Every now and again I like to read a children’s book that I missed out on when I was a child and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken fits that bill. It was first published by Puffin in 1962 but my copy is a Vintage reprint.
I suppose that there have been plans to build a tunnel between Britain and France for donkey’s years, but it still seems strange to have the Channel Tunnel mentioned in a book that was published 50 or so years before it existed. The setting though is even earlier than 1962, the year is 1832 and young Bonnie has led a charmed life, the much doted on daughter of Sir Willoughby and Lady Green. But there are changes ahead for them all as Lady Green has been ill for some time and her husband is taking her on a voyage hoping to find a cure for her condition.
This means that a governess is required to look after Bonnie and the family estate, and a fourth cousin of Sir Willoughby is chosen for the job – Miss Slighcarp. None of them have ever met her before but are relying on the fact that she’s a relative of sorts and so they assume she’ll be trustworthy. It turns out though that she’s anything but trustworthy and so begins a nightmare for the whole household, including Sylvia who is a young cousin sent to Willoughby Chase, she’s a good companion for Bonnie.
The tunnel has enabled wolves from frozen mainland Europe to reach Britain and it makes life extremely dangerous. But it turns out that Miss Slighcarp is even more of a threat to the young girls than the wolves are.
This is quite a tense read, considering it’s aimed at children aged 9+. There are quite a few books in the series and I’ll work my way through them all eventually. Did you read these books when you were a child – or older?
Joan Aiken is the younger sister of the author Jane Aiken Hodge.
Yes, I did read this as a child. I liked it quite a bit though I don’t have clear memories of most of the other books in the series. I also liked Midnight is a Place by the same author. Have you ever read that?
Jennifer,
No I haven’t read that one but I’ll look out for it now. Thanks.
I loved this one as a child and still do, though I never really got around to reading the sequels — maybe they weren’t available at my library and of course we didn’t have Amazon or the ability to special order books like I can nowadays. I do remember reading a Gothic novella Aiken also wrote called Died on a Rainy Sunday which was oddly enough shelved in the YA section! I reread it a few years ago and it’s definitely not what we’d classify as YA these days. Great psychological suspense, though.
Karen K,
I’ve bought the next two in the series online, I prefer secondhand bookshops but they’re so thin on the ground now, it could be years before they popped up in one. I like the sound of Died on a Rainy Sunday. Thanks.
I like to read and re-read children’s books too, every so often. This is one I didn’t read as a child but when I was a teacher we produced a play based on the book. It whetted my appetite and I’m looking forward to reading it eventually.
Sandra,
You’ll find it a nice quick read when you do get around to it.
I missed out on this as a child too, which is a shame as it sounds like the sort of book I would have enjoyed. I’ve been thinking about reading it for a while, so I’m pleased to hear it’s worth reading as an adult and that you liked it enough to want to continue with the series.
Helen,
I hope you do enjoy it when you get around to it. It won’t take you long to read it anyway.
I read this one in the sixth grade (age 11), and did a book report on the second in the series, Black Hearts in Battersea. I enjoyed them, definitely, but they weren’t my all-time favorite reads of that time. I was much more crazy for Madeleine L’Engle’s novels, especially Meet the Austins (loved that book!!) and A Wrinkle in Time.
I have certainly thrilled to several adult novels by Joan Aiken, and would like to read more if I could find them.
Judith,
I think that by that age I was on to Agatha Christie and du Maurier as well as the Brontes, which is a bit of a pity because I missed out on so many children’s books. Now I’ll have to track down Meet the Austins!
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