Skip to product information
1 of 1

The Serial Garden

The Complete Armitage Family Stories
  • Author
    • Joan Aiken
  • Illustrator
    • Peter Bailey
Format
Regular price £9.99
Regular price Sale price £9.99
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE

'She's one of the most important and interesting children's fiction writers of the last fifty years' NEIL GAIMAN
'What a thrill to discover this gem from the witty and endlessly inventive Joan Aiken' CHRIS RIDDELL
'She is one of the writers I admire most in the world' KATHERINE RUNDELL
'She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for years to come' PHILIP PULLMAN

'I wish we'll have two children called Mark and Harriet. And I hope lots of interesting and unusual things will happen to them. It would be nice if they had a fairy godmother, for instance. And a phoenix or something out of the ordinary for a pet. We could have a special day for interesting and unusual things to happen - say, Mondays. But not always Mondays, and not only Mondays, or that would get a bit dull'

As a result of their mother's honeymoon wish, Mark and Harriet Armitage have a fairy godmother, a pet unicorn and are prepared for anything life can throw at them (especially, but not always, on a Monday): hatching griffins in the airing cupboard, Latin lessons with a ghost, furious Furies on the doorstep and an enchanted garden locked inside a cereal packet. Life with the Armitages can be magical, funny, terrifying - but never, ever dull.

'A delightful summary of one side of Aiken's talent: whimsical, funny, a series of brilliantly imaginative ideas stitched together with dream logic . . . It is the mixture of irrepressible gaiety and invention with the tragic that makes Aiken one of the great children's authors . . . impossible to calculate the number of people who have enjoyed her books - who have had some magic injected into the mundane' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Not available for shipping to the following countries:

  • ASM
  • CAN
  • GUM
  • MNP
  • UMI
  • FSM
  • MHL
  • PHL
  • PRI
  • USA
  • VIR
  • Published: Aug 06 2015
  • Pages: 448
  • 198 x 167mm
  • ISBN: 9780349005850
View full details

Press Reviews

  • Neil Gaiman

    She's one of the most important and interesting children's fiction writers of the last fifty years
  • Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
    A writer of wild humour and unrestrained imagination
  • Philip Pullman

    Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come
  • Amanda Craig

    The Times
    She was a consummate story-teller, one that each generation discovers anew
  • Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
    A writer of wild humour and unrestrained imagination
  • Chris Riddell

    What a thrill to discover this gem from the witty and endlessly inventive Joan Aiken
  • Jo Walton

    A delightful whimsical set of stories about young Mark and Harriet Armitage and the fantastical things that just happen to them, where if the lawn is full of unicorns you can count on their father to rush out and try to stop them eating the roses. These stories are funny and often unexpectedly poignant. They also don't have a wasted word or scrap of information. They're both charming and genuine in a way that few things manage
  • Amanda Craig

    New Statesman
    Inexhaustibly imaginative, Aiken was one of the twentieth century's greatest children's authors. Witty, zany and entirely sane, this is a necklace of diamonds
  • The Times
    Often bonkers stories, always written with cut-glass precision . . . Aiken is a superb storyteller
  • Sunday telegraph
    A delightful summary of one side of Aiken's talent: whimsical, funny, a series of brilliantly imaginative ideas stitched together with dream logic... It is the mixture of irrepressible gaiety and invention with the tragic that makes Aiken one of the great children's authors...impossible to calculate the number of people who have enjoyed her books - who have had some magic injected into the mundane
  • The Times, Children's Book of the Week
    Joan Aiken is a superb storyteller who refusal to skimp on sophisticated language, and the Armitage parents' droll indifference, is guaranteed to give children and parents a Ready Brek glow