Children's fantasy classics - Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, Robert Westall, Ursula le Guin, and more...

Isobelle carmody was my favourite! She wrote a fantasy series I loved, the first book is called Obernewtyn.

I am also jealous of your Chrestomanci dressing gown! Deep Secret was fantastic and I wanted to be at that convention so much. Janine’s pottery/description of the jumpers always made me laugh too. DWJ was a true original and each book was always a surprise. Thanks to everyone for all the book recommendations as I am making my way through them.

if anyone ever hears of another DWJ discussion taking place, please post details!

I signed up to an event as part of the Bristol Ideas Festival a couple of years ago, where there was a discussion about Diana Wynne Jones "What does DWJ mean to readers today?" - it was really good, and I've just looked and the recording is available on Youtube. It's definitely worth a listen.

The thing about DWJ is that she had so many genuinely original ideas. Think of Dogsbody, for example. Or the Moving Castle. Or the bizarre and extraordinary Archer’s Goon. So many fantasy writers work over old ideas, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But she had such an exceptional imagination.

I would love to join a DWJ chat and deeply envy your dressing gown @beetlebrain. I also love Deep Secret - the way it all builds up to a big crescendo of chaos in true DWJ style is somehow perfectly capped by Rupert's plaintive realisation, "You have your dinner in the middle of the day!" And yes the Derkholm/Year of the Griffin pairing (and Tough Guide in a different way) is such a satisfying send up of so many fantasy cliches.

Beetlebrain the dressing gown sounds AMAZING!

So many DWJ fans! I wish I could meet you all and talk Chrestomanci all night. But if you twisted my arm I might admit to an even greater love of Deep Secret. Or perhaps the Year of the Griffin. Of course Fire and Hemlock is truly special. Or maybe Power of Three...But back to Chrestomanci...I was given a Chrestomanci dressing gown for Christmas! Gold velvet with a pattern and a red silk lining. Imagine the thrill.

Bunchy - in the far distant past. Dawn Shops - I must have done but don't have any memory of content. It's MMM that sticks, love the down-to-earth everyday-ness!

Fab thread.
Did anyone else ever read The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker?

@TheRedLip I know! There is a real joy in recognising like minded people who have read the same things as you - or like the same things. Thanks so much for re-uniting me with an old favourite.

@hagsrus0 I remember Bunchy from MMM and I've dithered over whether to order this and/or the Dawn Shops but they are quite expensive on Abebooks. Have you read either?

Fantastic news, this has really made my day. I've loved and worked with books my whole life, and there's nothing better than reuniting someone with a well loved book.

"It's by the author of Milly Molly Mandy." Also wrote a little series: The Bunchy Books, a little girl who gets absorbed in her fantasies. IIRC she makes an appearance in the MMM story about buying material for a new frock. (Sudden vivid memory of those shelves in the children's library when I was about six!) And one other, The Dawn Shops, though I don't remember more than the title.

Also @hagsrus0 yes, I know Marigold in Godmothers House.

My own godmother, who was born in 1932 told me about it and mourned the fact that she no longer had a copy of it. I managed to track her down an original hardback copy on Abebooks and bought her it. She left it to me when she died and I love it. It's by the author of Milly Molly Mandy.

@TheRedLip You, my dear, are a ruddy genius!

Have just finished reading When the Night Crow Flies, and yes! You nailed it. It is definitely the book I read, probably 45 years ago and have been searching for for a lot of years now. I've posted on lots of book finding websites and threads, and had begun to doubt whether I had actually read a book like this or if it had been a dream I'd had.

I'm massively grateful to you and I enjoyed the book tremendously. Thank you very much indeed! 💐

@Neverknowinglysensible it's one of those books where a lot of the things that happen are quite subtle and at the heart of it is a relationship emerging in a situation that constrains its expression hugely. So the story gets off to quite a slow start with not much happening but lots of undercurrents. But I'd definitely say it's worth the time.

@UnaOfStormhold I’ve bought Hands of the Emperor but must admit I’m struggling to get involved with it. I’m only up to where the Emperor arrives at the holiday home so will persevere.
Thanks to @TheRedLip and @IcakethereforeIam I have also downloaded the Adricbooks and look forward to rereading once I have finished Garth Nix’s Sabriel.

As achild I spent more time than I care to admit trying to make sleeping potion. Adored these books and still have my childhood copies.

It was extraordinarily confusing! I took the opportunity of the new book coming out to reread everything! Weeks of enjoyment

@Copperas that must have been a bit confusing - and probably changed the experience of reading of Hands of the Emperor too! I didn't get on quite so well with the Greenwing and Dart books or the one of about the Lord of Ysthar but Hands of the Emperor and At the Feet of the Sun and the Red Company books are extremely satisfying to read.

And I have just been reading Katherine Ardern thanks to this fantastic thread

Victoria Goddard is wonderful! I started in completely the wrong place with The Return of Fitzroy Angursell which completely confused me - but which was so well written I just ploughed on through. Having now read in the “right” order, I have a world of delight I keep returning to.

I'm so excited for you, really hoping they're the right ones.

I'm genuinely excited and think @TheRedLip might have iidentified my book.

I've just ordered both that and Witch's Gold and I'm looking forward to reading them even if they aren't my vaguely remembered book!

I'll update once I've read them.😁😁

I did a bit of digging and the sequel is called Witch's Gold.

@Neverknowinglysensible I checked these books out on Amazon (the Horselord trilogy), I couldn't remember if I'd read them or not. At least some of them can be read 'free' in Kindle Unlimited, which is sometimes available on a free trial.

The Nina Warner Hooke book I mentioned upthread was The Moon on the Water. Forgot to put the title