Books by Piers Torday
A former theatre and television producer, Piers Torday’s books include The Last Wild (Shortlisted for Waterstones Children’s Book Prize), The Dark Wild (Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize), The Wild Beyond, There May Be a Castle (People’s Book Award finalist), The Lost Magician (Teach Primary Book Award) and The Frozen Sea. His latest book is The Wild Before (August 2021). His work has been translated into 14 languages.
The son of Paul Torday (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), he completed his father’s final unfinished novel, The Death of an Owl and co-founded the Paul Torday Memorial Prize for Debut Novelists over 60.
He has contributed short stories to Winter Magic, Scoop and Return to Wonderland
Plays include the world premiere stage adaptation of John Masefield’s The Box of Delights, Christmas Carol, The Child in the Snow and The Wind in the Wilton's. (all Wilton’s Music Hall.) There May be a Castle has been adapted for the stage by the Little Angel Theatre.
978-1-78087-828-7
THE LAST WILD
This is the story of a boy named Kester. He is extraordinary, but he doesn't know that yet. All he knows, at the moment is this: 1. There is a flock of excited pigeons in his bedroom. 2. They are talking to him. 3. His life will never be the same...
978-1782064855
THE DARK WILD
Twelve-year-old Kester Jaynes thought he had rescued the last wild animals in the land. He thought his adventures was over.
He was wrong.
Below the sparkling city of Premium, deep underground, Kester finds more survivors: a menacing white dog, a cohort of foxes, an interfering starling, and the world’s most miserable rat. A dark wild hiding from the deadly virus that destroyed their friends; a dark wild with a dark plan to rise up against their human enemies…Together with his loyal friend Polly and a brave gang of child outlaws, Kester must find a way to stop them, before it’s too late.
Kester Jaynes saved the animals. Can he save the humans too?
978-1848668485
THE WILD BEYOND
Kester Jaynes has led the last wild creatures in the land to safety, and saved his beloved city of Premium from total destruction.
Almost….
Because the secret to rebuild the world is still out there, guarded by a mouse who is nowhere to be found. And when the last blue whale on the planet delivers a terrible warning about the future, Kester realizes time is running out fast.
So he and his loyal friends Polly and Aida make a brave decision: to travel far away to a wild beyond their own, in the desperate hope of preventing the end of all things. But as they journey further from home, and discover the truth of the whale’s story, they realise that their real adventure has only just begun…
The world gave Kester Jaynes his life back.
Can Kester Jaynes save the world?
978-1848668621
THERE MAY BE A CASTLE
Eleven-year-old Mouse is travelling to see his grandparents on Christmas Eve with his mother and two sisters. But it’s snowing, and visibility is bad, and the car goes off the road, and crashes.
Mouse is thrown from the car.
When he wakes, he’s not in his world any more. He meets a sheep named Bar, who can only say Baaa, and a sarcastic horse named Nonky, who is a surprising mix of his beloved toy horse and his older sister.
So begins a quest to find a castle in a world of wonder – a world of monsters, minstrels, dangerous knights and mysterious wizards; a world of terrifying danger but also more excitement than Mouse has ever known.
But why are they looking for a castle? As the cold grows, we realise it might just have something to do with the family he’s left behind; and that Mouse’s quest is more important than ever.
This is a novel about the power of stories to change the way we view the world – and it’s about the power of a child to change their own world. Emotionally arresting but ultimately uplifting, this is a remarkable novel for our times.
978-1471159824
WINTER MAGIC
CURATED BY ABI ELPHINSTONE
Delighted to have a story, “The Wishing Book”, in this beautiful and classic anthology of frosty, magical short stories from acclaimed children’s writers such as Michelle Magorian, Berlie Doherty, Lauren St John and Katherine Woodfine, edited by author Abi Elphinstone. This gorgeous collection also includes stories featuring snow queens, frost fairs, snow dragons and pied pipers . .
An unmissable, enchanting treat of a collection that will be enjoyed for years to come, by readers of all ages.
978-1911373063
A WISP OF WISDOM
As the sun rises behind Mount Yuhan, a leopard, a hornbill, a civet and a tortoise ascend a ladder into the clouds. A fly picks a fight with an elephant. A monkey pits his wits against a crocodile. And that’s all before breakfast.
Armoured pangolins, blue-bottomed drill monkeys, red-legged francolins and red river hogs are just some of the fascinating creatures you will discover in this collection of folk tales from the Korup region of Cameroon, tales that are just as extraordinary as the animals that inspired them…
978-1786540515
THE LOST MAGICIAN
‘If you can imagine it, it exists … somewhere.’
The new spellbinding fantasy adventure from the award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy.
1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army.
The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children’s only hope is to find their creator – a magician who has been lost for centuries.
What they discover will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever …
978-0571346103
THE BOX OF DELIGHTS
Kay Harker is heading home for the school holidays. Recently orphaned, he knows this Christmas will be different but nothing could prepare him for the journey that lies ahead.
On the train he meets an old magician, Cole Hawlings, who charges Kay with safeguarding a wondrous device that has time-travelling powers. It’s an instrument that Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown, will stop at nothing to steal for himself. And so when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life. He must protect both the Box of Delights and, with it, the people he loves.
The Box of Delights is a magical and festive adventure in which one boy must confront the secrets of the past to defeat the evil in his present. The future of Christmas itself depends upon him.
Adapted for the stage for the first time by Piers Torday, John Masefield’s much-loved classic The Box of Delights premiered at Wilton’s Music Hall in December 2017.
978-1529006032
RETURN TO WONDERLAND
Return to Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland with this stunning collection of original stories from today’s biggest children’s authors – Peter Bunzl, Pamela Butchart, Maz Evans, Swapna Haddow, Patrice Lawrence, Chris Smith, Robin Stevens, Lauren St John, Lisa Thompson, Piers Torday and Amy Wilson.
Tumble down the rabbit hole again to find out what happens in Wonderland without Alice there. Is the Queen of Hearts still ruling with an iron fist? Does the Mad Hatter still have to go to tea? And will Tweedledum and Tweedledee ever resolve their argument?
More than 150 years since Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published by Macmillan, revisit Carroll’s amazing cast of characters – including the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat and Alice’s Sister in these brand-new stories, that will bring a new generation of readers to Wonderland.
978-1786540768
THE FROZEN SEA
‘That’s the best book I ever read…’ he said, ‘and by book, I mean unbelievable secret weapon.’
Jewel Hastings doesn’t know who she is. But she is about to discover that she is one of the most remarkable people ever to have walked the earth…
On the run from school bullies, Jewel tumbles through the door of a mysterious old bookshop, and falls headlong into Folio, the world of the imagination. There, she must begin a quest to rescue her missing aunt. helped only by her rude pet hamster Fizz and a malfunctioning copper robot.
From the shimmering lights of the Idea Jungle, to the desolate expanse of the Frozen Sea, their mission will bring them face-to-face with a danger both more deadly and more magnificent than they ever imagined. And what Jewel discovers will change her life forever….
THE FOLLOW UP TO THE LOST MAGICIAN
978-1848429147
CHRISTMAS CAROL - A FAIRY TALE
BY CHARLES DICKENS
Adapted for the stage by Piers Torday
1838, London. Jacob Marley is dead. And so is Ebenezer Scrooge…
In this story, Ebenezer died young, but his sister Fan married Marley and, as his widow, has now inherited his moneylending business.
She rapidly becomes notorious as the most monstrous miser ever known, a legendary misanthrope, lonely, and despised by all who cross her path.
Seven years later, on Christmas Eve, Fan Scrooge will be haunted by three spirits.
They want her to change. But will she?
Rediscover a classic British fairy tale. Refreshed and relevant for the 21st century, this traditional story, inspired by the politics of nineteenth century London, premiered in the world’s oldest surviving music hall, Wilton’s Music Hall, in December 2019.
978-1786541116
THE WILD BEFORE
Can one hare alone change the world? A captivating animal adventure destined to be loved by readers of all ages.
One frosty winter’s night, a pure white calf is born on an ordinary muddy farm in the light of a silver moon. This is the legendary Mooncalf, whose arrival has been foretold since the dawn of time.
Hare knows immediately that if the calf is not saved it will be the end of all things.
According to a dream passed down from animal to animal, if the calf dies a great terribleness will come – rising seas, a plague, skies raining down fire… and Hare vows to protect Mooncalf with his life.
Upon Mooncalf’s arrival, the old bull summons all the animals of the farm and tells them of this dream, warning that they must help Hare in his mission before it is too late.
But it’s easier said than done, and soon Hare realises that he must act on his own…
A stunning prequel to the award-winning bestselling The Last Wild trilogy, with themes of climate change, hope and friendship.
‘Piers Torday is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure’ The Times
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