The Lion Tamer's Daughter: And Other Stories

by Peter Dickinson

Four powerful stories of adventure and imagination—in this world and beyond

When Keith’s father dies, his mom sells their house and takes Keith with her to live in Scotland. He misses his dad and his home, but most of all he misses Melly, a girl whose father is a lion tamer, and who seemed to come from another world. Keith is in a park in Edinburgh when he sees a girl who looks exactly like Melly, and whose father once worked for the circus, taming lions. To save his best friend’s life, Keith embarks on a perilous quest to untangle the mystery of Melly’s doppelgänger.

In these four tales, Peter Dickinson writes with clarity and wit about young people in extraordinary situations, characters whose adventures take place across space, time, and the boundaries of their souls.

This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Peter Dickinson including rare images from the author’s collection.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was a prolific English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.

Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lion Tamer's Daughter is one of four ghostly stories in this collection. All four show ordinary young people encountering something otherworldly and inexplicable. Time travel, ghosts, and two sets of unusual 'twins' are featured. (As a twin myself, I loved these.) Dickinson is a master of not telling you too much -- he stays within one character's viewpoint and makes you long to know what's going on in other characters' minds. Highly recommended for when you're in the mood for fantasy-in-everyday-life that bucks the urban fantasy trends.

[Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short interesting take on the doppelgänger myth that was a bit mysterious and a bit undeveloped. An ok read.

[William Leight · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and longest story of the collection is about a boy who meets someone who is an exact double for a girl that he knows: the fact that the title is singular rather than plural probably gives away the ending, which is ok since it doesn’t make a ton of sense anyway. But Dickinson handles the characters brilliantly, especially Melly and her doppelganger, and he’s always a pleasure to read regardless. “Checkers” is a scary story featuring a ghost, with the twist being that the ghost is not the reason that it’s scary. The other two stories are less memorable, but certainly not bad. Nominally for middle-grade readers — at least, most of the stories feature protagonists who are roughly twelve — but enjoyable by everybody.

[Elizabeth Thacker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to love Peter Dickinson when I was you get, but this just didn't do it for me. There's nothing particularly wrong that I can put my finger on, but I just didn't enjoy it and skimmed through the second half. It's a cool idea, with lots of potential for intrigue, mystery and even a little kiddy-horror, but the voice of Keith, the narrator, just strips all of the passion out of it. I also though that hearing from a first person narrator, but NOT one of the girls whom the mystery is about sapped much of the drama and suspense. Although I'll keep it on my class bookshelf, it won't be one of my go-to recommendations, he has other, far more engaging, stories.

[Megan ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one and I think it's clear that I've never really been a fan of fantasy

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of short stories and these are lovely. Not my usual SF, but well crafted fantasies with interesting twists.

[Caomhghain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cunningly shaped story with a brilliant, unexpectedly expected denoument. Brilliant creation of two persons in one.

[Monia · Rating 3 out of 5]

زمانی که این کتاب رو میخوندم اواخر دبستان بودم و واقعا متوجه داستان نمیشدم؛ نمیدونم قلم نویسنده اینطوری بود یا سانسورش

[Kathryn McCary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read this book I see another bit of depth or perspective.

It is 4 stories, unlinked except by theme. They involve doubles, mirror images and enantiomorphic images. . .and each has some element of magic. The first (shortest) and last (longest) are even, in a sense, reflections of each other. And each involves an adolescent grappling more or less with the question of personal identity.

The first, "The Spring" always strikes me (when I am not reading it) as sad and a bit disturbing, but when I read it it is nothing of the sort; the last, "The Lion Tamer's Daughter" always seems(when I am not reading it), overly mechanical in its denouement. . .but when I read it it is nothing of the sort. The second and third ("Touch and Go" and "Checkers") are pure delight both in memory and in reading,good stories well told, that linger in your mind.

An intellectually stimulating but very entertaining read for a windy Autumn evening.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book although there were many puzzles left unanswered. Some readers may be frustrated by this, but I felt that it could lead to interesting discussion. I would consider using it with Year 6 since there were some moments that were genuinely unnerving. The plot is original and I also thought Dickinson did well to sound like a teenage narrator. It was also interesting to see strong relationships between mothers and their children whereas the fathers were either dead or perceived as poor role models.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always difficult to rate a book that is made up of several short stories, even if all the stories are by the same author. While I enjoyed a couple of the stories more than others, I found myself captivated from cover to cover. Dickinson's writing style creates characters that the reader can relate to and understand. I will definitely be looking for more books by Peter Dickinson in the future.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Peter Dickinson but this collection was a bit ho-hum.
The main problem is that he is not a natural short story writer. They were all a bit too long and needed editing to be punchier.
I love short stories that live on in your mind - you keep on thinking about them long after you've put the book down. But this isnt that for me.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a weird one, this.

Re-read in March 2013: I like Keith's narrative voice, and the ordinary-ness of the settings in the UK, but the denouement with Monsieur Albert and the mirror seemed to go on for too long. I also felt like the explanation wasn't terribly satisfying.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is four short stories--contemporary with a paranormal twist. Intriguing and enjoyable.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm, two stars or three? I went with two in the end because this just wasn't my cup of tea. I like magic I can "believe" in so to speak but this was just presented as rather silly.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all the stories in this book, but my favorite is "Checkers."

[Eilonwy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent story collection. Each story gets better in sequence, and the title story is just fantastic. Highly recommended. This book deserves to be better known.

[Debbie]

Haven't read short stories in a while - nor supernatural ones. Happily both. And a journey back into teen fiction

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY, REALLY great stories!

[Peggi Warner-Lalonde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed these four stories with a supernatural twist.