He hopes she will be a calm companion for his rather boisterous daughter Bonnie while he is away with Lady Green in search of warmer climates for Lady Green's indifferent health. Gentle and fair, Sylvia is an orphan, and has come to live in the great house Willoughby Chase in the loving care of her uncle, Sir Willoughby. Set in a different but recognizable old England, this is a fast-moving story about how two cousins, Bonnie and Sylvia, have their home stolen away from them by their greedy guardian. One evil guardian, remorseless and cruel. If you are reading the book for the first time, you and your children will surely find it to be a great joy to which you will want to return year after year.Two little girls, loyal and loving. If you loved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase in your childhood, this audiobook will rekindle all of your glorious memories of it.

You can almost hear Lizza channeling her mother as she narrates. Apparently, Joan Aiken gathered her two children together (Lizza has a brother, John) and read them each chapter of the book as it was written. The audiobook begins with an essay by Lizza Aiken in which she discusses her mother’s life and the process by which she wrote The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. I can think of no better narrator for this book than Lizza Aiken, whose performance is both natural and engrossing. When you read it, you will yearn for the days in which everyone spoke in grammatically correct sentences and children could be expected to know the definitions of words like, “slavering” and “reticule.” In short, Joan Aiken makes the English language sing. In addition to being memorable and appealing, Aiken’s tale is a lovingly crafted pastiche, which pays tribute to several different genres, including ghost stories, Gothic novels, and the works of Charles Dickens (which truly are a genre unto themselves). The protagonists, cousins Sylvia and Bonnie Green, will earn a cherished place in your memory as clever, affectionate heroines who use courage, intelligence and ingenuity in a quest to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. In The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken presents an exciting story filled with memorable characters, including plucky orphans, cruel villains, terrifying wolves, and a boy who raises chickens. I loved this book as a kid and I love it just as much as an adult.

The wolves of willoughby chase book