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Palace Above the Clouds: A Crystal Palace Chronicles Adventure
"It really is one of the best books around."
"Hooked! I've re-read these books again and again."
“Graham Whitlock is a wonderful storyteller.” Suzy K. Quinn, New York Times best-selling author
Victorian London buzzes with excitement as the Crystal Palace unveils the world’s first aeronautical exhibition.
But when a fatal balloon crash sparks a thrilling mystery, it’s a race against time for young H. G. Wells and his friends to uncover the truth.
Join them on a journey of courage, friendship and discovery as international aeronauts compete for supremacy of the skies and daring daredevils like Leona Dare rise into the heavens hanging beneath her balloon with her iron jaw.
Fusing history and mystery, Palace Above the Clouds can be enjoyed as a stand-alone adventure or read as part of The Crystal Palace Chronicles series. Perfect for young readers and the young at heart!
Click the BUY NOW button and travel back to Victorian London and the Crystal Palace, the world's first theme park.
"A clever and hilarious adventure into the perilous world of the past! It's quirky and dark. And so much fun." Carrie Jones, New York Times best-selling young adult author.
"Fantastic for adults and kids alike." Ken Kiss, Curator, The Crystal Palace Museum
"Hooked! I've re-read these books again and again."
“Graham Whitlock is a wonderful storyteller.” Suzy K. Quinn, New York Times best-selling author
Victorian London buzzes with excitement as the Crystal Palace unveils the world’s first aeronautical exhibition.
But when a fatal balloon crash sparks a thrilling mystery, it’s a race against time for young H. G. Wells and his friends to uncover the truth.
Join them on a journey of courage, friendship and discovery as international aeronauts compete for supremacy of the skies and daring daredevils like Leona Dare rise into the heavens hanging beneath her balloon with her iron jaw.
Fusing history and mystery, Palace Above the Clouds can be enjoyed as a stand-alone adventure or read as part of The Crystal Palace Chronicles series. Perfect for young readers and the young at heart!
Click the BUY NOW button and travel back to Victorian London and the Crystal Palace, the world's first theme park.
"A clever and hilarious adventure into the perilous world of the past! It's quirky and dark. And so much fun." Carrie Jones, New York Times best-selling young adult author.
"Fantastic for adults and kids alike." Ken Kiss, Curator, The Crystal Palace Museum
Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2024
2 people want to read
About the author
Graham Whitlock
6 books4 followersI am a writer, walker, local instigator and born-and-bred Norwood boy hopelessly in love with London.
My granddad sold programmes at the Crystal Palace before it burned down (which had nothing to do with him, or so he said ....). I’ve always been drawn to the park’s mystical feel—the crumbling terraces of the ‘People’s Palace,’ the dinosaurs and sphinxes like phantoms from the past.
I enjoyed a misspent youth making up stories with plasticine and producing epic plays to ‘entertain’ my primary school classmates including the latest instalment of Land of the Little People, staring a cast of painted toilet rolls.
I loosely grew up to help found and run award-winning charity DreamArts, which transforms young lives fusing arts and therapy.
I also moved on from toilet rolls to adapt Shane Meadows’ film 24/7 for the stage, and create the UKs first immersive musical based on the classic Ealing Studio comedy Passport to Pimlico.
I love visiting schools, running workshops and answer all emails—so do get in touch!
My granddad sold programmes at the Crystal Palace before it burned down (which had nothing to do with him, or so he said ....). I’ve always been drawn to the park’s mystical feel—the crumbling terraces of the ‘People’s Palace,’ the dinosaurs and sphinxes like phantoms from the past.
I enjoyed a misspent youth making up stories with plasticine and producing epic plays to ‘entertain’ my primary school classmates including the latest instalment of Land of the Little People, staring a cast of painted toilet rolls.
I loosely grew up to help found and run award-winning charity DreamArts, which transforms young lives fusing arts and therapy.
I also moved on from toilet rolls to adapt Shane Meadows’ film 24/7 for the stage, and create the UKs first immersive musical based on the classic Ealing Studio comedy Passport to Pimlico.
I love visiting schools, running workshops and answer all emails—so do get in touch!
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 19, 2025
This is my very first ever book I've backed on Kickstarter.
As someone who wants to pursue this line of publishing sometime in the future as of writing this, it was a great learning experience to be a part of this and to see what someone's money can help you produce.
Which also meant this was my first Crystal Palace Chronicles book. And you know what, for this type of story not really being my original cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. You know, it's the mark of a great writer where the passion for the project and genuine care over characters shines through so vividly like this. Graham Whitlock genuinely cares about the authenticity of his world and how his characters are presented. Their personalities and energies are truly infectious, if at times cartoonist theatrical, but that also adds to a lot of the charm.
I come from a film background, and with every novel I read, I always picture in my head how those words would look and play out in a film or television series. And genuinely this book was one of the easiest "in my head" adaptations I've read in a long time. I'm actually fairly shocked The Crystal Palace Chronicles haven't been picked up by the BBC yet to be made into multiple films or tv shows, they'd transfer so well it should be a no brainer.
One thing I wasn't expecting with this story was just how shocking it could be at turns, like there were genuine cliffhangers that had me on the edge of my seat in that sort of, "I've got to know what happens next!" feeling you can from a good episode of television.
I knew there were going to be real-life figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle in the book but I wasn't prepared for just how involved he would be, and was thankful for it.
Again, my only real criticisms would be just how childishly cartoony everyone seems to act at times. I suppose it's a novel catered more towards adolescents but then again there are some very adult happenings in the novel so I'm not quite sure. Just when every character started acting up a bit I lost my immersion. But not my sense of adventure which is probably the thing I'm most glad for having read this.
Characters like H.G. Wells and Gertrude (who I believe was a new character for this story) kept me going the entire time and kept me excited for the cry of adventure.
The villain was great, the drama was great and the ending was great.
And easy to read as well might I add.
Most definitely will be reading the other books in the series (which to my absolute delight feature time travel, which isn't a thing in this story).
As someone who wants to pursue this line of publishing sometime in the future as of writing this, it was a great learning experience to be a part of this and to see what someone's money can help you produce.
Which also meant this was my first Crystal Palace Chronicles book. And you know what, for this type of story not really being my original cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. You know, it's the mark of a great writer where the passion for the project and genuine care over characters shines through so vividly like this. Graham Whitlock genuinely cares about the authenticity of his world and how his characters are presented. Their personalities and energies are truly infectious, if at times cartoonist theatrical, but that also adds to a lot of the charm.
I come from a film background, and with every novel I read, I always picture in my head how those words would look and play out in a film or television series. And genuinely this book was one of the easiest "in my head" adaptations I've read in a long time. I'm actually fairly shocked The Crystal Palace Chronicles haven't been picked up by the BBC yet to be made into multiple films or tv shows, they'd transfer so well it should be a no brainer.
One thing I wasn't expecting with this story was just how shocking it could be at turns, like there were genuine cliffhangers that had me on the edge of my seat in that sort of, "I've got to know what happens next!" feeling you can from a good episode of television.
I knew there were going to be real-life figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle in the book but I wasn't prepared for just how involved he would be, and was thankful for it.
Again, my only real criticisms would be just how childishly cartoony everyone seems to act at times. I suppose it's a novel catered more towards adolescents but then again there are some very adult happenings in the novel so I'm not quite sure. Just when every character started acting up a bit I lost my immersion. But not my sense of adventure which is probably the thing I'm most glad for having read this.
Characters like H.G. Wells and Gertrude (who I believe was a new character for this story) kept me going the entire time and kept me excited for the cry of adventure.
The villain was great, the drama was great and the ending was great.
And easy to read as well might I add.
Most definitely will be reading the other books in the series (which to my absolute delight feature time travel, which isn't a thing in this story).
Displaying 1 of 1 review