Granny (Radio Collection) [Audio Cassette]

Anthony Horowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2001 | Series: Radio Collection

This is a wickedly funny tale about the granny from Hell by the creator of "Alex Rider".Twelve-year-old Joe Warden isn't happy. He has rich, uncaring parents and is virtually a prisoner in the huge family mansion, Thattlebee Hall. Worst of all, though, is his granny. Not only is she physically repulsive, she's horribly mean. She has the look in her eye of a predatory crocodile and Joe starts to suspect that she has unpleasant designs on him. But what are they and how can he foil them?

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony Horowitz is the creator of the phenomenal Alex Rider books and the bestselling Power of Five series and was recently voted the 2007 BA/Nielsen Author of the Year. He won the 2006 British Book Awards Red House Children's Book of the Year for Ark Angel and the 2003 Red House Children's Book of the Year Award for Skeleton Key. Anthony, who wrote the script for the Alex Rider movie Stormbreaker, also writes extensively for TV, with credits including Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. He lives in Clerkenwell, London. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Cover to Cover BBC Childrens (September 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855491249
• ISBN-13: 978-1855491243
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Anthony Horowitz's life might have been copied from the pages of Charles Dickens or the Brothers Grimm. Born in 1956 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a family of wealth and status, Anthony was raised by nannies, surrounded by servants and chauffeurs. His father, a wealthy businessman, was, says Mr. Horowitz, "a fixer for Harold Wilson." What that means exactly is unclear -- "My father was a very secretive man," he says-- so an aura of suspicion and mystery surrounds both the word and the man. As unlikely as it might seem, Anthony's father, threatened with bankruptcy, withdrew all of his money from Swiss bank accounts in Zurich and deposited it in another account under a false name and then promptly died. His mother searched unsuccessfully for years in attempt to find the money, but it was never found. That too shaped Anthony's view of things. Today he says, "I think the only thing to do with money is spend it." His mother, whom he adored, eccentrically gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. His grandmother, another Dickensian character, was mean-spirited and malevolent, a destructive force in his life. She was, he says, "a truly evil person", his first and worst arch villain. "My sister and I danced on her grave when she died," he now recalls.
A miserably unhappy and overweight child, Anthony had nowhere to turn for solace. "Family meals," he recalls, "had calories running into the thousands&. I was an astoundingly large, round child&." At the age of eight he was sent off to boarding school, a standard practice of the times and class in which he was raised. While being away from home came as an enormous relief, the school itself, Orley Farm, was a grand guignol horror with a headmaster who flogged the boys till they bled. "Once the headmaster told me to stand up in assembly and in front of the whole school said, 'This boy is so stupid he will not be coming to Christmas games tomorrow.' I have never totally recovered." To relieve his misery and that of the other boys, he not unsurprisingly made up tales of astounding revenge and retribution.


Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiest writer in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. He writes in a comfortable shed in his garden for up to ten hours per day. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he has also written episodes of several popular TV crime series, including Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. He has written a television series Foyle's War, which recently aired in the United States, and he has written the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss's book, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. His film script The Gathering has just finished production. And&oh yes&there are more Alex Rider novels in the works. Anthony has also written the Diamond Brothers series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Granny - Anthony Horowitz, September 5, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Granny (Radio Collection) (Audio Cassette)

Granny is about Joe(Jordan) Warden. His parents are rich and don't care for him, but his 'granny' is the worst thing that happened to him. The crocodile like figure detests Joe and he wants to find out why. This is a great book of humour and more humour.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A big smooch from granny, January 9, 2005

By 

Geert Daelemans (Leuven Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Granny (Paperback)

The Wardens are on the run. Not for the evil tax collector. Not for the police. Not even for a flood or any other natural mayhem. No, they are running away from something wicked and far more painful: their Granny. Joe Warden never really liked his granny. Certainly not when she widened her legs and crouched down slightly with her arms open waiting to be kissed! No words could describe the feel of her skin against his lips and that taste, that gruesome taste of nearly dead, grey skin. And this time it is far worse, because Joe thinks his granny is up to something. Is Joe going to become the ultimate sacrifice?

Let is be known: Anthony Horowitz is Roald Dahl incarnated! If this was not yet clear from his other works, it becomes too obvious while reading Granny. The ease with which Anthony gives life to his characters is simply amazing. With a few lines he is capable of drawing an evil granny that becomes frightening to even the most mature adult. His narrative is filled venomous comments that will force you to do more than just smile. On top of this all, you get a storyline that is thrilling and extremely imaginative. To summarise: Granny is 150 pages of pure fun! A must read!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Evil!, December 22, 2004

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Granny (Paperback)

This is a sensational thriller which will also make you laugh. Joe has the meanest grandmother in the world whose sole existence in life is to torment him and make his life miserable. After bumping off various adult friends who actually cared about him Granny has plans for the ultimate evil. She convinces Joe's parents to take an overseas trip as she has plans to attend the Golden Granny Awards where she can compete for awards such as making everyone at the post office wait for the longest amount of time, the longest time to get on bus, most difficult shopper, the most unnecessary visits to a doctor and many more. The evil grannys of the world also have a new invention that will make them young again, all they need is the enzymes of a young boy, he will die of course in the process but what do they care, they all hate the young. Joe's granny is happy to make him the ultimate sacrifice.