Aiken, Joan
Aiken, Joan (1924– ),Anglo‐American author. The daughter of the American poet Conrad Aiken, she was born and educated in England, where she now lives. She has published over 60 children's books, as well as many adult novels. Her titles for children include ghost stories, historical fiction, plays, and picture books. She has also written several collections of brilliantly original fairy tales. They include All You've Ever Wanted (1953), More Than You Bargained For (1955), A Necklace of Raindrops (1968), A Small Pinch of Weather (1969), A Harp of Fishbones (1972), Not What You Expected (1974), Up the Chimney Down (1984), The Last Slice of Rainbow (1985), and Past Eight o'clock (1987).
As a teller of fairy stories, Joan Aiken is the natural heir of Edith Nesbit. Her vivid and amazingly inventive tales, like Nesbit's, are usually set in...
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