About the Book
âAmong the stories collected in this omnibus, are some of the very first Joan Aiken stories that I ever fell in love with, starting with the title story âThe People in the Castle,â which is a variation on the classic tales of fairy wives.ââKelly Link
â[A] haunting and wondrous book.ââEmily Nordling, Tor.com
âThis short story collection, edited by Aikenâs daughter Lizza and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist Kelly Link, compiles tales of the surreal and supernatural suited for an adult audience.ââRyan Porter, Toronto Star
âSprightly but brooding, with well-defined plots, twists, and punch lines, these stories deserve a place on the shelf with the fantasies of Saki (H.H. Munro), Sylvia Townsend Warner, and Susanna Clarke.ââKirkus Reviews (starred review)
Here is the whisper in the night, the creak upstairs, the sound that raises gooseflesh, the wish youâd checked the lock on the door before it got really, really dark. Here are tales of suspense and the supernatural that will chill, amuse, and exhilarate.
Best known for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken (1924â2004) wrote over a hundred books and won the Guardian and Edgar Allan Poe awards. She supported her family by copyediting at Argosy magazine and an advertising agency before turning to fiction and went on to write for Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, Womenâs Own, and many others. Visit her online at www.joanaiken.com.