Most Popular Books by Leon Garfield

Across the continents of the ancient world wandered the Storyteller, enchanting all who heard him with his wondrous tales of the gods. He longed for a glimpse of the all-powerful deities of his stories, and listened eagerly to those who had experiences such encounters. And interwoven with his journey is the story of Heracles – a magnificent story with all the intense drama and high tragedy of the Greek Myths.

Young Smith was a pickpocket - a very accomplished one. But one day his pick-pocketing was to lead him into a sinister and dangerous web of murder, intrigue and betrayal.

An abridged version of "King Richard III" accompanied by illustrations from the television series. Suggested level: secondary.

Bartholomew Dorking goes from the streets of London to a travelling circus, but nothing he can do can set him free from the looming shadow of the murderous villain, Black Jack.

Eastward in Clerkenwell lies the Mulberry Pleasure Garden: six acres of leafy walks, colonnades and pavillions. In this bosky setting parade a variety of characters of awesome granduer, innocence and evil - and all are subject to a ring of blackmail terror.

''My father, that stern and upright man, was nothing but a swindler and a thief!'' What is the matter with old Mr Jones? Endless footsteps and low groans can be heard from his room in the dead of night. Only his son William knows the a terrible secret: his father betrayed his business partner Mr Diamond, and swindled him out of a great fortune. William resolves to go to London, find Mr Diamond and make amends. But the murky big city, with its sinister characters and treacherous back streets, is no place for a boy of twelve. And Mr Diamond''s own son is not the sort of person to forgive and forget. Danger and deceit lie waiting... Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can find out more about the wonderful author and learn some Cockney rhyming slang! Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen retells some of the most famous Greek myths in this classic of children''s literature. This is the epic history of the Greek Gods told from their violent beginnings to the creation of man.

George Treet, actor, suddenly becomes George Dexter Esq., son of Sir John Dexter. Just when he''s getting used to his new position in life he finds himself the victim of attempted murder and family treachery.

Introduce kids ages 10+ to 21 of Shakespeare’s most memorable plays—including Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream “ . . . will lay the groundwork for many a future enchanted evening at the theater.” —Wall Street Journal How to introduce children to Shakespeare, not just to the stories behind the plays but to the richness of Shakespeare’s language and the depth of his characters: That’s the challenge that Leon Garfield, no slouch as a wordsmith himself, sets out to meet in his monumental and utterly absorbing Shakespeare Stories. Here, 21 of the Bard’s plays are refashioned into stories that are true to the wit, the humor, the wisdom, the sublime heights, the terrifying depths, and above all the poetry of their great originals. Included: • Twelfth Night • King Lear • The Tempest • The Merchant of Venice • The Taming of the Shrew • King Richard the Second • King Henry IV, Part One • Hamlet • Romeo and Juliet • Othello • A Midsummer Night’s Dream • Macbeth • Much Ado About Nothing • Julius Caesar • Antony and Cleopatra • Measure for Measure • As You Like It • Cymbeline • King Richard the Third • The Comedy of Errors • The Winter’s Tale Throughout, Garfield skillfully weaves in Shakespeare’s own words, accustoming young readers to language and lines that might at first seem forbiddingly unfamiliar. Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories is an essential distillation—a truly Shakespearean tribute to Shakespeare’s genius and a delight for children and parents alike.

Two boys, Lewis and Richard, travel to paris in 1789 for very different reasons, and find their ideals challenged in the events of the French Revolution and the September massacre.

Mr Corbett is a cruel employer and his young apprentice Benjamin can''t help but wish he were dead. So when a strange old man offers to make this wish come true, Benjamin finds it impossible to refuse. Sure enough, Mr Corbett meets an untimely death, but the tables turn on the terrified apprentice who finds himself cursed with the ghost of the man he hated most in the world . . . A brilliant collection of three short stories from a master story-teller, who will keep you turning the pages until the very end.

Together, Leon Garfield and Michael Foreman have produced a literary and illustrative tour de force that pays homage to the world''s most celebrated playwright.

Secrets whispered up a chimney, a golden locket with a broken chain, murder in the streets of London – and suddenly young Barnacle is plunged into a terrifying mystery. The December Rose is a thrilling tale of deceit, espionage and murder set in the teeming, colourful Victorian London.

In 1847, an orphaned baby is rescued as the sole survivor of a massacre in a Polish village. Many years later a mysterious and disturbed Russian lady turns up unexpectedly at one of Mr Dolly’s regular Friday night dinner parties. So begins a search for identity and lost inheritance in the seedy and crowded streets of nineteenth century London.

Set in the streets of London, the story follows the hopes and aspirations of young Tim and his pet monkey, Pistol, as they use their wits to get money out of rich folk. Their apparent success is brought to a halt one disasterous foggy evening , and Tim and Pistol are led off to Newgate Gaol . . .

''As far as the eye can see, scarlet men are marching . . . A rich and splendid company, but none more so than the drummer boy.'' But a moment later, the sound of Charlie Samson''s drum was swallowed in a wild thunder. The glorious scarlet troops had been ambushed. Men were dead and dying all around, and all the beauty was gone. All that was left was himself and his drum, and a few shady nightwalkers - cowards who came crawling from the ditches and knaves who scoured the dead for wealth . . .

The Confidence Man follows 14-year-old Hans Ruppert and a band of Protestants as they leave their home town and seek peace and freedom from Persecution in the New World. They are led by a mysterious hussar, who has offered to lead then to safety. To Hans he is a fascinating figure, but to the others he is a swindler, likely to abandon them at any moment.

''When you take out the heart of gold, you must put something back in its place. Otherwise our princess would die.'' Giorgio, a poor student, sets out on a journey to win the heart of Princess Charlotte of Oberweselberg. On the way an old woman promises he shall have the princess - but for a price. Giorgio must bring her the princess''s golden heart. Can he do the wicked deed which will possess for him the fortune he desires?

Two young Englishmen become involved in the French Revolution, culminating in the September Massacre.

Harris and Bostock are best friends, but they are as different from one another as night and day. Harris thinks up harebrained schemes and Bostock gets in trouble for them. When Harris puts his baby sister Adelaide in the woods to see if she will be adopted by a fox, little do they realize that they are starting a chain of events that will be remembered in their little seaside town as the Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris.

Edwin Drood is contracted to marry Orphan Rosa, but they break the engagement off-and soon afterwards Edwin disappears. Is it murder? And is his jealous uncle-a sinister choirmaster with a double life and designs on Rosa-the killer? Dickens died before completing the story, leaving the mystery unsolved and encouraging successive generations of readers to turn detective. In addition to its tantalizing crime, the novel also offers a characteristically Dickensian mix of the fantastical world of the imagination and a vibrantly journalistic depiction of gritty reality. This edition features a new critical introduction that assesses the evidence to show whether the mystery can truly be solved, as well as a chronology, illustrations, appendixes (including one on opium use in the nineteenth century). Edited with an introduction and notes by David Paroissien.

Jackson is cold and starving in the dreadful winter weather. He''s looking forward to the steaming pie that is payment for a long night''s work. When the huge black dog comes - growling and glaring - Jackson gives it half his meal. One bargain soon leads to another - and to some unexpected rewards . . . With an engaging (and very creepy) story, illustrated in colour and black and white on every double page spread, this story is ideal for newly confident readers.

A Carnegie Medal Honor Book Twelve-year-old Smith is a denizen of the mean streets of eighteenth-century London, living hand to mouth by virtue of wit and pluck. One day he trails an old gentleman with a bulging pocket, deftly picks it, and as footsteps ring out from the alley by which he had planned to make his escape, finds himself in a tough spot. Taking refuge in a doorway, he sees two men emerge to murder the man who was his mark. They rifle the dead man’s pockets and finding them empty, depart in a rage. Smith, terrified, flees the scene of the crime. What has he stolen that is worth the life of a man? Smith is a gripping, engrossing, and utterly diverting tale of high adventure related by a writer whose scintillating style is matched only by the dazzle of his plotting. In the words of Lloyd Alexander, “Garfield is unmatched for sheer exciting storytelling. The reader simply can’t stop reading him.”

One stormy December night some time in the eighteenth century, a coach came thundering down the long hill outside of Dorking on its usual journey into London. But something unusual was to happen that night as one of the passengers unexpectedly gave birth to a child. Not until he was eight did Sam Chichester discover that the coachman and guard he called ''Ma and ''Pa'' were not his real parents. Sam will need to grow up, leave home, and find love before he will finally uncover the truth about his parentage.

Life in eighteenth-century London was hard and especially so for the city''s apprentices. For seven long years they struggled for their livelihoods among the fetid houses and sinister quays of old London. But despite their hardships there was hope and even fun. This compelling story-cycle follows them round the year, through the dark, cold winter nights to midsummer in the city, The lamplighter, the pawnbroker, the midwife or the clockmaker, their stories interweave delightfully to paint a colourful picture of life in London 200 years ago.

The apprentice wished for nothing more than the death of his hated master but he finds the burden of the man''s ghost too great to bear.

''Him what''s born on the chime . . . he''s the one what''ll have communications with the devil.'' At the age of fourteen, ''chime-child'' Peter Gannet is apprenticed to a locksmith in Covent Garden. But his desperate longing to escape from the insufferable adults around him and go to sea leads him into some dubious undertakings. Before long, the old ship''s carpenter''s dire prophecy comes true, for in the locksmith''s workroom he meets a phantom with an empty sleeve. Tense and atmospheric, this is a gripping thriller about ghosts, a wall of hands, envy, dishonesty and finally murder!

An action-packed pirate story, with bloodcurdling deaths, terrifying ghosts and adventures galore on the high seas. Orphan Jack Holborn stows away on a ship, little guessing the dangers and excitements that lie on his journey ahead. Before long he finds himself caught up in the middle of a mystery surrounding his long-lost mother, but before he can discover the truth, he has to survive the quest through an eerie African jungle for a famous diamond, worth more than Jack''s wildest dreams.

Young William Jones is on a desperate search through darkest London for John Diamond, the son of a man his father apparently once cheated badly. Will he find him? Originally published in the United States as Footsteps, John Diamond "combines a cast of remarkable eccentrics with superb sensory descriptions" (The Horn Book). The title was a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

In "Romeo and Juliet," as a fued between two families escalates, two star-crossed lovers are forced to take fate into their own hands.

Canadians have enjoyed a long history of encounters with Shakespeare, from the visual arts to creative new adaptations, from traditional and nontraditional interpretations to distinguished critical scholarship. We have in over two centuries remade Shakespeare in ways that are distinctly Canadian. The Oxford Shakespeare Made in Canada series offers a unique vantage on these histories of production and encounter with attention to accessibility and presentation. These editions explore how a given country can inform the interpretation and pedagogy associated with individual plays. Canadians, or more properly British North Americans from both Upper and Lower Canada, have been interacting with Shakespeare since no less than the 1760s in a tradition that is at once rich and robust, indigenous and international. The Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare project at the University of Guelph has created a multimedia database of hundreds of adaptations, developed from Guelph''s world-class theatre archives and a host of independent sources that reflect on a long tradition -- from pre-Confederation times and heading vibrantly into the future -- of playing Shakespeare in Canada. These are the first editions of the plays of William Shakespeare to place key insights from the world''s best scholarship alongside the specific contexts associated with a dynamic Canadian tradition of productions and adaptations. Specially research images, never printed before, from a range of Canadian productions of Shakespeare will be featured in every play In additional to a scholarly edition of the playtext complete with original new annotation, these books will include both short introductions by noted scholars and prefaces by well-known Canadians who have experience with Shakespeare. In addition, each play will include act and scene summaries, dramatis personal, and recommended reading/resources.

Based on the TV series of animated Shakespeare plays, this version of his comedy of sexual conflict is illustrated in colour by the Russian artists responsible for the animation, and is produced in conjunction with Professor Stanley Wells and Dr Rex Gibson.

An illustrated, abridged version of the Shakespeare play with background information and explanatory stage directions.

The Greek myths are retold in one continuous narrative.