Midnight is a Place [Hardcover]

Joan Aiken (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Now, back in print, the engaging and suspenseful British fantasy by one of England’s most imaginative storytellers.
Lucas Bell is lonely and miserable at Midnight Court, a vast, brooding house owned by his intolerable guardian, Sir Randolph Grimsby. When a mysterious carriage brings a visitor to the house, Lucas hopes he’s found a friend at last. But the newcomer, Anna Marie, is unfriendly and spoiled—and French. Just when Lucas thinks things can’t get any worse, disastrous circumstances force him and Anna Marie, parentless and penniless, into the dark and unfriendly streets of Blastburn.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joan Aiken, daughter of the American writer Conrad Aiken, was born in Rye, Sussex, England, and has written more than sixty books for children, including The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618196269
• ISBN-13: 978-0618196265
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #743,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Aiken (1924-2004) was the daughter of Pulitzer prize winning poet Conrad Aiken and started writing herself from the age of five. During her lifetime she published over one hundred books for children and adults, including the acclaimed Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. In the UK she received an MBE from the Queen for her services to Children's Literature.

This year sees the publication of a brand NEW story collection - The Monkey's Wedding - with previously unpublished material that shows Aiken on top form. This collection of funny, spooky, unexpected but classic Aiken stories has received wonderful reviews and will delight her readers. See below for details.

Her work continues to be adapted for film and television; she is established as a consummate storyteller,and recognized as one of the best loved authors of the twentieth century.

"The Wonderful World of Joan Aiken" is at www.joanaiken.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Introduction to the Classic Gothic Thriller, November 14, 2002

By 

Lawrence E. Wilson (Mayfield, East Sussex, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight is a Place (Hardcover)

It's got all the ingredients of a classic Gothic thriller (the creepy mansion, the unpleasant guardian, the servant with a hidden past, the lonely orphan, the depressing, filthy, poverty-stricken town, the sudden reversals of fortune, the mysterious benefactor) but MIDNIGHT IS A PLACE is written for that twilight area in the great scheme of publishing demographics--somewhere between middle school and adult, somewhere past chapter books but not quite ready for Great Literature. And in Aiken's expert hands, this is a wonderful place to explore. Lucas Bell, the lonely orphan with the unpleasant guardian, lives in the frightening mansion called Midnight Court, is taught by the servant with the hidden past, is subjected to the sudden reversals of fortune, including the unexpected arrival of another orphan (Anne-Marie, a plucky young French girl), a devastating fire, the need to find work in the local factory, the help of a secretive old lady, and the long unraveling of the mystery of his name and fortune. It's glorious stuff, over-the-top, a wonderful read, moody and frightening and funny by turns, managing both to exploit the genre and to rise above it. Young readers who have enjoyed the Lemony Snicket books, and who are now ready for something better, something real, something that's sort of a complex three-way cross between Dickens, Austen, and old-fashioned Gothic romances, will enjoy this book. It'd be a quick read for adults, but I'd recommend it to anyone who loves the genre.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark and fascinating story..., January 26, 2002

By 

"tysch" (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight Is a Place (Paperback)

Joan Aiken sets many of her children's books in a slightly off-kilter Victorian world, and this is one of them. Lucas and Anna-Marie are orphans in the care of a miserly, grim old man who owns carpet-making factories. After a terrible accident, the two children have to survive on their own, and this takes them through the dark alleyways, factories, and even sewers of the nearby town. Some parts are quite scary, and others are strange in a larger-than-life kind of way, including the descriptions of the machines in the factories. The characters are wonderful, though, and as always, there is a sense of atmosphere in Ms. Aiken's books that I've found no where else. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great book......worthwhile!, March 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: midnight is a place (Hardcover)

Midnight is a place is about two orphans, Lucas and Anne-Marie who struggle withought their parents. thier home- midnight court is burnt down and they are forced to work for their money, they cant afford anything and they are always made fun of. that is unitl anne-marie finds a lady who is her grandmother. read this book to find out how lucas survives from the wild hogs and the mad man while he is working and anne-marie survives from bob bloodward, the man who is after her at midnight mill, and how does lucas get his money back? simply find out buy the book Midnight Is A Place to find out!