![]() ![]() ![]() Blake was again her collaborator in one of the finest achievements of her later life, the collection of stories called The Winter Sleepwalker in 1994. Blake, and another great illustrator, Pat Marriott (of whom more later) became virtually lifelong partners in Aiken’s stories and novels, and much of her work is inseparable from theirs. Beginning in 1972 with Arabel’s Raven, these books were illustrated by Quentin Blake. For very young readers we might specially pick out the books about Arabel and her pet raven, Mortimer, with his single-word refrain, ‘Nevermore’. When it comes to longer stories, though, what a steady flow of riches is here, stretching across the age-range. Joan Aiken is (that very rare thing) a fine exponent of the original fairy-tale or folk-tale which is also a true short story, and perhaps in the long run it will come to seem that her many books of short stories are her finest achievement. Peter Hollindale assesses her richly imaginative and versatile career. ![]() ![]() For children her work is even more varied. Joan Aiken died in 2004 at the age of 79, leaving behind her an abundance of stories, novels and plays which have given pleasure to generations of children – children who, if they chose, could later go on to enjoy her work for adults, which ranges from dark thrillers to elegant and witty pastiches of Jane Austen. ![]()
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