The first volume of the bewitching ‘Chrestomanci’ series by Diana Wynne Jones. Charmed Life arrives in an explosion of magic in this edition illustrated by Alison Bryant and introduced by Katherine Rundell.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Book 1 of the Moving Castle trilogy
Illustrated by Marie-Alice Harel
Introduced by Marcus Sedgwick
This fantastical Folio edition of Diana Wynne Jones’s enchanting tale features artwork by Folio’s 2019 Book Illustration Competition winner.
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‘Why it’s Miss Hatter!’ the Witch said, laughing. ‘I never forget a face, particularly if I’ve made it myself!’
A magical union of make-believe and reality, this much-loved young-adult fantasy spirits the reader off to faraway lands with an evil witch, a dashing wizard and an adventurous teenage girl. Folio’s charming new edition celebrates master storyteller Diana Wynne Jones’s creativity, alongside that of Folio’s 2019 Book Illustration Competition winner. Selected from a record-breaking 500 entries from around the world, Marie-Alice Harel re-enchants the fairy-tale tradition with her series of six images created with a lilac-themed palette. Harel also introduces the book’ 21 chapters with delicate black-and-white decorations that offer tantalising clues to the story, while the binding shows heroine Sophie Hatter being magnetically drawn to the gloomy castle of the title, with its mysterious four-fold aspect.
Bound in printed and blocked textured paper
Set in Agfa Wile
288 pages
6 colour illustrations, and 21 black & white chapter openings and a title-page spread
Printed endpapers
Printed slipcase
9˝ x 6¼˝
Deep in the land of Ingary, the Wizard Howl’s castle hovers above the imaginary town of Market Chipping, terrorising the inhabitants below. Legend has it that the enigmatic wizard lives off the hearts of young girls, but this doesn’t deter 18-year-old Sophie from hitching a ride in the castle. The evil Witch of the Waste has cast a spell and transformed her into a frail old lady, and Howl might be her only hope of reversing the hex.
‘The best children’s writer of the last forty years.’
- Neil Gaiman
Although beloved by those familiar with Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle remained largely under the mainstream radar until the book was adapted into an animated film by the world-famous Studio Ghibli. Released in 2004, it broke global box-office records and subsequently catapulted the novel to bestseller status. As the award-winning young-adult novelist Marcus Sedgwick discusses in his newly commissioned introduction, Jones draws on her childhood with wry references to modern life in suburban Wales and enticing hints at her own history. These are cleverly stirred into the mix along with a cloak of invisibility, a talking fire demon and a persistent scarecrow: the everyday detail as engaging as the fantasy box of delights that Jones has created.
Although beloved by those familiar with Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle remained largely under the mainstream radar until the book was adapted into an animated film by the world-famous Studio Ghibli. Released in 2004, it broke global box-office records and subsequently catapulted the novel to bestseller status. As the award-winning young-adult novelist Marcus Sedgwick discusses in his newly commissioned introduction, Jones draws on her childhood with wry references to modern life in suburban Wales and enticing hints at her own history. These are cleverly stirred into the mix along with a cloak of invisibility, a talking fire demon and a persistent scarecrow: the everyday detail as engaging as the fantasy box of delights that Jones has created.
About Marcus Sedgwick
Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in East Kent in the south-east of England before moving to the French Alps. A renowned author and illustrator, he won many prizes, most notably the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award for his novel Midwinterblood (2012), which, along with two Printz Honours, for Revolver (2010) and The Ghosts of Heaven (2015), gave him the most citations to date for America’s most prestigious prize for writing for young adults. Sedgwick was Author-in-Residence at Bath Spa University for three years, and periodically taught creative writing. He judged numerous book awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Costa Book Awards. He illustrated some of his own books and created wood engravings for a couple of private press books. In 2019, he introduced the Folio Society edition of Howl’s Moving Castle.