''The Intruder'' is a 1969

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

John Rowe Townsend John Rowe Townsend (19 May 1922 – 24 March 2014) was a British children's writer and children's literature scholar. His best-known children's novel is ''The Intruder'', which won a 1971 Edgar Award. His best-known academic work is a reference s ...

. It was well-received, being shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and winning the Horn Book Award in 1970 and the Edgar Award in 1971. The book was adapted for television in 1971.

Plot summary

Sixteen-year-old Arnold Haithwaite is a sand pilot guiding parties of tourists over the sands at Skirlston (when the Admiral is not feeling up to it). But Arnold's quiet life is shattered when a stranger turns up claiming to be the real Arnold Haithwaite. Life at Cottontree House changes dramatically for the young lad and his father when the stranger worms his way into their lives. No one seems to have any sympathy for Arnold's predicament, except newcomers Peter and Jane, and even they are not sure he is not simply imagining the whole thing. Things come to a head when Arnold finds himself fighting the sea itself in the midst of a raging storm, with the stranger at his heels and Jane trapped by the rising tide in the ruins of an old church.

Television adaptation

The book was adapted into a British television series, ''The Intruder'', by Granada Television in 1971, broadcast 1972. It starred James Bate (as Arnold),

Milton Johns John Robert Milton (born 13 March 1938), known professionally as Milton Johns, is an English character actor who has worked almost continuously throughout his career. A versatile talent, he specialises in sinister or obsequious roles and has f ...

and

Sheila Ruskin Sheila Ruskin (born 28 March 1946) is an English actress. She played Vipsania in the BBC adaptation of ''I, Claudius'' (1976), Kassia in the '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Keeper of Traken'' (1981) and Alta One in the ''Blake's 7'' episode "Redem ...

. There were eight episodes.High Point University - Simon Turner
/ref>

References

1969 British novels British children's novels Edgar Award-winning works 1969 children's books British novels adapted into television shows Oxford University Press books {{1960s-child-novel-stub