Chris Priestley - Author
Chris Priestley has worked as a cartoonist for high-profile publications including THE NEW STATESMAN. Young Corgi published his first-ever book, DOG MAGIC! which was shortlisted for the Children's Book Award. He has also written historical non-fiction for young readers. He is married with a young son.
A blood-chilling story with the search for Frankenstein at its heart. When orphaned Billy, a miserably poor and hungry street urchin, comes across Mister Creecher, a man of great size and sinister intent, his life is turned upside down. Soon the two of them are off on a terrifying adventure travelling ever further north as they seek out the evil Victor Frankenstein. Rich in atmosphere and terror.
Friendship, trust and betrayal combine to form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley. Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target ...Victor Frankenstein.
A spine chilling collection of short stories each of which will horrify but also delight readers with its creepy characters and unexpected occurrences. Robert starts back to school on the train alone but, when the train stops right in the mouth of a tunnel, a companion joins him. The strange woman in white has stories to tell Robert and they are not for the faint hearted. The black-and-white illustrations match perfectly and bring to life the gothic creepiness at the heart of each.
Chris Priestley in his first book with Bloomsbury has written a book that is impossible to put down. Be warned however! The content is scary, no doubt about it. The book contains a series of short fast-paced horror stories, climaxing with the autobiographical account from the narrator Uncle Montague. Tales such as the Demon Bench End and The Path will have you cowering underneath your duvet and sleeping with the lights on so be aware, this book is bound to put the frighteners on any reader of any age. Despite the fear, or perhaps because of it, you'll be completely gripped from page one. Also by the author: Tales Of Terror From The Black Ship
This is serious spine-tingling stuff and not for the faint-hearted, it’s a novel packed with chills, thrills, nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping revelations. Join Ethan and Cathy and steel yourself against the blood-curdling terror that lies ahead as you realise that whatever horrors the stormy night can conjure, they are nothing compared with heart-stopping revelation of the new dawn. Chris Priestley’s Uncle Montagu’s Tale of Terror was published to considerable acclaim in 2007 and this one is the perfect follow-up though with an even greater gore factor. Also by this author: Uncle Montague's Tales Of Terror
Return to the weird and wonderful world of Maudlin Towers for a second adventure - brilliantly written and illustrated throughout by Chris Priestley in this striking and funny package. Mildew and Sponge don't think much of Maudlin Towers, the blackened, gloom-laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity that is their school. But when they are told the school might close, our heroes realise that being apart and somewhere else could be even worse! But what starts out as a secret hunt for buried treasure quickly becomes weirder than Mildew and Sponge could ever have imagined. Who is that new boy who can get people to do whatever he wants just by looking them intently in the eye? (A hypnotist!) Why does that strange teacher have tattoos and a beard? (He's really a pirate also looking for the treasure!) Could their heartbroken English teacher hold the key to this riddle of riddles? (Just maybe ...) Most importantly, can Mildew and Sponge save the day - and the school - once more? This hugely funny, deliciously creepy and action-packed series is perfect for 8+ readers who like their mysteries with a twist. Fans of Lemony Snicket and Chris Riddell will love Maudlin Towers.
When Rosie is evacuated from bomb-torn London, there's hope that her life in the country will bring her at least a little happiness. But all is not as it seems in her new family and while Mary resents and bullies her, Mrs Taylor tries to hide a dark and terrible secret that has haunted her for years. When Rosie thinks she's finally found friendship in a new stranger, the mysterious girl leads to a horrifying truth that will change their lives forever... Another spine-tingling horror from a true master of suspense. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers 8+
`We shall be detectives, Sponge!' exclaimed Mildew. `We shall solve the Mystery of the School Spoon!' Mildew and Sponge don't think much of Maudlin Towers, the blackened, gloom-laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity that is their school. But when somebody steals the School Spoon and the teachers threaten to cancel the Christmas holidays until the culprit is found, our heroes must spring into action and solve the crime! But what starts out as a classic bit of detectivating quickly becomes weirder than they could have imagined. Who is the ghost in the attic? What's their history teacher doing with a time machine? And why do a crazy bunch of Vikings seem to think Mildew is a werewolf? Hugely funny, deliciously creepy and action-packed by turns, this brand new series from Chris Priestley is perfect for 8+ readers who like their mysteries with a bit of bite. Fans of Lemony Snicket and Chris Riddell will love Curse of the Werewolf Boy.
'Deeply moving' The Financial Times David is sixteen. A pretty ordinary boy, in most ways - he just wants to hang out in his bedroom, reading his dad's old comics. Comics that are full of his heroes - those figures whose lives are charmed, special, unique. Life hasn't been easy recently for David, though. His father died just a couple of years ago, he has a fractious relationship with his mum, and he has fallen out with his best friend. But, David has a secret, which he hasn't told anyone. He has superpowers. He can soar through the air, he has superhearing, he feels and hears everything super-keenly. So life should be easier, then, shouldn't it? But somehow it's not - and when David gets involved with the girl next door, gorgeous Holly Harper, he begins to realise just how very complicated it can get. David's harbouring another secret, a deeper darker one, and on this journey from boyhood to manhood, will he have the courage to face up to it?
During the Blitz, Bill wishes he had a brother rather than his sister. After the raid, the family find and adopt a badly mutilated boy, his face so heavily bandaged that they can see nothing but his eyes. But the boy's behaviour grows more and more sinister by the day until one day he takes off the bandages - and Bill is horrified to see his own face staring back at him...A historical chiller. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 10+
The Battle of Britain - when the RAF fought then German Luftwaffe for control of the skies above the English Channel. The decisive Battle of El Alamein, where the British 'Eighth Army' destroyed the German forces in Egypt. D-Day - the Allied invasion of France, when 130,000 men landed on the Normandy beaches under enemy fire.
It's 1939 and Harry Woods is a Spitfire pilot in the RAF. When his friend Lenny loses his leg in a dogfight with the Luftwaffe, Harry is determined to fight on. That is, until his plane is hit and he finds himself tumbling through the air high above the English Channel...
Do you dare to read the Tales of Terror? A stunning and commercial new paperback package for this chilling collection of short stories, illustrated throughout by David Roberts and featuring a gloriously creepy new cover! A boy is put on a train by his stepmother to make his first journey on his own. But what should be a thrilling ride becomes weirder than anyone could have imagined when the train stalls at the mouth of a tunnel and an elegant woman in white offers to help the boy while away the hours by telling him stories. But these are stories with a difference - and each is more deliciously chilling than the last ... Who is this mysterious storyteller, and why are her tales so dark and macabre? Can't get enough spooky stories? Crack open the other thrilling titles in the Tales of Terror series: Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror and Tales of Terror from the Black Ship!
Do you dare to read the Tales of Terror? A stunning and commercial new paperback package for this chilling collection of short stories, illustrated throughout by David Roberts and featuring a gloriously creepy new cover! Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to retell some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, another even more spine-tingling narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all. Uncle Montague's tales of terror, it transpires, are not so much works of imagination as dreadful, lurking memories. Memories of an earlier time in which Uncle Montague lived a very different life to his present solitary existence... Can't get enough spooky stories? Crack open the other thrilling titles in the Tales of Terror series: Tales of Terror from the Black Ship and Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth!
Do you dare to read the Tales of Terror? A stunning and commercial new paperback package for this chilling collection of short stories, illustrated throughout by David Roberts and featuring a gloriously creepy new cover. At the Old Inn, which clings precariously to a cliff top above a storm-lashed ocean, two sick children are left alone while their father fetches the doctor. Then a visitor comes begging for shelter, and so begins a long night of storytelling, in which young Ethan and Cathy, who have an unnatural appetite for stories of a macabre persuasion, sit out the last throes of the storm in the company of a sailor with more than enough grisly tales to satisfy them. But something about this sailor puts Ethan on edge, and he becomes increasingly agitated for his father's return. Only when the storm blows itself out can Ethan relax - but not for long, for the new dawn opens the children's eyes to a truth more shocking, more distressing than anything they heard the night before. Can't get enough spooky stories? Crack open the other thrilling titles in the Tales of Terror series: Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror and Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth!
Sam and Lizzie are freezing and hungry on the streets of Victorian London. When Sam asks a wealthy man for some coins, he is rudely turned away. Months of struggle suddenly find their focus, and Sam resolves to kill the man. Huddling in a graveyard for warmth, Sam and Lizzie are horrified to see the earth around one of the tombs begin to shift, shortly followed by the wraithlike figure of a ghostly man. He warns Sam about the future which awaits such a bitter heart, and so begins Sam's journey led by terrifying spirits through the past, present and future, after which Sam must decide whether to take the man, Scrooge's, life or not. A perfectly layered, tense and supremely satisfying twist on one of Dickens' most popular books, cleverly reinvented to entice a younger readership.
Shortlisted for the Peters Book of the Year. Seventeen-year-old Frank Palp lives in a grim little apartment, in a grim little building, in an exceedingly grim (and rather large) city. Cobbled streets and near-destroyed bridges lead one through Old Town and Old New Town, and war-damaged houses stand alongside post-war characterless, concrete hutches. Most people walk hunched over, a habit from avoiding snipers, but others are proud to stand tall and make the world take notice . . . This is a city full of contradictions, and Frank is no exception. He mostly hates his life, he definitely hates the ludicrous city he is forced to live in and he absolutely with complete certainty hates the idiots he's surrounded by . . . and yet he is in love. A love so pure and sparkling and colourful, Frank feels sure it is 'meant to be'. His love is a reward for all the terrible grey that he is surrounded by - which would be great, if the girl in question knew he existed. And then one day, the perfect sign lands in his lap. A message, in a bottle. A wish, for 'anything that isn't this'. The girl who wrote this is surely his soulmate - and now he just needs to find her.
Tom and Dr Harker are back and this time their adventure takes them outside London. They visit a friend in Norfolk, Mr Gibbs, who has recently unearthed fabulous Anglo-Saxon treasures from an archaeological excavation. They are believed to have belonged to the East Anglian king, Redwulf. Local legend tells of a ghostly guardian of the king's tomb and a curse against anyone who threatens it. When not one but two murders occur in the household, it is hard to dismiss the legend. As everyone feels threatened and the atmosphere of hostility increases, Tom and Harker investigate. Discovering in fact that Gibbs' wife is behind the attacks seems to explain what's been happening. But then Tom sees an unidentifiable figure in the mist . . . An exciting and atmospheric story set in the eighteenth-century and delving into our Anglo-Saxon past.
London, 1716. The streets are full of spies and buzzing with intrigue. Jacobite rebels are being rounded up and hanged at Tower Hill, and on the outskirts of London the roads are haunted by a mysterious Highwayman known only as The White Rider; a robber so fierce that he kills his victims simply by pointing at them! Tom Marlowe, caught in the fascinating heart of events, is resolved to get to the bottom of them. With the help of his mentor, Dr Harker, Tom is determined to discover who is behind the White Rider's gruesome mask. But Dr Harker seems to be keeping secrets of his own. Who is the mysterious stranger with the Scottish accent seen at Harker's house, and why does the Doctor lie when questioned about him? Highly atmospheric, with a gripping plot this historical adventure will fascinate and engage readers.
When Harry and his mother inherit a house from a mysterious relative of his father's following his death in the War, they travel across the country to discover the bequeathing was a cruel trick - the house has fallen into the sea. But it seems there's even more afoot at Wickford Hall than they first imagined, as tales of lost children and evil paintings soon capture Harry's imagination. Is there something evil lurking in the land? And can Harry defeat it before it swallows him up too? Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+
In a harbour town long ago, a boy is entranced by his uncle's stories of adventure in lands far away. Ignoring the crazy talk of the harbour pilot's son about the uncle being the Devil, the boy boards a ship with his uncle. But the uncle soon makes enemies of the captain and crew and, in frustration at their superstition, kills an albatross that has befriended the ship. As the ship sails on, madness and death ensue, and the boy and the crew face unimaginable horrors. A superbly gripping and haunting tale for fans of all classic horror.
Imagine being able to wish for anything you wanted! Lucy has the surprise of her life when she releases a genie from an old bottle. Wow - unlimited wishes for a year! But wait a minute... Lucy didn't wish for dinosaur bones. And where have all the cats gone? Why does Lucy's dog Mitch look so full of himself? Uh-oh. It looks like a case of dog magic!
Alex joins his father on a business trip to Amsterdam. During the day he hangs out with the daughter of a family friend. They visit the usual sights but also coffee shops and flea markets off the beaten track. At one of these markets Alex spots an ancient-looking mask. Before he knows what he's doing he buys it. Later, in his hotel room, he feels compelled to put the mask on. Alex is sucked into a parallel Amsterdam, one from centuries before which begins to reveal the dark past of both the building he is staying in and the little girl who once lived there . . . edging stealthily towards the terrible twist.
The year is 1584 and fourteen-year-old Kit is living by his wits as a thief on the streets of Elizabethan London - a far-cry from his early childhood, when he lived a privileged life with his rich Catholic parents, who died when he was very small. The memory of his parents haunts Kit: his father was executed for plotting to kill the Queen but went to his death proclaiming his innocence. When Kit meets John White, a mapmaker and associate of Walter Raleigh, on the streets and White offers him a place in his household, Kit accepts. Soon Kit finds himself with White on board The Tiger, bound for the New World as part of a voyage to found a new colony in Virginia. After surviving the many weeks at sea, a great storm and contact with the Spanish along the American coast, The Tiger finally reaches Virginia and the settlers establish a colony at Roanoake. Life in the colony is hard, the relationship with the Indian tribes made precarious by the aggression of some of the English colonists. As trading with the tribes break down and winter sets in, food becomes scarce and the colonists struggle to survive. And Kit's past comes back to haunt him when an enemy suddenly reveals himself . . .
From malevolent snowmen to Father Christmas - with a difference ... Chris Priestley is on absolute top form in these atmospheric, clever and thoroughly chilling stories. Add a new kind of thrill to the fluffiest of seasons with seven brilliantly conceived examples of why you'd better be good at Christmas time. For stories which can be enjoyed by the whole family, unwrap these perfectly formed festive tales of terror, each with a gripping yarn and genius twist.Singing carols may never seem quite the same again ... especially after dark.
From malevolent snowmen to Father Christmas - with a difference... Chris Priestley is on absolute top form in these atmospheric, clever, and thoroughly chilling stories. Add a new kind of thrill to the fluffiest of seasons with seven brilliantly conceived examples of why you'd better be good at Christmas time. For stories which can be enjoyed by the whole family, unwrap these perfectly formed festive tales of terror, each with a gripping yarn and genius twist.Singing carols may never seem quite the same again... especially after dark.
Charity trustees have wide-ranging legal responsibilities and carry overall accountability for their charity. It is essential that they are prepared and equipped with the appropriate information to fulfil this demanding role. This book provides quick and easy access to essential information on charities regulation and best practice including trustee recruitment and responsibilities, governance, board structure and functions, financial issues (including fundraising) and trustee-staff relations. The aim of the book is to support trustees of small- to medium-sized charities and covers the key aspects of the trustee function that are common to the majority of trustees. Useful tips, sample documents and summary checklists are included throughout. Real-world examples help to put theory into practice The only up-to-date and in-depth book in the market today
A blood-chilling story with the search for Frankenstein at its heart. When orphaned Billy, a miserably poor and hungry street urchin, comes across Mister Creecher, a man of great size and sinister intent, his life is turned upside down. Soon the two of them are off on a terrifying adventure travelling ever further north as they seek out the evil Victor Frankenstein. Rich in atmosphere and terror.
Roman Britain, north of Hadrian's Wall, 180 AD. A teenage boy has witnessed the killing of his father by a savage warrior from a rival tribe. Blind with range and grief, he swears vengeance. When the chance comes to train as a Roman legionary, he jumps at it, desperate to learn. He is a natural fighter, but can he acquire the self-control he will need to become a true warrior and defeat his sworn enemy? And just how far will his conscience allow him to take the fight against the tribe? Blood Oath is part of the HEROES series - created with series editor Frank Cottrell Boyce and specifically written to engage and captivate less confident readers. An epic adventure packed full of action and cliff-hangers that boys and girls will not be able to put down. A great solution for reluctant readers and encouraging reading for pleasure. A real page turner which manages to put many real historical elements into a blood thirsty adventure. I liked the way the author has mixed historical fact with an emotional journey. Sally Atkins, St Michael's Middle School, Dorset A well paced story which ties in well with the history topic of The Romans... Boys will love the constant action of the book and the jacket definitely shouts 'pick me up and read me'! Sue Canty, Caedmon School, Whitby
The first day at a new school is often tricky, and if the only person who befriends you claims to be a wizard you simply have to make the best of it! Joe is pretty certain that Billy has, as the teacher says, just got an over-active imagination but when he witnesses some pretty odd events at playtime, he's not quite so sure... This is a really engaging book for newly confident readers, which perfectly captures the way young children speak and behave, in the classroom, the playground and at home. It's a refreshing new take both on bullying and on magic.
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