Black Hearts in Battersea

Book cover of Black Hearts in Battersea

Book description

'Wait, wait! Save us! What'll we do?'

Simon is determined to become a painter when he grows up so he sets off to London to make his fortune. But the city is plagued by wolves and mysterious disappearances. The Twite household, where Simon is lodging, seems particularly shifty. Before he…

Explore

Topics

London

Genres

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Black Hearts in Battersea as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Caroline Stevermer

Author

No airships here, but there is a hot-air balloon, as well as a dark conspiracy afoot. This classic children's book, first published in 1964, introduces Dido Twite, a character so vivid that she took over the series this is part of. Back in the Cretaceous period, when I read this book for the very first time, I didn't notice this nineteenth-century London is not the one Dickens wrote of. Now I revel in the sly details that Aiken gives us.

From Caroline's list on historical fantasy for armchair travel.