Castle Barebane

‘Joan Aiken writes superbly, with a force, a colour and strength of imagination that one encounters all too rarely today. I loved every moment of it’ The TelegraphStrong and independent Valhalla Montgomery, a heroine straight out of a Henry James novel, abandons her career as a New York journalist to search for her half-brother in Joan Aiken’s gothic novel, Castle Barebane.Wishing to escape from her pretentious New York fiancé, Valla is happy to have an excuse to travel to England – only to discover upon her arrival that her half-brother and his wife have disappeared from their London home, leaving their two young children behind.Finding Victorian London a gloomy and sinister place haunted by a series of Ripper-style murders, Valla takes the children up to Scotland, to a bleak family property known as Castle Barebane. In this Gothic ruin, perched on the edge of a cliff, the mystery surrounding her missing brother begins to unravel – only getting darker and more terrifying . . .This unforgettable tale of love, loss and human nature is brought to life by Joan Aiken’s vivid storytelling and gripping plot. If you love Virginia C. Andrews or Nicola Cornick, Joan Aiken should certainly be your next read.

Joan Aiken was born in Rye, Sussex in 1924, daughter of the American poet Conrad Aiken, and started writing herself at the age of five. Since the 1960s she wrote full time and published over 100 books.Best known for her children’s books such as The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Midnight is a Place, she also wrote extensively for adults and published many contemporary and historical novels, including sequels to novels by Jane Austen. In 1968, she won the Guardian Children’s book prize for Whispering Mountain, followed by an Edgar Allan Poe award for Night Fall in 1972, and was awarded an MBE for her services to children’s literature in 1999.Joan Aiken died in 2004.