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The Stolen Lake (The Wolves Chronicles #4)
by
Joan Aiken
Readers who have followed Dido Twite’s escapades in BLACK HEARTS IN BATTERSEA and NIGHTBIRDS ON NANTUCKET will welcome her return in her wildest adventure yet.
Now back in print, THE CUCKOO TREE and THE STOLEN LAKE continue the Wolves Chronicles, the exhilarating and imaginative series that stemmed from Joan Aiken’s classic THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE.
A dazzling piece...more
Now back in print, THE CUCKOO TREE and THE STOLEN LAKE continue the Wolves Chronicles, the exhilarating and imaginative series that stemmed from Joan Aiken’s classic THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE.
A dazzling piece...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
September 25th 2000
by Sandpiper
(first published January 1st 1981)
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Jun 17, 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...
Review Temporarily Removed.
This book explodes like a firework in the brain, or perhaps like one of the thirteen volcanoes that encircle the misappropriated lake of the title. The ideas, the plot, the situations go beyond the merely outrageous and into the sublimely wonderful. This is a masterpiece of children's fantasy, and Dido Twite must surely be one of the great heroines of children's literature.
Dido is travelling back to England on the Naval steamer The Thrush, which is diverted to South America, or, as it is known i...more
Dido is travelling back to England on the Naval steamer The Thrush, which is diverted to South America, or, as it is known i...more
A Ripping Yarn! Part of a series (but the first of them I've read) which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Stolen Lake finds plucky heroine Dido Twite aboard a British man'o'war headed for England. As they make their way across the Atlantic, a message arrives by carrier pigeon diverting the ship to New Cumbria. Where? Well, the series takes place in an alternate history where the Stuarts still rule Great Britain, with James III the King rather than Queen Victoria. New Cumbria (rough...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Dido Twite is having a really hard time getting home. She just wants to go back to London but keeps making inadvertent detours around the world (this is book five in a series). This time, the clipper ship she is on is called to go to New Cumbria (set in South America) to help the queen. When she gets there, she finds the landscape strange and the people stranger.
This was one of my favorite books as a child. I like it too much to give this review justice.
This was one of my favorite books as a child. I like it too much to give this review justice.
This book was very funny and you learned a little about the past In it. It was not realistic and didn't have grate description at all. I think this book was a little young for me and that is probably why I don't enjoy it so much but I think it would be a brilliant book for younger people. I would rate this book 6 out of 10. And would recommend this to younger readers who like a bit of mystery.
This book was gifted to me when I was a child. I still read (the same copy) from time to time and am completely swept away with Dido's adventure every time.
I think that I purposely wait a few years for the plot to fade from memory just so I can re-read it with somewhat fresh eyes.
I think that I purposely wait a few years for the plot to fade from memory just so I can re-read it with somewhat fresh eyes.
I looooved this book as a child. I lost it in a fire, and kept remembering bits and pieces of it until I bought it again.
I feel like certain aspects of this book took deep root in my mind and have become part of my personal mythology.
I feel like certain aspects of this book took deep root in my mind and have become part of my personal mythology.
An odd book. One that I kept reading to see if it got any less odd. It didn't.
Joan Aiken spins a good yarn, but this one had me puzzled.
Joan Aiken spins a good yarn, but this one had me puzzled.
Aug 21, 2012
Wendy Orr
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-grade-literature,
fantasy
I just love Dido... and Joan Aiken's confident, no holds barred, exquisite story telling!
Interesting read. A bit odd. . .stranger than the others. Not sure if I liked it as well, though it was not bad either.
This is MUCH longer than the previous three in the series. Dido Twite has many adventures on her trip while she is attempting to get back to England. She must be VERY tired of being kidnapped by the end of this one.
Yet while I did enjoy this, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the others so far. Some of the characters were very unpleasant and some of the adventures were unpleasant as well. I do still think Dido Twite makes quite a good hero, though, and I look forward to reading more of Jo...more
Yet while I did enjoy this, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the others so far. Some of the characters were very unpleasant and some of the adventures were unpleasant as well. I do still think Dido Twite makes quite a good hero, though, and I look forward to reading more of Jo...more
This book was awful! Black magic and human sacrifices. Creepy!
Another childhood favorite.....I LOVED Dido Twite!
Another story in the continuing adventures of Dido Twite. In this installment, Dido is put in more danger than ever before, as she and the crew of the Thrush receive summons to New Cumbria in Roman America (South America in our world). The queen is tyrannical but nonetheless a British ally, so Dido and the crew must find a way to retrieve the queen's stolen lake. As always, things are even more complicated than they at first seem, and Dido makes some fantastic and gruesome discoveries before the...more
interesting story
Willoughby#7
Violet's reading page: http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...
This book was a little different from the others. More outrageous in it's plot, more storybookish and instead of sticking to a semblance of reality. Also there was more violence and people dying and stuff. Still wonderful though!
I love how plucky the heroine is. I always admire courage.
I love how plucky the heroine is. I always admire courage.
Wow, this book was pretty crazy! Best for those who love their fantasy/alternate history books served with a side of humor. In tone, it's rather like Return to Oz mixed with LOTR mixed with Arthurian legends mixed with Gulliver's Travels. It would take a pretty sharp pre-teen or YA to understand and appreciate all the references and puns in this one, but I don't doubt they're out there.
May 19, 2008
Hollie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
precocious children, young adults, adults who enjoy similar fantasy
I have kept and re-read this book many times. At last count it was about 15 times! I enjoyed the stories, the twists, the strength of the characters, and the enticing challenges they were presented with. It drew tears and fear, and I indeed fell in line with Dido. A compelling read, even with adult eyes, yet appropriate for younger children who are advanced readers.
Jun 16, 2007
Celeste Ng
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
kids and wannabe kids, king arthur fans
Shelves:
kids-and-wannabe-kids
A fabulous reinvention of the King Arthur legend, in which Guinevere has taken refuge in South America and is keeping herself alive (how?) to await the return of her husband. Throw in our heroine Dido, rocs (as in Sinbad), giant cats, and the stolen lake of the title, and you have an eerie book for smartie kids.
Great historical fantasy. Mysterious and exciting, but not too scary for middle-graders. One of my favorite authors when I was a kid, though I hadn't read this one before.
One of the Wolves Chronicles, maybe number 5? See review for Wolves of Willowby Chase.
One of the Wolves Chronicles, maybe number 5? See review for Wolves of Willowby Chase.
Quite possibly even better than Black Hearts in Battersea. Certainly equal to it. DIDO IS AMAZING. Love the setting and I love how everybody fuckin' DIES. Only thing I'm not sure about is this King Arthur business. Really weird, man... but funny.
This book is just so crazy and weird, and has SO many cool ideas.
This is my favorite of Joan Aiken's books.
So many twists and turns....
Oct 02, 2007
Megan
added it
the most outlandish of all
great
May 24, 2013
Samantha
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
new-book-for-2013
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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
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“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.”
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More quotes…
"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.”
Feb 02, 2013 01:03pm