Shadows & Moonshine

by Joan Aiken

A collection of thirteen tales by Joan Aiken. She can be scary (everyone knows her fascination with wolves and witches) and poetic (as in "Moonshine in the Mustard Pot" or "The Lilac in the Lake"). But whatever she sets her hand to, it is the work of a master. And set against the lovely and luminous pencil drawings of Pamela Johnson, we have a a baker's dozen of magical tales that will stay with readers long after the last page is turned and the lights turned out.

Genres: Short Stories, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

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

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fine compilation of stories will have me on the hunt for more Joan Aiken. "Moonshine in the mustard pot" is probably the best thing I've read this year.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read one a day, imagining as I read them that I was reading them to my children. It was one of my favorite things to do as the kids were growing up -- read a chapter from a book every night while they were in bed. In my mind's eye, I decided my children would have been nine or older to appreciate the stories, and I'd have to explain some terms that sound politically incorrect but are used in England as the proper word for something -- such as a bundle of sticks used for fuel.

Anyway, these stories brought to mind Twilight Zone: when the story starts, it's not always clear if it's going to be serious, whimsical, a thoughtful slice of life, horrible. I liked that. My favorite story was Moonshine in the Mustard Pot, a combo whimsical and serious.

[Godine Publisher & Black Sparrow Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What I relish in particular is the swiftness of the telling, the vigor with which brilliant moments of perception … seem to be improvised in the sheer delight of the onward rush of the story. Joan Aiken is a marvel."
—The Guardian

"It is a rare enough achievement to create even one children's novel that is read with equal pleasure by youngsters and adults alike.… [Aiken's:] readers can inhabit a world where … wit and poetry, drama and compassion, exist in equal measure."
—Smithsonian

[SmarterLilac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Joan Aiken's writing, but this isn't the best example of it. While some of these stories are charming and well-done ('The King Who Stood Out All Night' is great) the bad ones in this collection (most of the first third) are asinine. Why can't people understand that child readers don't want to be condescended to?

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delighted to see this is in print from David Godine! Aiken's short stories are just as delightful as her novels.

[Liaken · Rating 5 out of 5]

More great Aiken short stories. If I were to buy one volume of her short stories, this would be the one.

[tinkle Wickle]

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[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys really enjoyed this ... kinda surprising. Quirky, wierd, well written fairy tales.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are a little spooky but lovely. My 8 year old who likes happy stories refused to keep listening after the first one or two.