Joan Aiken has written, among other works, several companion novels to Jane Austen's books. Who is her famous relative?
a. father Conrad Aiken was a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
b. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is her nephew
c. uncle Claude Aiken is a well-known character actor
d. painter Bruce Aiken is her brother
More trivia...
a. father Conrad Aiken was a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
b. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is her nephew
c. uncle Claude Aiken is a well-known character actor
d. painter Bruce Aiken is her brother
More trivia...
Joan Aiken
author profile
born
September 04, 1924
died
January 04, 2004
gender
female
place of birth
Rye, East Sussex, The United Kingdom
website
genre
Children's Books, Mystery & Thrillers
influences
M.R. James, Fitz James O'Brien and Nugent Barker
about this author
Joan Delano Aiken was an English novelist. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge.
She worked for the BBC and the UNIC, before she started writing professionally, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).
Many of her most popular books, including the Wolves Chronicles, were set in an elaborate alternate history of Britain in which James II is never deposed in the Glorious Revolution, but supporters of the House of Hanover continually agitate against the monarchy. These books also toy with the geography of London, adding a Cana...more
Sign up for Goodreads to pick your favorite quotes and books by Joan Aiken.
avg rating: 3.89
| 4,384 ratings
| 656 reviews
| 199 distinct works
|
19 fans
More books by Joan Aiken…
|
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken, Pat Marriott avg rating 4.09 — 889 ratings — published 1962 25 editions |
my rating: 
|
|
Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken avg rating 4.21 — 277 ratings — published 1964 15 editions |
my rating:
|
|
Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken avg rating 4.24 — 221 ratings — published 1966 11 editions |
my rating:
|
|
Jane Fairfax: The Secret Story of the Second Heroine in Jane Austen's Emma by Joan Aiken avg rating 3.52 — 255 ratings — published 1991 7 editions |
my rating:
|
|
Midnight is a Place by Joan Aiken avg rating 3.78 — 139 ratings — published 1974 11 editions |
my rating:
|
|
The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken avg rating 4.08 — 117 ratings — published 1971 5 editions |
my rating:
|
|
Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken avg rating 4.03 — 111 ratings — published 1986 6 editions |
my rating:
|
|
The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken avg rating 3.94 — 100 ratings — published 1981 11 editions |
my rating:
|
|
The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken avg rating 3.76 — 79 ratings — published 1969 9 editions |
my rating:
|
|
Mansfield Revisited by Joan Aiken avg rating 3.12 — 93 ratings — published 1985 5 editions |
my rating:
|
upcoming events
No scheduled events.
"He paused a moment, gazing in awe at the huge mass of buildings composing the castle. It stood close to the river, on either side and to the rear stretched the extensive park and gardens, filled with splendid trees, fountains and beds of brilliant flowers in shades of pink, crimson, and scarlet. The castle itself was built of pink granite, and enclosed completely a smaller, older building which the present Duke's father had considered too insignificant for his town residence. The new castle had taken forty years to build; three architects and hundreds of men had worked day and night, and the old Duke had personally selected every block of sunset-colored stone that went to its construction. 'I want it to look like a great half-open rose,' he declared to the architects, who were fired with enthusiasm by this romantic fancy. It was begun as a wedding present to the Duke's wife, whose name was Rosamond, but unfortunately she died some nine years before it was completed. 'never mind, it will do for her memorial instead,' said the grief-stricken but practical widower. The work went on. At last the final block was laid in place. The Duke, by now very old, went out in his barouche and drove slowly along the opposite riverbank to consider the effect. He paused midway for a long time, then gave his opinion. 'It looks like a cod cutlet covered in shrimp sauce,' he said, drove home, took to his bed, and died."
— Joan Aiken (Black Hearts in Battersea)
— Joan Aiken (Black Hearts in Battersea)
"They came to the high stone shaft with the face of Sul; they descended to the terrace below. And here Caradog waited, leaning on his silver-tipped rod and eying the horizon, until the delicate slip of the new moon moved out from behind the shoulder of Mount Damyake, with the mysterious, shadowy ghost of the old moon cradle inside it, like an egg inside its egg cup.
"Now it is time," he said.
"Blame it!" expostulated Dido. "It ain't right for me to die! Have you thought of that, mister? You're and old gager; you've lived nigh on fourscore years, I shouldn't wonder. You did a whole lot of things and learned a lot o' stuff --- though mussy knows, you ain't put it to very good use. But I haven't hardly done nothing! And I ain't learned much, neither, except the use of the globes that Mr. Holy taught me, and how to curtsy and cut up whales."
At the thought of Mr. Holystone her voice, to her shame, began to wobble dangerously; she stopped speaking and drew a deep breath.
"Cease repining, child, and go down those steps," said Caradog. "Do not quarrel with your destiny. If Sul wishes you to die, then it is your time."
Dido remembered the story that Bran had told about the man who picked up the necklace. Well, if it is my destiny, she thought, best not to make a pother about it."
— Joan Aiken (The Stolen Lake)
"Now it is time," he said.
"Blame it!" expostulated Dido. "It ain't right for me to die! Have you thought of that, mister? You're and old gager; you've lived nigh on fourscore years, I shouldn't wonder. You did a whole lot of things and learned a lot o' stuff --- though mussy knows, you ain't put it to very good use. But I haven't hardly done nothing! And I ain't learned much, neither, except the use of the globes that Mr. Holy taught me, and how to curtsy and cut up whales."
At the thought of Mr. Holystone her voice, to her shame, began to wobble dangerously; she stopped speaking and drew a deep breath.
"Cease repining, child, and go down those steps," said Caradog. "Do not quarrel with your destiny. If Sul wishes you to die, then it is your time."
Dido remembered the story that Bran had told about the man who picked up the necklace. Well, if it is my destiny, she thought, best not to make a pother about it."
— Joan Aiken (The Stolen Lake)
tags:
blame
2 people liked it
"The use of reading, Gibbon says somewhere, is to aid us in thinking. I have always disagreed with Gibbon over that; he may have used literature to help him think, but for me, often, and for most of the human race I reckon (since I have no reason to think myself unique) books can be a mind-stupefying drug, employed to banish thought, not to invoke it. When I am unhappy I can sink into a novel as into unconsciousness. Blessed War and Peace, thrice blessed Mansfield Park; how many potential suicides have their pages distracted and soothed and entertained past the danger point?"
— Joan Aiken (Foul Matter)
— Joan Aiken (Foul Matter)
polls
topics mentioning this author
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Next Best Boo...: What's your favorite female author or favorite book by a woman? | 90 | 440 | Jun 20, 2009 07:43PM |
