''Spellbound'' is a 2008 fantasy/magic novel for children and the 3rd to have been written by British author
Anna Dale
Anna Dale (born 1971) is an English novelist for children's literature, who rose to prominence after her novel, ''Whispering to Witches'', was published in 2004.
Early life
Dale was born in 1971, and lived in Suffolk and Hampshire before settl ...
, the author of ''
Whispering to Witches
''Whispering to Witches'' is British writer Anna Dale's first novel, published in 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It is a magical mystery adventure intended for youngsters age 8–12. It was publisher Bloomsbury's main title for Autumn 2004 an ...
'' and ''
Dawn Undercover''.
''Spellbound'' is used by the
University of Winchester as an example of a book produced by an alumnus of their Creative Writing program who has gone on to become a successful author.
Plot
12-year-old Athene Enright is bossy and cruel to her cheery, 6-year-old brother, Zach. On their family summer holiday she encounters a separate species from humans called the Humble Gloam. When she makes best friends with two of them, Humdudgeon and Huffkin, Athene learns about the Low Gloam and their prisoners. Is this a perfect way to get rid of Zach?
However, before long Athene starts to see how much her brother really means to her and so with Humdudgeon and Huffkin she begins an unforgettable journey to save her brother and all the prisoners from the dreaded Low Gloam.
Characters
*Athene Enright: clever but bossy and very moody. Athene loathes her little brother, Zach, but does she really?
*Zachery Enright: Zach for short, he is happy-go-lucky and adores his sister despite her hatred for him.
*Humdudgeon: Athene's humble Gloam friend, kind and wise, but hides behind the lie of his injured leg.
*Huffkin: Athene's other humble Gloam friend, she is friendly and fun with a great personality.
Reception
On publication the novel was generally well received. Anna Gannon of Inis magazine said she saw "parallels to
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
".
. American reviewer Usha Reynolds called the book "charming and funny". Books for Keeps' Huw Thomas described it as a "beautifully crafted tale."
The book has been recommended as an example of magical storytelling by the Daily Telegraph's Toby Clements. Other reviewers have said it reminds them of the works of
Enid Blyton and
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
.
5 editions of the book have been published between 2008 and 2010.
[http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n2003-54817 World Library Catalogue]
References
External links
Anna Dale's website{{Portal , Children's literature
2008 British novels
2008 children's books
British children's novels
British fantasy novels
Children's fantasy novels
Bloomsbury Publishing books