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Deep in the woods, in a crooked house full of stairs, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret.
Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents incredible stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, and haunted castles to entertain his pupils, in which he is the hero. Then one stormy evening, a mysterious letter blows onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting.
Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission, one in which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure, a black cat with green eyes and a sealed parchment which predicts the future.
He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways.
He will find seven allies.
And he will make a fearsome enemy.
The adventure has begun...
About the author
Tonke Dragt was born in 1930 in Indonesia. When she was twelve, she was imprisoned in a Japanese camp during the war, where she wrote her very first book using begged and borrowed paper. After the war, she and her family moved to the Netherlands. In 1962 she published her most famous story, The Letter for the King, which won the Children's Book of the Year Award and has been translated into sixteen languages; its sequel, The Secrets of the Wild Wood, followed in 1965, and both are published by Pushkin Press. Dragt was awarded the State Prize for Youth Literature in 1976 and was knighted in 2001.
Summary
A beautiful flapped paperback edition of this standalone adventure by the author of The Letter for the King.
Foreword
A beautiful flapped paperback edition of this stand-alone adventure by the author ofThe Letter for the King
Additional text
"Enchanting. . . Dragt’s tale is a curious, magical adventure that will appeal to those who love Tolkien and Lloyd Alexander." — Booklist (starred review)
"Dragt's twisty, light mystery tale has the charm of an old classic (which it is, having been published originally in Dutch in 1967). The pleasure in this whimsically Kafkaesque tale is in its unfolding. . . the slow reveals will keep the pages turning for fans of Elizabeth Enright and E. Nesbit." — Kirkus Reviews
"A cracking adventure... so nail-biting you'll need to wear protective gloves." -- The Times
"A wandering, winding ballad with occasional joyous percussion, to the spell of which the reader can’t help but succumb." – Guardian
"A riveting story." -- The Bay
"A magical, strange gripping tale about a teacher and his class who help a boy, kept virtual prisoner by his wicked uncle, to find treasure, friends and liberation." -- Spectator
Praise for The Letter for the King: A Sunday Times, Metro and Times Book of the Year; 'A true page-turner' Sunday Times; 'Thrilling' Daily Telegraph; 'A pulse-pounding epic' Metro; 'Spellbinding' Financial Times; 'A cracker' Spectator.
Praise for The Secrets of the Wild Wood: A Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times Book of the Year; 'Action-packed drama' Daily Mail; 'Thrilling' Metro; 'A spellbinding tale that will appeal to the young and old' The Lady
