The Jewel Seed

Joan Aiken

Dis 2015 · Open Road Media

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An English orphan unwittingly holds the key to a powerful source of magic

The graduation ceremony of the Grand and Ancient College of Siberian Witches takes place in the winter darkness of the Far North. But despite the celebration, the night is full of warnings and worry. The Wanderer is abroad in search of the coveted Jewel Seed that has been lost for centuries. Whoever finds it can unlock all knowledge and will have unlimited power. . . .
 
Meanwhile, orphan Nonnie Smith is leaving the home she shares with her grandmother and grown siblings in Sesame Green to go live in London with her cousins and eldest sister, Una. Nonnie’s problems begin when her old neighbor Mrs. Wednesday returns from the Siberian witch conference and discovers that someone has taken a mysterious shirt off her clothesline. Nonnie is sure the linen blouse was Una’s, but why is Mrs. Wednesday so desperate to get her hands on it?
 
Then Una is kidnapped—along with famous historical characters Julius Caesar, Mozart, and Jane Austen—and it’s up to Nonnie and her cousin John to outsmart both the Winter People and Mrs. Wednesday in order to save her..
 
The Jewel Seed is Joan Aiken’s retelling of a story her father, the poet Conrad Aiken, used to tell her and her siblings when they were young.
 
This ebook features illustrations by Peter Bailey and a personal history of Joan Aiken including rare images from the author’s estate.

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Joan Aiken (1924–2004) was an English writer best known for her children’s literature. She wrote 92 novels, including 27 for adults, as well as plays, poems, and short stories. Aiken was born in East Sussex, England. Her father, Conrad Aiken, was a Pulitzer Prize–winning poet. She began writing at a young age, publishing her first short story when she was 17 years old. Before writing full-time, Aiken worked at the United Nations Information Centre as well as the magazine Argosy. It was during this time that she wrote her classic children’s novel The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962), which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and was the first in a 12-book series. Her other titles for younger readers include The Last Slice of Rainbow, The Kitchen Warriors, and Mice and Mendelson. For older readers, her books include the Edgar Award–winning Night Fall, and The Scream. In 1999, Aiken was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to children’s literature. She is survived by her daughter.