Diana Wynne Jones
Bio: Diana Wynne Jones was raised in the village of Thaxted, in Essex, England. She has been a compulsive storyteller for as long as she can remember enjoying most ardently those tales dealing with witches, hobgoblins, and the like. Ms. Jones lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor of English at Bristol University. They have three sons and two granddaughters. In Her Own Words... "I decided to be a writer at the age of eight, but I did not receive any encouragement in this ambition until thirty years later. I think this ambition was fired-or perhaps exacerbated is a better word-by early marginal contacts with the Great, when we were evacuated to the English Lakes during the war. The house we were in had belonged to Ruskin's secretary and had also been the home of the children in the books of Arthur Ransome. One day, finding I had no paper to draw on, I stole from the attic a stack of exquisite flower-drawings, almost certainly by Ruskin himself, and proceeded to rub them out. I was punished for this. Soon after, we children offended Arthur Ransome by making a noise on the shore beside his houseboat. He complained. So likewise did Beatrix Potter, who lived nearby. It struck me then that the Great were remarkably touchy and unpleasant (even if, in Ruskin's case, it was posthumous), and I thought I would like to be the same, without the unpleasantness. "I started writing children's books when we moved to a village in Essex where there were almost no books. The main activities there were hand-weaving, hand-making pottery, and singing madrigals, for none of which I had either taste or talent. So, in intervals between trying to haunt the church and sitting on roofs hoping to learn to fly, I wrote enormous epic adventure stories which I read to my sisters instead of the real books we did not have. This writing was stopped, though, when it was decided I must be coached to go to University. A local philosopher was engaged to teach me Greek and philosophy in exchange for a dollhouse (my family never did things normally), and I eventually got a place at Oxford. "At this stage, despite attending lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, I did not expect to be writing fantasy. But that was what I started to write when I was married and had children of my own. It was what they liked best. But small children do not allow you the use of your brain. They used to jump on my feet to stop me thinking. And I had not realized how much I needed to teach myself about writing. I took years to learn, and it was not until my youngest child began school that I was able to produce a book which a publisher did not send straight back. "As soon as my books began to be published, they started coming true. Fantastic things that I thought I had made up keep happening to me. The most spectacular was Drowned Ammet. The first time I went on a boat after writing that book, an island grew up out of the sea and stranded us. This sort of thing, combined with the fact that I have a travel jinx, means that my life is never dull." Diana Wynne Jones is the author of many highly praised books for young readers, as well as three plays for children and a novel for adults. She lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor of English at Bristol University. They have three sons.
|
| Displaying
1 - 7 of 7 items in this category. |
|
|
|
1
|
The Pinhoe Egg [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
Cat Chant and Marianne Pinhoe have discovered something incredibly exciting, truly precious, and very strange--an egg. This egg was not meant to be found. Chrestomanci himself, Cat's guardian and the strongest enchanter in the world, is sure to find it particularly interesting. And that's the last thing Marianne's family of secret rogue witches wants. But the Pinhoes' secrets are falling to pieces, and powerful spells are wreaking havoc across the country-side. Marianne and Cat may be the only ... more info>>
Category: Children's Fiction
|
5 Reader Ratings:
|
|
|
|
| Great |
Good |
OK |
Poor |
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$5.99 |
|
 |
|
$5.09 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.70 |
|
 |
|
$2.29 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$3.29 |
|
 |
|
$2.80 |
| You Save: |
45.08% |
|
 |
|
53.26% |
|
|
|
2
|
Charmed Life [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci--Book 1. Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack. (Published: 2002)
Category: Young Adult
|
53 Reader Ratings:
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$5.95 |
|
 |
|
$5.06 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.68 |
|
 |
|
$2.28 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$3.27 |
|
 |
|
$2.78 |
| You Save: |
45.04% |
|
 |
|
53.28% |
|
|
|
3
|
Witch Week [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
There are good witches and bad witches, but the law says that all witches must be burned at the stake. So when an anonymous note warns, "Someone in this class is a witch," the students in 6B are nervous--especially the boy who's just discovered that he can cast spells and the girl who was named after the most famous witch of all. Witch Week features the debonair enchanter Chrestomanci, who also appears in Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, and The Lives of Christopher Chant. Someone in the ... more info>> (Published: 2002)
Category: Fantasy
|
37 Reader Ratings:
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$5.95 |
|
 |
|
$5.06 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.68 |
|
 |
|
$2.28 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$3.27 |
|
 |
|
$2.78 |
| You Save: |
45.04% |
|
 |
|
53.28% |
|
|
|
4
|
House of Many Ways [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will... more info>>
Category: Young Adult
|
8 Reader Ratings:
|
|
|
|
| Great |
Good |
OK |
Poor |
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$6.99 |
|
 |
|
$5.94 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$3.15 |
|
 |
|
$2.67 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$3.84 |
|
 |
|
$3.27 |
| You Save: |
45.06% |
|
 |
|
53.22% |
|
|
|
5
|
Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci--Book V. Dapper, debonair, and wise, the great enchanter Chrestomanci has nine lives and a strong personality as well as strong magic. That personality reverberates in each of these four dazzling stories. A warlock tries to escape Chrestomanci's justice by fleeing to another world-with hilarious results. Cat Chant and Tonino Montana reluctantly join forces when Chrestomanci sends them on a visit that turns suddenly dangerous. The youngest best-selling dreamer needs... more info>> (Published: 2002)
Category: Young Adult
|
38 Reader Ratings:
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$5.95 |
|
 |
|
$5.06 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.68 |
|
 |
|
$2.28 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$3.27 |
|
 |
|
$2.78 |
| You Save: |
45.04% |
|
 |
|
53.28% |
|
|
|
6
|
The Lives of Christopher Chant [Secure Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
His father and uncles are enchanters, his mother a powerful sorceress, yet nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. Then Christopher discovers that he can bring real, solid things back from his dreams. Others begin to recognize the extent of his powers, and they issue an order that turns Christopher's life upside down: Go to Chrestomanci Castle to trai... more info>> (Published: 2002)
Category: Young Adult
|
49 Reader Ratings:
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| Reduced From: |
$5.95 |
|
 |
|
$5.06 |
| You Pay: |
$4.99 |
|
 |
|
$4.24 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.25 |
|
 |
|
$1.91 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$2.74 |
|
 |
|
$2.33 |
| You Save: |
45.09% |
|
 |
|
53.31% |
|
|
|
7
|
The Magicians of Caprona [Secure Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe]
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
|
Tonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter--but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers. [eBook extras: Diana Wynne Jones's The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Nine Notes; Author Interview.] (Published: 2002)
Category: Young Adult
|
42 Reader Ratings:
|
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| Reduced From: |
$5.95 |
|
 |
|
$5.06 |
| You Pay: |
$4.99 |
|
 |
|
$4.24 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
$2.25 |
|
 |
|
$1.91 |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$2.74 |
|
 |
|
$2.33 |
| You Save: |
45.09% |
|
 |
|
53.31% |
|
| Icon explanations: |
 |
Discounted eBook; added within the last 7 days. |
 |
eBook was added within the last 30 days. |
 |
eBook is in our best seller list. |
 |
eBook is in our highest rated list. |
|