Eva Ibbotson has proven that romantic fiction can be funny, well written, and even a little erudite. Her novel Magic Flutes won the Romantic Novelists Association award and, along with A Company of Swans, was a Booklist Editors' Choice selection. The New York Times said of Madensky Square that "she has fine-tuned-and perhaps even enlarged-the [romantic] genre."In this delightful collection are some of the best of Ibbotson's short stories. They range from ...

Set against the backdrop of gathering war, A Song for Summer is an unforgettable love story from master storyteller Eva Ibbotson.When Ellen Carr abandons grey, dreary London to become housekeeper at an experimental school in Austria, she soon knows she's found her calling. Swept into an idyllic world of mountains, music, eccentric teachers and wayward children, Ellen brings order and joy to all around her. But it's the handsome, mysterious gardener, Marek, who intrigues her – Marek...

As a bloodcurlingly fearsome ghost, Humphrey the Horrible is a failure. He's not horrible at all. Instead of being ghastly and skeletal, he's pink and fluffy, like a summer cloud. He longs to be like his brother, who's a Screaming Skull. Or his father, who has stumps for legs and a sword through his chest. Or even his cousins who are like vampire bats. Poor Humphrey, though, can't scare anyone. But when the ghosts are in danger, it's clever Humphrey who comes up with a rescue plan...

A beautiful 10th Anniversay edition of this much-loved Ibbotson classic - with added bonus material! It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winni...

It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure.

Susanna Weber is the best dress maker in Imperial Vienna. Through skill and hard work, she now owns her own dress shop, looking out over the beautiful Madensky Square. To do so, she has left her past behind, if not without regret, at least resolutely. Looking around her, at her customers and friends, Susanna is aware that she has more than most - but a few small changes cause her to realize just how precarious her situation is.

Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England.Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new m...

Heckie is not just a witch–she's a witch who means to make the world a better place. Helped by Daniel and his friend Sumi, as well as an assortment of local wizards, Heckie does good all over the place. But then, one fateful day, she meets the smarmily charming Mr Knacksap, and all is very nearly lost.

When eighteen-year-old Ellen accepts the post of housekeeper at Hallendorf School of Music, Drama and Dance she wasn't expecting it to be quite so unusual. For deep in the beautiful Austrian countryside, she finds an eccentrically magical world occupied by wild children and even wilder teachers, experimental dancers and a tortoise on wheels. Ellen is particularly intrigued by the enigmatic, and very handsome, Marek, part-time gardener and fencing teacher.Life in Hallendorf seems id...

Arriman has decided to marry. His wife must be a witch of the darkest powers… To find the most fiendish, he holds a spell-casting competition. Glamorous Olympia performs the Symphony of Death and conjures up a thousand plague-bearing rats. The magic of gentle Belladonna, the white witch, goes hopelessly wrong. She produces perfumed flowers instead of snakes. Bats roost in her hair instead of becoming blood-sucking vampires. Belladonna longs to be an evil enchantress - but how?

Under Platform 13 at Kings Cross Station is hidden a quite remarkable secret.Every nine years a doorway opens to an amazing, fantastical island. Nine years ago, the island's baby prince was stolen on the streets of London. Now a rescue party, led by a wizard and an ogre, must find him and bring him back. But the kind prince has become a spoilt rich boy, who doesn't believe in magic and doesn't want to go home. Can they rescue him before time runs out - and the doorway disappears fo...

A gorgeous 20th anniversary hardback jacketed gift edition of Eva Ibbotson's award-winning, bestselling classic adventure. Fully illustrated in colour throughout by Katie Hickey.'The most perfect children's book . . . captivatingly told, funny and moving' – Nicolette Jones, Sunday TimesA joyous Amazon adventure set in the lush nature of Brazil, Journey to the River Sea is filled with mystery and extraordinary characters. It's perfect for girls and boys of ...