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196th out of 2,636 books
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4,868 voters
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles #1)
Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It see...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
November 14th 2000
by Delacorte Press
(first published 1962)
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Dec 04, 2010
Mariel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
angels with even filthier souls
Recommended to Mariel by:
angels with filthy souls
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is best read when young, or by those with the ability to tap into their inner girl.
I enjoyed the evil impostors who gleefully inflict child abuse. 'Wolves' is best read by kids who love to feel a bit of self-pity and delicious horror.
Bonnie is a bit of a simpering thing and there are lots of mentions of dresses and lace. I didn't care about that. My eyes tend to glaze over fripperies in real life too. (It feels like I'm the only person alive who doesn't notice if s...more
I enjoyed the evil impostors who gleefully inflict child abuse. 'Wolves' is best read by kids who love to feel a bit of self-pity and delicious horror.
Bonnie is a bit of a simpering thing and there are lots of mentions of dresses and lace. I didn't care about that. My eyes tend to glaze over fripperies in real life too. (It feels like I'm the only person alive who doesn't notice if s...more
15 likes · like · see review
view all 16 comments
Apr 18, 2010
Abigail
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Victorian Melodrama, Joan Aiken fans, Lemony Snicket Readers...
Shelves:
childrens-fiction,
joan-aiken
Review Temporarily Removed.
5 likes · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
8 likes · like · see review
This is terrible but wonderful.
It's really a book that was published for young adults or kids, but published in 1962 so the idea of what constitutes entertaining literature for youngsters is really rather dated.
I think the author was more influenced by Edward Gorey and his odd, brilliant little books than she was by some of the other palpable influences, like Dickens and other masters of "waif literature."
It's the story of a rich little "waif" (so not a true waif, but she fits the archetypal mol...more
It's really a book that was published for young adults or kids, but published in 1962 so the idea of what constitutes entertaining literature for youngsters is really rather dated.
I think the author was more influenced by Edward Gorey and his odd, brilliant little books than she was by some of the other palpable influences, like Dickens and other masters of "waif literature."
It's the story of a rich little "waif" (so not a true waif, but she fits the archetypal mol...more
9 likes · like · see review
I read this book thinking, "I wish this had been around when I was younger..." Well, this is a foolish thought because the books were around when I was a child, and have been around for awhile.
Any books for children that feature a mixture of Georgian/Victorian society, a dash of wolves, loads of adventure, and little girls learning to stand on their own two solid feet has my love. I love that Bonnie is not only a plucky young girl, but also handy with a rifle (good against wolves!).
This story...more
Any books for children that feature a mixture of Georgian/Victorian society, a dash of wolves, loads of adventure, and little girls learning to stand on their own two solid feet has my love. I love that Bonnie is not only a plucky young girl, but also handy with a rifle (good against wolves!).
This story...more
If a voracious young reader (Grades 4-6) requested a funny, gothic adventure and didn't mind that it was published 1963, I would recommend Joan Aiken's The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
Sylvia, a very well brought up young lady, travels through an alternate Victorian England, on way to a new home with her wealthy cousin, Bonnie Green of Willoughby Chase. The train is attacked by wolves, not unusual, but very frightening to Sylvia. On Sylvia's arrival, she learns that Bonnie's parents are leaving i...more
Sylvia, a very well brought up young lady, travels through an alternate Victorian England, on way to a new home with her wealthy cousin, Bonnie Green of Willoughby Chase. The train is attacked by wolves, not unusual, but very frightening to Sylvia. On Sylvia's arrival, she learns that Bonnie's parents are leaving i...more
2 likes · like · see review
For a while, I re-read this book once every summer, during the hottest, most humid months. I'm not sure how to categorize it, beyond children's book. I think the series as a whole appealed to me as a child because of the adventure and the strong female characters, especially Dido Twite, who does not appear until the next book.
3 likes · like · see review
"It was dusk -- winter dusk. Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold, but from dawn men had been clearing it with brooms and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking because of the bitter cold, and keeping together in groups for fear of the wolves, made savage and reckless from hunger..."
I dare you not to go on reading after that.
I read this book over and over as a...more
I dare you not to go on reading after that.
I read this book over and over as a...more
I checked this out based on delphica's recent recommendation & its appearance on Locus' Greatest Young Adult Fantasy/Science Fiction list.
Written in 1962, the story hearkens back to the turn of the nineteenth century, being the adventures of two girls: wealthy tomboy Bonnie, and her poor, sickly orphan cousin, Sylvia who comes to Willoughby Chase to stay with Bonnie and her family. However, Sir Willoughby and his wife are about to travel abroad in the hopes of improving his wife's health. Th...more
Written in 1962, the story hearkens back to the turn of the nineteenth century, being the adventures of two girls: wealthy tomboy Bonnie, and her poor, sickly orphan cousin, Sylvia who comes to Willoughby Chase to stay with Bonnie and her family. However, Sir Willoughby and his wife are about to travel abroad in the hopes of improving his wife's health. Th...more
2 likes · like · see review
May 28, 2008
Ann
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
victorian,
england,
19th-century,
boarding-schools,
gothic,
historical-fiction,
k-6,
orphans
This was one of my favorite books when I was 12 or 13 - it always reminds me so much of Jane Eyre, and I'm not sure if it's just because of similarities in the story or because I read them at the same time - probably both. I remember being completely intrigued by the idea of using a frozen river for travel; it's an image that has stuck with me for many years - to escape via frozen water. This book has everything appealing to the gothic-minded young girl - hidden passage-ways, thwarted notes for...more
2 likes · like · see review
I saw a lame-o movie version of this book at some point in my life, so I really don't know what possessed me to read it, but I'm so glad I did. The only problem now is, I don't know what order the rest of the books actually go in (I find conflicting lists constantly), and the other books are super hard to find, so I haven't made it through more than four of them. But great books, really. If you're looking for books for your kids to read, or books to read to your kids, or books for the kid in you...more
This is the first book in ages for which I've been motivated to write a full review! First of all, I can't believe I didn't read this as a kid -- I would have been the ideal reader for it, with my love of the Victorian era, orphan/orphanage stories, and vibrant female characters and friendships. I was struck, reading it in this current era of bloated fantasy novels, by Aiken's economy and sense of discipline -- there was not a single wasted word. The beginning world-building was impeccable, and...more
THE HUMAN WOLVES ARE THE WORST!
This book will appeal to pre-teen girls, since the young
protagonists are two cousins who survive eerie events mainly because of their wits and their devotion to each other. Three new arrivals at Willoughby Chase—four hours from London—impact the quiet, country estate. On the eve of the parents’ departure for sunny climes for the mother’s delicate health, the kindly squire fails to scrutinize the face and motives of his distant cousin, one Miss Slighcarp. This cla...more
This book will appeal to pre-teen girls, since the young
protagonists are two cousins who survive eerie events mainly because of their wits and their devotion to each other. Three new arrivals at Willoughby Chase—four hours from London—impact the quiet, country estate. On the eve of the parents’ departure for sunny climes for the mother’s delicate health, the kindly squire fails to scrutinize the face and motives of his distant cousin, one Miss Slighcarp. This cla...more
Ach. So, it turns out Young Me likes this book much more than Now Me.
Young Me was entranced by the feisty female lead (Bonnie - daughter of Sir and Lady Willoughby, who conveniently disappear from their English countryhouse in the opening pages to someplace warm so her mother can recuperate from some mystery illness that leaves her attractively slim and languid), the aforementioned wolves (who have poured into England through the newly opened Channel Tunnel, leaving Europe's harsh winter for one...more
Young Me was entranced by the feisty female lead (Bonnie - daughter of Sir and Lady Willoughby, who conveniently disappear from their English countryhouse in the opening pages to someplace warm so her mother can recuperate from some mystery illness that leaves her attractively slim and languid), the aforementioned wolves (who have poured into England through the newly opened Channel Tunnel, leaving Europe's harsh winter for one...more
1 like · like · see review
(Note: I listened to the audiobook version.) I would recommend this to my patrons who enjoyed A Little Princess and The Secret Garden.. It has the elements of the books that I loved in elementary school: resourceful heroines, an old-fashioned estate, an orphanage, scheming adults, and enough caring adults and good luck to keep the story going. (The book was originally published in 1962, but I was not aware of it during my childhood.). As an adult reader, I see the cliches, unbelievable coinciden...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It's fascinating how much children's lit has changed over the course of the past century or so, and reading this book for the first time 50 years after it was originally published is an interesting example.
First of all, though, I want to say that the best thing about this is the wolves: (view spoiler)...more
First of all, though, I want to say that the best thing about this is the wolves: (view spoiler)...more
I bought this book on a mention from someone whose reading tastes I usually like. I expected Aiken to fit the YA/Children's category somewhere around Diana Wynne Jones and Eva Ibbotson, that is, somebody writing non-realism but somewhat concerned with plausibility, and the first few chapters I found rather disconcerting. Wolves in Yorkshire, sure, but pulling a driver out of a train? And nobody worries beyond saying he will have to be replaced? When we got to the two main child characters and th...more
The story is set at Willoughby Chase, the grand but remote home of Sir Willoughby and Lady Green and their daughter Bonnie.
Due to Lady Green's ill health, Bonnie's parents are taking a holiday in warmer climates touring the Mediterranean by ship, leaving her in the care of a newly arrived distant fourth cousin, Letitia Slighcarp. Also due to arrive is Bonnie's orphan cousin Sylvia, who lived in London with Sir Willoughby's impoverished but genteel older sister Jane, coming to keep her cousin com...more
Due to Lady Green's ill health, Bonnie's parents are taking a holiday in warmer climates touring the Mediterranean by ship, leaving her in the care of a newly arrived distant fourth cousin, Letitia Slighcarp. Also due to arrive is Bonnie's orphan cousin Sylvia, who lived in London with Sir Willoughby's impoverished but genteel older sister Jane, coming to keep her cousin com...more
I didn't realize quite how funny this book was until I was much older; it was the rip-roaring adventure that held me when I was small. It was my first encounter with alternate history and gothic sensibilities, and it had a huge impact on me both as a writer and reader. I've blogged about re-reading it as an adult here: http://enchantedinkpot.blogspot.co.uk...
Year: 1987
Reading Level: Intermediate
Genre: Alternate history, novel
Plot Summary: Young Bonnie Green's parents are leaving for a ocean trip to improve her mother's help. They've hired a governess, Miss Slighcarp, and sent for Bonnie's cousin Sylvia to watch over the house and keep her company in their absence. Sylvia is everything Bonnie expected and wanted in a companion, but as soon as her parents leave, Miss Slighcarp asserts her authority in the most unpleasant ways. She soon sends Bonnie an...more
Reading Level: Intermediate
Genre: Alternate history, novel
Plot Summary: Young Bonnie Green's parents are leaving for a ocean trip to improve her mother's help. They've hired a governess, Miss Slighcarp, and sent for Bonnie's cousin Sylvia to watch over the house and keep her company in their absence. Sylvia is everything Bonnie expected and wanted in a companion, but as soon as her parents leave, Miss Slighcarp asserts her authority in the most unpleasant ways. She soon sends Bonnie an...more
Sep 01, 2011
Alison
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
confident-readers-chapter-books
When Sylvia's elderly Aunt Jane can no longer look after her, she is sent to Yorkshire to live with her lively cousin Bonnie. On the train journey through the wolf-ridden countryside (this series is set in an alternate history, where the Stuarts are ruling England well into the late 18th/ early 19th century, and there are wicked Hanoverian plots to blow them up), Sylvia is frightened then saved by a mysterious gentleman who is later knocked out by his suitcase and cared for by Bonnie's family at...more
Sylvia's dear Aunt Jane is getting too old to take care of her. Sylvia is sent to live with her wealthy cousin Bonnie Willoughby, whose loving parents are thrilled to help out, and to give Bonnie a live-in playmate.
Bonnie's mother is not in good health, so she and Bonnie's father leave the two cousins under the care of Miss Slighcarp, their new governess.
But once Miss Slighcarp is in charge, things immediately go downhill for the girls. This is a true series of unfortunate events, written in 196...more
Bonnie's mother is not in good health, so she and Bonnie's father leave the two cousins under the care of Miss Slighcarp, their new governess.
But once Miss Slighcarp is in charge, things immediately go downhill for the girls. This is a true series of unfortunate events, written in 196...more
Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles are wildly inventive fantasies, set in an alternate England where the Stuarts remained on the throne, making the Hanoverians the rebels and conspirators, and where wolves still roam even in London. There are eleven of them in all (and won't be any more, since Aiken sadly died in January 2004), and I think of them in sets of two or three.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts in Battersea introduce many of the main characters in the series, chiefly Simon, a...more
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts in Battersea introduce many of the main characters in the series, chiefly Simon, a...more
Dec 09, 2009
Jadewik
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Elementary/Jr High Kids
When Bonnie's parents leave her and her cousin Sylvia in the hands of cruel Miss Slighcarp things turn topsy-turvey at Willoughby Chase.
This book is a delicious adventure for kids because it's about kids. It also happens to be one of my favorite books from childhood because the adventure was so exciting it left a lasting impression on me. I'm pleased to say it stands the test of time and is still an enjoyable read now that I'm much, much older.
The story is neatly wrapped up and all the loose end...more
This book is a delicious adventure for kids because it's about kids. It also happens to be one of my favorite books from childhood because the adventure was so exciting it left a lasting impression on me. I'm pleased to say it stands the test of time and is still an enjoyable read now that I'm much, much older.
The story is neatly wrapped up and all the loose end...more
Classic, fabulous storytelling. Everything a children's novel should be. One of those books you love as a kid and then come back to as an adult and can see exactly why it stuck out in your brain. Dark, mysterious, exciting, but full of hope and vibrant characters you don't forget. A sense of delight is what you end with, as children take on dastardly adults and win. Aiken's style reminds me of a sort of Dickens for kids. Somehow I never knew as a kid there were more books in the series besides B...more
Though this book kicks off a much longer series, it can be read as a satisfying stand-alone novel, which is, in itself, sort of refreshing these days. It's a perfectly child-sized epic, hitting on all the nebulous things that scare kids the most - unreliable and possibly hostile adults, injustice, abandonment, and, of course, ravenous and impossibly crafty packs of wolves - as well as all the little details that make a story really and truly alive for young readers. I remember as a child being m...more
I love reading books that were published around the year I was born. Sort of gives me a feel for the times. This is an adventure story about two girls in England during the reign of King James III. There has been a dreadfully cold winter and hungry wolves have crossed the channel into England and are attacking villages and travelers. It is perilous to travel, but Sylvia is sent by train to her cousin Bonnie's house to live. When she arrives, Bonnie's parents are embarking on a sea voyage to impr...more
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I have vivid memories of reading it as a little girl & loving it. I remember reading it several times & I remember that I could never remember the author, but I could remember where the book was in the library. I can see it in my mind's eye today - just enter through the children's entrance of the old Main Public Library building in Memphis & make a left turn; walk along the stacks & you'll find it in the second or third stack over. Memp...more
This is quite the delightful little action adventure, set in a very English country with very English-sounding towns some time after steam engines started carrying passengers across the country-side. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is also about charity, a generous heart, friendship, and courage in the face of daunting challenges.
Ms. Aiken has created delightful characters, to include the dastardly Ms Slighcarp, Sir Willoughby's distant relative who is tapped to serve as governess while he takes...more
Ms. Aiken has created delightful characters, to include the dastardly Ms Slighcarp, Sir Willoughby's distant relative who is tapped to serve as governess while he takes...more
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| Bookish Links | 4 | 15 | Jul 22, 2011 03:42am |
Joan Delano Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. Her most famous classic, THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE,has been celebrating its 50th Anniversary with the publication of three brand new editions of the book and a new AUDIO recorded by her daughter Lizza.
Read NEWS & NEW PUBLICATIONS at
https://www.facebook.com/JoanAikenOff...
Follow T...more
More about Joan Aiken...
Read NEWS & NEW PUBLICATIONS at
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“It was dusk - winter dusk. Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold, but from dawn men had been clearing it with brooms and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking because of the bitter cold, and keeping together in groups for fear of the wolves, grown savage and reckless from hunger.”
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