Wolves Chronicles 02 – Black Hearts in Battersea

Joan Aiken's Black Hearts in Battersea is a rollicking old-fashioned adventure for 9 year olds about a boy who comes to London to paint and walks straight into a mystery.

What happens

Simon has come all the way from Yorkshire with a donkey called Caroline and a kitten tucked in his knapsack. His friend Dr Field has invited him to share his lodgings and study at an art academy in Chelsea.

But when Simon finds the house in Rose Alley, Dr Field isn't there. His rooms are bare. And the Twites' daughter swears there's never been any Dr Field. So where is he?

The Twites are a glorious bunch of oddballs. Mr Twite comes home at one in the morning singing at the top of his voice and decides Simon is a Pict. Mrs Twite looms over his bed with a warming pan full of hot coals.

Then there's Dido. She's the little Twite girl, sticky with jam, left to mind herself and quite possibly the rudest child you'll ever meet. She's also very sharp (and she'll wangle a donkey ride out of anyone).

It's set in an England that never was, where King James III sits on the throne and wolves still roam the countryside. There are songs for a rival prince, a duke with a castle in Battersea, and a tiny, whiskery art teacher who reminds Simon of a prawn.

Simon himself is lovely company. He's kind and a bit too trusting, and he's happiest with a stick of charcoal in his hand. You'll find yourself rooting for him from the first page.

The language comes from another time, with half-crowns, "gammon" and "hold your hush". A younger reader might need a hand here and there, or it's a treat to share aloud. (One grown-up offers his friend "a little drop" of something called Organ-Grinder's Oil first thing in the morning!)

This one follows on from an earlier adventure. Simon already knows the Green family of Willoughby Chase, and he's spent five years living in the woods near their home before he sets out.

What to read next

If they want to see where it all began, go back to The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, which opens on a snowy winter night with a little girl called Bonnie waiting for her cousin and the wolves howling outside.