The Shadow Guests

by Joan Aiken

After the mysterious disappearance of both his mother and older brother, Cosmo is sent away to live with his eccentric mathematician aunt. Lonely and confused, Cosmo must also deal with being the new kid at school. Not an easy assignment! But things take a weird twist when Cosmo is visited by ghosts from the past. Ghosts who claim to need his help fighting an ancient curse!

Only in time will Cosmo learn that he is at the center of that ancient...and deadly...curse.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ghosts, Childrens, Mystery, Young Adult, Paranormal

150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Joan Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. She was known as a writer of wild fantasy, Gothic novels and short stories.

She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge. She worked for the United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).

Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.

Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.

Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.

Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.

Reviews

[Till Raether · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Hübsch und etwas harmlos. Was für seltsame Zeiten (Anfang der 90er), als Diogenes Kinderbücher mit dem Versprechen "metaphysischen Erschauerns" für erwachsene Leser*innen bewarb.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Aiken was one of those writers who made the task of reading her books not a task at all, just a pleasure to slip between the sheets and lose yourself in the narrative. Her command of story and speech seems so effortless yet true to life. The story opens in a 20th-century airport, Heathrow, with a youngster waiting to be collected by a relative, an opening so unlike many Aiken novels as to feel incongruous. There is a mystery surrounding Cosmo's family back in Australia, a mystery which gradually unfolds itself but which sets up an atmosphere of uncertainty and anxiety which maintains itself right through to the end.

Cosmo has been sent to stay in what at first appears to be a rural idyll outside Oxford. His female cousin, an eccentric but reassuring Oxford don that I wanted to like, is strangely the only weak character in the story: I couldn't quite accept that an academic could come up with some of the pseudo-scientific language and concepts that she occasionally uses. However, Cosmo's experiences as a weekly boarder at a minor a fee-paying school on the Woodstock Road, though seemingly anachronistic for the 1980s, probably reflected the arcane and traditionalist nature of that kind of institution which no doubt continues to this day; Aiken may have drawn on her own experiences as a 12-year-old at Wychwood Boarding School in Oxford in 1936.

The core of this novel is Cosmo's attempt to cope with the notion that his bloodline was cursed around two thousand years ago: do curses work, and if they do can they persist over the millennia? I was unconvinced both by the ability of certain characters to recount circumstantial details of all that time ago and the final dramatic resolution of the mystery in the closing pages. However, Cosmo was an admirable and personable boy, he called on inner resources when faced with paranormal experiences, and was very much in the mould of the traditional British lad familiar from Empire writers, exhibiting all those commendable virtues that perhaps were disappearing in the late 20th century. In short, it was a heart-warming tale but a tad unrealistic, given the supernatural premise. Oh, and the shadow guests of the title? They are the manifestations of individuals from Cosmo's ancetral past, some less shadowy than others, and not all very welcome as guests.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time-slip adventure from Joan Aiken, author of the beloved children's classic The Wolves of Willoughby Chase , follows the story of Cosmo Curtoys, who finds himself sent back to England after the mysterious disappearance of his mother and older brother in Australia. Here he learns of a curse which has plagued his family for generations, and confronts a series of ghosts... or are they ghosts?

This was an entertaining story, although I felt that it would have had a more powerful effect upon me if I had read it as a child or adolescent. It had some interesting discussions of the "nature" of magic and science, with a possible reconciliation of the two hinted at in comments about dimensions - a nice reference to Edwin Abbott's Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions .

[Shreya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay.

[Matt Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the disappearance of his mother and older brother Cosmo leaves his father in Australia and returns to the old family home in Oxford. There he not only has to contend with a new school and unwelcoming classmates, but the revelation of an ancient family curse and visits from ghosts - the 'shadow guests' of the title. The book deals with issues of change, loss and the difficulties faced in adapting to new situations. This is hardly an original premise - it seems like I read lots of books like this as a child - and the plot follows the well worn path to an ultimately positive resolution. However this is a very universal experience, which many people would be able to relate to, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. The writing and characterization are both good, with a very sharp prose style. Indeed, if I had a criticism it would be that the descriptions, while evocative, are bordering on the cruel when it comes to some of the characters. Also this is very much a tale of the privileged; the adults are Oxford dons who send their children to private schools. This might make it difficult for children from less privileged backgrounds to identify with the characters, or given the success of Harry Potter, perhaps not. It is a chapter book aimed, according to the publisher, at eleven year olds, so could be used in upper primary either read as a whole class or individually. It could be used to inspire creative writing around the supernatural (perhaps at Halloween?), or when studying history as the protagonist trains with 'shadow guests' who are gladiators or on their way to the crusades.

[Tyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unexpectedly creepy, and even contains things that were quite shocking for me. She put this into a book supposedly for children? How would children deal with this? The thought of your mother and your older brother do something like that... I don't think I can just brush away such event from my mind. But Cosmo's experiences with the ancient curse, perhaps, prepared him to accept the fact better than most children would.

I like the part of how Cosmo tried to fit in school with its funny form names. Wait, 'fit in?' But Cosmo didn't wish for a school with more than 200 students to spend the days with, being used to life in Outback he is...

I just wish that there would be more relevance to some of the characters appearing in the book. They just come and go when I thought they would have something important to do in the climax.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

After his mother and brother mysteriously disappear, Cosmo's father sends him from Australia to live with his mathematician aunt in England, where he must deal with being the new boy at school...and with the ghosts who appear to him around his aunt's house. Aiken entwines the natural and supernatural events cleverly and unfolds the mystery of the ghosts gradually; as always, she has a gift for making an imaginative plot seem convincing and believable. This isn't as good as the Dido books (the early ones, anyway) or Midnight Is a Place, but it's good nonetheless.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how Joan Aiken is worth coming back to again and again. This is a standalone novel about a boy whose father sends him to live with an English cousin after his mother and brother vanish into the Australian outback. Cosmo adores his cousin, and the old mill house in which she lives, but he has troubles at school and then, to make matters worse, creepy things start happening. His cousin fills him in on the terrible family curse--and it appears that the ghosts Cosmo sees are linked to this curse. Tightly written, very British, very satisfying. 5th grade and up.

[GeraniumCat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely intelligent coming-of-age story, full of the sort of ideas kids like to explore - other dimensions, poltergeists, family curses. Yes, the characters are middle-class and privileged, but that doesn't stop Cosmo having to cope with the cruelty of life and even of other children.

My only regret was that it wasn't longer!

[Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one I keep coming back to, every 5 years or so. Joan Aiken has written a book that is an old theme, but masterfully told. It has a parts of growing up, loss, new places and the supernatural. A very good book.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guess this book was written when the author was high on something. And it seems like the writing encourages young people to try out addictive substances.

Want to throw away this book.

The writing is okay. There’s a plot but no development or progress whatsoever. Damn monotonous till the end. Middle grade books should not be this boring and problematic.

And no horror elements whatsoever. There is but you can easily miss it.

Damn disappointed.

[Thakshila Jayasinghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read and likable characters. I especially liked the main character- Cosmo- a lot.

[Austen to Zafón · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a pre-read for my son, but I did enjoy it myself. It certainly is spooky and I liked the characters of his aunt and live-in housekeeper. I did find it difficult to believe that the main character could just "pick up" jousting, fencing, swordfighting, and such without any training. But overall, it was a fun read. Not her best, but better than a lot of the schlock published for YA readers these days. If you liked this, you'll no doubt love the Green Knowe series by L.M. Boston, which are also about a boy staying in an old house and coming across previous residents, but are better written (IMO).

[Infamous Sphere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this is just a great children's book, with ghosts, a curse, engaging rural mucking-about with horses and pigs and tree houses and rowboats, a mathematician aunt, it's got everything. As an Australian tho, I think it's weird that our main character Cosmo Curtoys, who's lived in Australia much of his life, has apparently never seen a kangaroo. They're really common! Koalas and platypuses, yes, they're pretty hard to see in the wild, but you don't even have to try that hard to see kangaroos. Maybe if you never leave the most congested area of Sydney ever, but Cosmo lived in an extremely rural area???

[Prapti Panda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aiken never disappoints! I've seen a lot of other readers complain that this book is more enjoyable for children and adolescents, but it's such a well written mystery/suspense/horror story! True, themes such as school bullies, tree forts, and somewhat childish caricatures of historical figures might not be very appealing at first glance for adults. However, the atmosphere that Aiken builds up is amazing, and there are definitely parts that will creep you to no end.

[whalesister · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different sort of fantasy for Aiken, with a modern setting, which she pulls off nicely. I really liked the main character and his ghost friends, but I wanted more, and the real-life friends were a little flat. I liked the book, but thought it needed to be longer for the character development to be complete.

[Friend of Pixie]

Why: I just pre-read this last night. It's a ghost story with some history added in and I enjoyed it. it even gave me the shivers! I think L will like this when he gets to be more the protagonist's age (10?). Pretty realistic portrayal of being the new kid at a school. It sucks. Been there many times.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my faves from the library. I deeply loved it.

[Igenlode Wordsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a oddly disjointed book, with elements of the classic boarding-school story, the time-slip/ghost story, the bereaved child being sent 'back home' to live with an eccentric relative, and the mystery of an ancient family curse... but the disparate elements don't really come together (the classroom politics at school in particular seem completely unrelated to the rest of the story). The whole 'family curse' thing is oddly handled; in a children's book of this era you would expect the protagonist to have single-handedly uncovered its origin and defeated it by the end of the book, or else for the superstition to have been successfully explained away. But in this book the curse is apparently real and, if it is lifted at all, which is doubtful, this will only be as a result of what is revealed to be the off-screen suicide of the hero's mother and brother before the start of the novel, when their bodies are eventually discovered; again, scarcely the expected outcome of a children's book that starts off with an unexplained family disappearance. A missing mother whose fate is unknown is subconsciously expected by the readership to return by the end of the book for a happy ending... and certainly not to have deliberately killed herself because of a ghost story.

The appearance of the ghosts is a bit random, as well; one of them turns up as a small child before appearing as an older boy (and it's hinted that he was around six years earlier, but apparently just as a playmate rather than with the whole 'cursed to die' thing), but the second two are much more fixed in their roles, as if you've got two different types of haunting overlapping. Nor does there seem to be any explanation for the wardrobe falling on Cosmo's bed, or for the bed itself careering of its own accord down the stairs, other than just 'generalised psychic activity increasing': the family curse is about eldest sons dying in battle, not about younger sons being crushed by their own furniture, so it's not clear why the house is apparently trying to kill him.

Come to that, the whole business of the hero having a funny name that no one outside the family can pronounce right doesn't seem to lead to anything other than making him 'special' to the reader - there are a lot of echoes here of The Children of Green Knowe, but this book just isn't so successful. I did like the twist whereby the third 'ghost' is revealed to be an arrogant young man from the 18th century who has turned up with the deliberate intention of breaking the curse by killing Cosmo before he can do any harm ... but it is really a bit too convenient that Cosmo's home-schooling happens to have included his mother being a fencing instructor, thus enabling the clueless schoolboy to describe the technicalities of the fight even if he can't win it.

The book is technically well written, as you would expect from Joan Aiken, and many elements of it are individually effective, but it didn't seem to hang together. And the stakes involved seem altogether too high (are Cosmo's future wife and son going to die horribly? ) for what is, on the face of it, just a contrivance of the author to portray a series of characters from different periods of history for the education of a young audience. Again, Kipling does it much better in Puck of Pook's Hill.

[Priscilla King · Rating 4 out of 5]

What put some people I know off this book is that its central premise is, to them, deeply creepy: The Curtoys family are under a supernatural curse causing all the elder sons to die in battle, and Cosmo Curtoys doesn't know whether his older brother's choice to perish in the desert, or his own choice to work with friendly ancestral ghosts to beat their enemies' ghosts in battle, can break the curse. If you can accept a premise like that in fiction, the story works.

What I liked is that, battles apart, Cosmo's (asexual or lesbian?) aunt and their various school friends are delightfully academic. They have the sort of conversations that most teenagers who feel unpopular at school would like to have. Cosmo is being actively shunned at school, but he's also been assured, by schoolmates, that "everyone goes through it at first...to help you find your level," and by the end of the book we know he'll find a level of friendship, with people who are interested in physics as well as sports, that he'll actually enjoy. Any teenager who's had to settle for semi-demi-friendships with people who only talk about sports, clothes, or cars might relish that aspect of the book.

Despite her increasing fascination with ghost stories as she grew older, I always thought Joan Aiken's best stories had all-living casts of characters. However, this one was a fun read in 1983 and it is one still.

[annapi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cosmo has come back to England from Australia after the disappearance of his mother and older brother, to study in a boarding school and live weekends with his cousin Eunice. Life in the old mill house of his family is interesting, with lots of outdoor things to do. But strange things start happening, and boys from the past come to visit, and only Cosmo seems to be able to see them.

This is not really a "horror" book, but I guess I could call it "horror lite", and it's suitable enough for middle school kids. Aiken always has such strange ideas for her books, and this is right up her alley. I find it a bit lacking, I think it could have been developed more, but it's a nice easy read. My rating is 3.5 stars, but I will round down.

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a case of themes of the time - memories of old characters of the place etc like Alan Garner, like the book about the road - with theories about time, like th book I had from my brother, but actually it was written in 1980, so it is deriving from them probably as well as lading on to Pullman.
It's kind of deliberately set in the past, although not a very distant past.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

And a half star. Well written and well constructed but never made my 'old-faithful' comfort re-read, maybe because it was not written early enough for me to read as a child.

[SPOILER] Also the ghosts and ghostly goings on were on the page so definitely that I have trouble suspending my belief. And such a definite happy ending! These days I might need more ambiguity.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously this was YA back in the days. The mystery was really nonsense and the story a bit of a bore.

I have read the German translation, but couldn't find the edition listed here.

#WomenInTranslationMonth
Translated by Irene Holicki.

[Bethnoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Joan Aiken's writing and the freedom of a plot which doesn't feel it has to justify or explain itself. Apart from being upset by one character death, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional damage! (And the pet dog dies). But beautifully written and very original with its inclusion of mathematics to help explain magic. I might have to read Flatland now.

[Sam Amos]

I really enjoyed this story even though it was aimed at children it was well written although I wish I could have known if Mark did break the curse once and for all

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit spooky, but very comfortable overall.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy read with an interesting plot

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely affecting book that manages family grief, school bullying, and ghostly visitations all in one deft, moving and exciting narrative.