Castle Barebane

A tightly knit, exciting novel … an unusually well-told tale * Publisher’s Weekly *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 Telegraph *Joan Aiken’s Castle Barebane promises every kind of Gothic pleasure, from grimy decadent London to a crumbling Scottish castle … the plot twists agilely enough to lead most readers up the garden path several times * The Observer *Set in nineteenth-century New York, London and Scotland, Castle Barebane is an engrossing novel of romance and terror … with an unforgettable, spirited heroine * Literary Guild *A mysterious plea for help takes Valla from career and fiancé in New York to a sinister Scots castle … with the reappearance of her half-crazed brother, the horrors are deftly piled on, but as usual Miss Aiken strikes a nice balance with reality * The Sunday Times *

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.