Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Four British Fantasists explores the work of four of the most successful and influential fantasy writers of the generation who rose to prominence in the "second Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain: Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Penelope Lively. Drawing on history, archeology, social geography, anthropology, and postcolonial theory, as well as literary criticism, Butler provides a series of new perspectives through which to view these writers' achievements. He begins by highlighting some points of biographic coincidence (e.g. all four authors were children during WWII, all were born within a year or two of each other, and all attended Oxford University in the early 1950s-when C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were publishing their seminal fantasies) and questions if these factors play any significant role in the development of these fantasy writers. The author then uses this question as the springboard for a case study in the assessment of biographical and literary influence. The book also considers the role played by Britain itself in determining the shape and preoccupations of these writers' fiction. Britain is a land with a long history in which contemporary life is constantly juxtaposed with evidence of the past in the form of ancient buildings, historic sites, and archeological remains. By placing the work of Cooper, Garner, Jones, and Lively in the context of British culture and of their own time, Butler provides a key to their fascination with history, mythology, and magic, and to the ways in which that fascination has found expression in their fiction. Students of children's literature and of fantasy literature as well as readers who are interested in the lives of these four subject authors will find this an insightful read.

A sinister and chilling ghost story from the author of THE FETCH OF MARDY WATT and CALYPSO DREAMING. When Ossian reluctantly returns to Lychfont House - a country house with pretensions to match - with his artist father, he finds things bizarrely familiar and yet oddly different. Reacquainting himself with the Frazer family, he finds himself questioning the accuracy of certain childhood memories and wondering why the place seems to hold such power over him. One thing he IS sure of, however: the ghosts are still haunting him. While Ossian puzzles over his existence, an ancient goddess searches for her lost love. She must call in the Scryer to track him down wherever he may be, for the wedding must go ahead. After all, she and Ossian were made for each other... A timeslip ghost story that will chill readers to the bone.

Enigmatic chiller from the author of Calypso Dreaming. Whatever spell had been put on her was growing stronger. And suddenly, rather than fear, she felt a rush of burning anger. How dare anyone do this to her! How dare anyone steal her life! Something is haunting Mardy Watt. It's been in her room, it's fooling her friends and it's upsetting her home life. And the trouble is, nobody realises what is happening except Mardy herself. Exactly why the Fetch is picking on her, Mardy doesn't know - but she does know that she has to find out, before it takes over and replaces her completely.

An atmospheric fantasy, set on a remote island where the difference between dreams and truth becomes blurred... Sweetholm is a small island sheltering in the Bristol channel, best known for its colonies of seabirds and seals and the picturesque ruins of St Brigan's Priory. When Geoff and Hilary Robinson are offered the opportunity to caretake a house there for the summer, they see it as a perfect opportunity to work at patching up their marriage. Their teenage daughter Tansy also welcomes it as a chance to put behind her her unnerving and unsuccessful experiments in magic in Bristol. But troubles cannot be so easily outrun and Sweetholm is not the idyllic retreat is apears to be. It is one of the 'frayed places of the world' where the line between ordinary life and ancient magic has become wafer thin. And key to these events is Calypso herself - a strange child whose round lidless eyes and webbed feet hint at her ancestry. Her prophetic dreams have power - but will anybody dare to understand the truth?