the mystery of an Elizabethan village that escaped destruction more than four hundred years ago, by simply vanishing overnight. But the spell that saved it then, has now become a curse.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 1989
About the author
Paul Stewart
222 books918 followersPaul Stewart is a highly regarded author of books for young readers – from picture books to football stories, fantasy and horror. Together with Chris Riddell he is co-creator of the bestselling Edge Chronicles, which has sold more than three million copies and is available in over twenty languages. They have also collaborated together on lots of other exciting books for children of all ages. The Far-Flung Adventure series includes the Gold Smarties Prize Winner Fergus Crane, and Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper, both Silver Nestle Prize Winners. Then there are the Barnaby Grimes books, two Muddle Earth adventures, and the sci-fi Scavenger and fantasy Wyrmeweald trilogies. For younger readers there is the Blobheads series, while for the very young, Paul has written several picture books, including the Rabbit and Hedgehog series, In the Dark of the Night and, his latest, Wings.
Other authors by this name disambiguation Note:
Paul Stewart - business and management books
Other authors by this name disambiguation Note:
Paul Stewart - business and management books
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 11, 2012
I've been reading Paul Stewart books for a few years now, particularly his collaborations with Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles, Barnaby Grimes, Wyrmeweald, Free Lance, etc. I was running out of these series and thought I had better scan his bibliography to see if there's anything older I've missed. Then I saw this book,
The Weather Witch
, his second ever novel, and thought - "Hang on! I've got that!"
Searching through my older bookcases, I found it, a 1991 copy, bought in 1991 by me at school at a book fair. It even has a Puffin Book Club holographic sticker stuck unhelpfully over the ISBN barcode. Inside it, I had a thin cardboard bookmark, a cut out of a ghost, presumably I got it at the same book fair. I cannot have got very far with it 21 years ago, as the bookmark was at page 28.
Well, I decided to stick with this ancient bookmark, rather than my usual wooden dragon bookmark of a similar age, and start from scratch. Curiously I could not remember the first chapter from that long ago.
As usual, Mr Stewart does not disappoint at all. This was only his second book, as mentioned, so there is a slight lack of polish in some places, the novel is partly historical in nature and can vary between laying on historical documentary style exposition with a trowel, and occasional anachronisms. However, for the most part it is very well done.
The story revolves around a brother and sister, Joe and Kerry, who go to stay with their Great Aunt in the back and beyond, due to family troubles ruining their summer holiday plans. At first they are exceptionally reluctant to go, but soon find that their Great Aunt and where she lives are far from dull. They are descended from a woman, said to be a witch, who lived in the area her aunt lives now, the lost town of Cleedale. A town apparently lost or destroyed in Elizabethan times, 1589 to be precise (400 years before the publication of the novel in 1989), they harboured Catholics and fell out of favour with the crown. But where did they go? Who was their ancestor, Megwyn Nashe? Was she really a witch? What happened to Cleedale? Well, if you read it, you will find out.
The book reminds me of the Green Knowe stories by Lucy Boston, a series I have not long finished and have read intertwined with other Paul Stewart series. I would be unsurprised if they were a major source of inspiration for the plot. The blend of ghost echoes, magic and the meeting of past and present is very alike, as is the ancestry and the wise old lady of the house with the children.
Overall, it's a good historical yarn, a bit of magic, children running around with older female relatives ruling on the sides of good and evil. A now fairly classic story situation, well told.
Searching through my older bookcases, I found it, a 1991 copy, bought in 1991 by me at school at a book fair. It even has a Puffin Book Club holographic sticker stuck unhelpfully over the ISBN barcode. Inside it, I had a thin cardboard bookmark, a cut out of a ghost, presumably I got it at the same book fair. I cannot have got very far with it 21 years ago, as the bookmark was at page 28.
Well, I decided to stick with this ancient bookmark, rather than my usual wooden dragon bookmark of a similar age, and start from scratch. Curiously I could not remember the first chapter from that long ago.
As usual, Mr Stewart does not disappoint at all. This was only his second book, as mentioned, so there is a slight lack of polish in some places, the novel is partly historical in nature and can vary between laying on historical documentary style exposition with a trowel, and occasional anachronisms. However, for the most part it is very well done.
The story revolves around a brother and sister, Joe and Kerry, who go to stay with their Great Aunt in the back and beyond, due to family troubles ruining their summer holiday plans. At first they are exceptionally reluctant to go, but soon find that their Great Aunt and where she lives are far from dull. They are descended from a woman, said to be a witch, who lived in the area her aunt lives now, the lost town of Cleedale. A town apparently lost or destroyed in Elizabethan times, 1589 to be precise (400 years before the publication of the novel in 1989), they harboured Catholics and fell out of favour with the crown. But where did they go? Who was their ancestor, Megwyn Nashe? Was she really a witch? What happened to Cleedale? Well, if you read it, you will find out.
The book reminds me of the Green Knowe stories by Lucy Boston, a series I have not long finished and have read intertwined with other Paul Stewart series. I would be unsurprised if they were a major source of inspiration for the plot. The blend of ghost echoes, magic and the meeting of past and present is very alike, as is the ancestry and the wise old lady of the house with the children.
Overall, it's a good historical yarn, a bit of magic, children running around with older female relatives ruling on the sides of good and evil. A now fairly classic story situation, well told.
March 18, 2015
I was put off reading it at first by the rather horrifying looking cover, but I soon got into it. It is the first and only Paul Stewart book I have read and I really enjoyed it. I liked the mix of history and modern day, as well as the
All in all, it was a clever mix of magic, history and a bit of modernity.
All in all, it was a clever mix of magic, history and a bit of modernity.
December 22, 2019
I needed some light relief after reading Death's End by Cixin Liu, and The Weather Witch was the perfect antidote. I was a big fan of Stewarts' work 'Adam's Ark' when I was much younger, and did a re-read recently, surprised to find that it stands the test of time very well!
The Weather Witch is a great book. Joe and Kerry, two slightly rebellious teenagers, spend time at their great-aunt's sprawling mansion, only to find themselves sucked into the past, where a stubborn witch is keeping everyone from an Elizabethan village locked into repeating the same day over and over. The spell was supposed to keep everyone safe - and it did - but after four hundred years, it's become a bit of a chore.
The book has great pace, likeable characters and is neither too simplistic for adults nor too complex for children. There are some references to drugs and war, but nothing really unsuitable. The plotting is tight and overall, it's a highly enjoyable read!
The Weather Witch is a great book. Joe and Kerry, two slightly rebellious teenagers, spend time at their great-aunt's sprawling mansion, only to find themselves sucked into the past, where a stubborn witch is keeping everyone from an Elizabethan village locked into repeating the same day over and over. The spell was supposed to keep everyone safe - and it did - but after four hundred years, it's become a bit of a chore.
The book has great pace, likeable characters and is neither too simplistic for adults nor too complex for children. There are some references to drugs and war, but nothing really unsuitable. The plotting is tight and overall, it's a highly enjoyable read!
December 16, 2020
This was pretty good. I kept thinking it might turn a bit cheesy but in the end it was not too bad and I also rather liked the uh… resolution in the end.
The conflict in the story seemed a bit… anticlimactic to me I guess, but then again it is a book for kids and I knew it would not be some HP magical universe where evil villain is looking for world domination or w/e
Came to be via donation and is leaving to a little library to find a new home.
The conflict in the story seemed a bit… anticlimactic to me I guess, but then again it is a book for kids and I knew it would not be some HP magical universe where evil villain is looking for world domination or w/e
Came to be via donation and is leaving to a little library to find a new home.
August 12, 2013
To childish for me, but it has an interesting concept..
February 21, 2016
Read this book as a child about 15 years ago. Was a good read and I have fond memories of it. Not sure I would like it as much if I read it again today...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews