TRAVELS IN TIME 3 : Fantastical Histories

Adults have fond memories of the books they encountered on their journey as readers. In this series Antony Quinton continues a journey along the bookshelves of his past. Books borrowed from local libraries that made an impact on him growing up

Joan Aiken is an author whose work I first discovered watching the BBC children’s programme Jackanory. On many occasions the book of the week was a series of funny stories about Arabel and her cheeky pet raven, Mortimer. It was read by the wonderful storyteller, the late Bernard Cribbens. 

Once again it was Michelle Landsberg who, in her collected recommendations of fantasy books, listed another Joan Aiken book, Black Hearts in Battersea. This is a book in the Wolves Chronicles that eventually reached twelve books. Black Hearts features three characters the reader meets again in Dido and Pa—  

Simon, a young artist who travels to London, but finds his patron has disappeared.

Dido Twite, an irrepressible, quick-witted girl who helps him to find lodgings.

Abednego Twite, Dido’s father is a dissolute shambles of a man who cares only for his music.

Front cover of the Red Fox edition I bought while at college.

At the beginning of Dido and Pa, Simon and Dido meet up again in the aftermath of the coronation of the new Stuart monarch, King Richard IV. This extract shows their connection as Dido remembers events from their shared past:

‘Things warn’t bad, though, after you came to live in Rose Alley,’ Dido said slowly, remembering. ‘D’you mind how you and Sophie took me to the fair? And how all the Hanoverians used to come to Rose Alley and plot away with Pa, and drink Organ Grinder’s Oil - and after they’d left, Pa used to play tunes downstairs on his hoboy - and you and me, upstairs, used to make up words to ’em?’

 

Joan Aiken has created an immersive version of a ‘Dickensian’ style London. She mixes historical elements with Georgian language and wild, improbable plots. Other books in the series are inspired by stories from Arthurian and Celtic mythology too.

One thing you notice about Aiken’s writing in her historical fantasies is the dialogue. Each character has a distinct tone and vocabulary. For Dido and Abednego, she uses a combination of Georgian and Victorian street slang. Examples include ‘to gammon’ meaning to deceive, ‘cove’ meaning man and ‘a brown’ meaning a copper coin. Their turn of phrase is colourful too, the pair use such phrases such as ‘Blue Moon Sunday’, ‘welcome as jewels to jackdaws’ and ‘plaguy long way’.

In every one of the Wolves Chronicles, Joan Aiken conjures up believable and immersive worlds. There is careful world-building including transport, history, geography, culture and language. Some of the locations are based on real places such as Petworth where she lived. 

Her stories are probably best for upper middle grade readers due to the richness and complexity of the language. The reader has to work hard to get into the stories, but the rewards are worth it. Joan Aiken’s stories were unlike anything I’d read before as a child and virtually unique in children’s fiction. Perhaps, their modern equivalents being Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather stories.

She is not afraid of describing how dangerous her historically fantastic version of the world is. There is frequent peril for the main characters to overcome including wolves, kidnappings and natural obstacles such as icy winters and tempestuous waters. Her villains are despicable and act in awful ways to achieve their goals including murder. It’s reminiscent of Daniel Handler's Lemony Snicket stories in that regard.

‘Stop! Stop!’ cried Sophie indignantly. You are talking wicked, wicked nonsense. How can you? No possible persuasion would tempt me - or Simon. It is a mad notion. How can you entertain it?'

 

 The Margrave is truly an implacable villain immune to Lady Sophie’s pleas to his better nature. He will stop at nothing to achieve his end goal.

‘I am afraid, Dr Finster,’ said the Margrave, ‘that our charming guest is not to be persuaded; or not yet. Let her be secluded here for a further period of reflection; perhaps she may still come round to my way of thinking. Especially if she remembers that, otherwise, both she and her brother will certainly die; that is inevitable.’

 

Another key element to the book is the relationship between Dido and her father. She is angry at his determination to throw himself into plotting with the Hanoverians. At the same time, she adores his compositions and his beautiful hoboy playing. Dido must grapple with this challenge in the same way fans of a particular novelist, musician or artist must decide whether they can separate an artist whose actions are unacceptable from their work. Only for Dido, this decision is made more difficult because the musician is also her father. One of the most powerful images of this story is the following scene where she is left in no doubt what a selfish and despicable man he is. So wrapped up in his own world he is wilfully blind to the imminent deaths of people in the lodgings.

'But, Pa!’ cried Dido. ‘The keys - the fire - all those folk in there - you aren’t just a-going to leave them— ?’ She could hardly believe it, even of her father; she could hardly speak for horror. ‘Throw back the keys!' screamed Dido, but Mr Twite took no notice.

 

Despite Dido’s desperate screams, he just walks away. With help from others she managed to rescue them, but that scene haunted me for weeks when I first read it. In fact, the whole story made such an impression that I created my own abridged audiobook complete with music! The Wolves Chronicles are certainly interesting stories to read aloud as a book at bedtime.

Joan Aiken’s historical fantasies are incredibly rich both in the characters that populate her stories and her descriptive language. Readers can easily picture the scenes in her books. September 2024 was the centenary of Joan’s birth. She wrote over a hundred books including collections of short stories such as Necklace of Raindrops, ghost stories and thrillers. I have read many of her stories, but Dido and Pa has stayed with me for over thirty-five years. That’s the power of children’s literature.

Life is uncertain enough. The world is not a simple place, far from it. The writer’s duty is to show that it is an infinitely rich, strange, confusing, mysterious place. We are surrounded by layers of meaning that we can only dimly apprehend, but myths and ghostly tales can interpret and resolve the contradictions we see around us, and give younger readers the confidence to deal with reality. We don’t have angels and devils any more, but we are still stuck with good and evil.

 

Dido and Pa written by Joan Aiken.

First published: 1986 Jonathan Cape.

Paperback edition by Red Fox in 1992

Blackheart in Battersea was adapted for BBC tv in 1995. 

A BBC Radio 4 play version was broadcast in 2009.

The Wolves Chronicles - Joan Aiken website

Article about Joan Aiken’s : The Way to Write for Children

Joan Aiken - a Puffin Books Profile