Dido and Pa

Joan Aiken is definitely the best writer for children, ever. This is another story in the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, and it’s a good one. Dido has returned to England after her travels and meets up with Simon, who is now Duke of Battersea. Unfortunately she also meets up with her Pa, who lures her away and forces her to work for the enemy, training an impostor to speak like the new Scottish King. But with the help of a number of curious characters the King, Simon, his sister and even the impostor is saved, as well as a poor slattern called Is.

You can’t help but love a book that ends with a young lady sewing a penguin, with a girl crooning, “I love little Kitty, her coat is so warm/And if I’m not kind she will chew off my arm”, where the enemies are stoned to death by children and it’s all done with seriousness and good fun (unlike many modern books which seem to laugh at, not with, their child readers). The utter richness of the language is something unique and lovely, again reflecting the respect the writer has for her readers. And the story always comes together in a satisfactory way, with Dido not marrying the Duke, and feeling rather sad about her Pa getting eaten by wolves.