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A Fit of Shivers
Ten chilling stories promise spine-tingling fun in a collection that combines ghostly manifestations with humorous plotlines and dramatic suspense. By the author of A Creepy Company. Reprint.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
94 people want to read
About the author
Joan Aiken
333 books606 followersJoan Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. She was known as a writer of wild fantasy, Gothic novels and short stories.
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 United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).
Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.
Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.
Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.
Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.
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 United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).
Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.
Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.
Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.
Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 25, 2022
Really love Joan Aiken’s writing. This collection is perfectly spooky, full of hauntings (and peril 💀), and is surprisingly mature considering it’s intended audience is children. Can’t wait to read more by her.
March 3, 2022
Well written, but best suited for children, perhaps.
Not a story within that carries an "umph"......
Not a story within that carries an "umph"......
June 14, 2020
Aiken's short tales have a certain peculiar inventiveness. They're not all winners, but she always manages to sneak something fun in there. My personal favorites are "Birthday Gifts" and "The Rose-Garden Dream".
November 26, 2011
The usual Aiken ghost stories: spooky tales that make you and the characters think. My favorite in this collection is "Watkyn, Comma."
May 23, 2018
i have read quite a bit of JOan AIKEN and have always admire her style of writing especially with creepiness and strange going on not a big fan of short stories but each one was short enough to read quickly and leaving you with something more to think about
May 20, 2022
For my own benefit: 5 stars for 'Watkyn, Comma' which I adore but had read in the anthology 'The People in the Castle'. 5 stars for 'Cousin Alice'. The rest, meh, although 'The Legacy' is pleasantly Jamesian. 4 stars for that one.
July 15, 2015
Eine nette Abwechslung, aber eben nicht das, was ich von Ms Aiken gewohnt bin und liebe.
Bei vier von den acht Geschichten habe ich mich auch ein bisschen gegruselt ^^
Bei vier von den acht Geschichten habe ich mich auch ein bisschen gegruselt ^^
March 7, 2016
School challenge. Resolution unreported. (1993)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews