Join master storyteller Joan Aiken and illustrator extraordinaire Quentin Blake for eight original and wildly imaginative modern fairy tales.

From Martian dinosaurs and eight-legged horses to a girl cursed to turn into a pink snake on Sundays, these weird and wonderful short stories weave folktale, fantasy and modernity into something entirely unexpected.

Told with Aiken’s distinctive wit and brought to life by Blake’s marvellously atmospheric illustrations, these surreal, sublime and endlessly enjoyable tales are perfect for reading alone or together.

When danger forces expatriate English gentlewoman Juliana Paget to flee her home in Italy, she embarks on a journey full of thrilling adventure. Nothing could have prepared her for outwitting a French mob, crossing the Channel in a hot air balloon, or fending off the advances of the fascinating Count Welcker.

Arriving in London just in time for her very first Season, Juliana is going to find all her ideals challenged – and the truth of her heart finally revealed . . .

Full of romance and adventure, The Smile of the Stranger is the first book in The Paget Family Saga. Continue the series with The Weeping Ash.

‘Joan Aiken’s invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come’ – Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials

Thousands of miles away in India, twin Paget cousins Scylla, governess to the old Maharaja’s family, and her poet brother Cal are fleeing for their lives with the orphaned royal heir. They must survive a perilous journey – assisted by the dashing Colonel Cameron – across Kafiristan, Afghanistan, Persia, and Turkey before finally arriving at the Hermitage Estate.

But the adventure does not stop here. A dark and explosive confrontation awaits the Pagets, as Aiken’s two spirited heroines strive for independence in this thrilling romantic adventure.

The Weeping Ash is the second book in the Paget Family Saga, following The Smile of the Stranger. Conclude the series with book three, The Girl from Paris.

‘She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come’ – Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials

The Paget Family Saga comes to a thrilling conclusion with The Girl from Paris, a gripping Gothic historical romance from acclaimed author Joan Aiken.

Longing to flout convention and spread her wings in society, Ellen Paget accepts a position as a governess in Paris. Old family friend Benedict Masham has long carried a torch for Ellen and is naturally stunned when she makes her departure. But, when family tragedy and a subsequent scandal force Ellen to return to London, Benedict’s passion is reignited and he vows to express his love through unwavering help and support.

Ellen will need to use all of her ingenuity and daring to solve the mysteries of the past and present and keep her family safe. But will she also find romance in a place she least expected?

Praise for The Girl From Paris:
‘The tale has echoes of both Charlotte and Emily Bronte, but the fast moving narrative and thoroughly modern sense of the ambiguities of character are all Miss Aiken’s own’ – Guardian

‘Joan Aiken blends elements of Villette, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy into a strong redemptive plot’ – Observer

Self-righteous Louisa wants to escape her grand family life in Northumberland and become a missionary in India. Imaginative and quiet Alvey has no family and only longs for peaceful independence to, complete her novel.

So when Louisa suggests swapping identities, it seems like the perfect plan: Alvey will have a peaceful country manor in which to write her book, and Louisa will be free to voyage across the globe. But when Alvey becomes a beloved and indispensable member of her extraordinary new family, how will they view the return of the more quarrelsome Louisa?

Joan Aiken weaves an intricate plot of deception and identity, peopled with strong female characters, in this unique historical romance.

‘Joan Aiken’s invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.’ – Philip Pullman

Delphie Carteret is forced into a dangerous marriage of convenience in Joan Aiken’s stunning regency romance, The Five Minute Marriage. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, the major romantic drama series from Netlix.

Delphie has been disinherited from her family’s life of luxury and wealth, but, as her mother’s health and wits deteriorate, she has no choice but to seek help from distant relatives. However, when she arrives at the family’s grand house, she discovers part of their fortune is rightfully hers, and the only way to obtain her inheritance is through a sham marriage to her cousin.

Unknowingly, Delphie has tangled herself in a web of family rivalry and deceit that goes back generations. Other members of the family are not just in debt but in the Marshalsea – the debtors’ prison described by Dickens. Forced to maintain the charade of her marriage, Delphie is finally drawn into a dramatic fight for her life, and a surprisingly romantic finale on the roof of the family mansion.

An enchanting plot of expertly-woven romance and rivalry, The Five-Minute Marriage will enthrall readers until the very end.

Harriet Ward, know as Hatty to her sisters, is treated with utter contempt by most of her family. Lacking the beauty that her older sisters inherited she is left without a dowry to care for their ill mother once her sisters are married off.

Sent to Portsmouth to live with her rumbustious uncle and cousins, Hatty turns her creative flair to poetry and believes she must become a governess. That is until handsome Lord Camber passes through town . . .

Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park famously narrates the story of poor little Fanny Price sent to live with her mother’s grander sisters – the Ward family. Written almost two centuries later, Joan Aiken’s powerful sequel reverses the story and introduces us to The Youngest Miss Ward, Hatty, sent to fend for herself with the poor relations.

‘Joan Aiken’s invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.’ Philip Pullman

Emma Watson has been brought up by her aunt in a wealthy and refined household, an educated lifestyle far removed from her widowed father and five siblings. So when her aunt enters into an imprudent second marriage, nineteen-year-old Emma is sent back home and must join her sisters in their pursuit of a husband . . .

Aiken, author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, takes on the fate of Austen’s characters with confidence and skill, flawlessly entwining themes of loss and love together in this stunning regency pastiche.

‘Joan Aiken‘s invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come‘ – Philip Pullman