Shortlisted for the 2009 Branford Boase Best Debut Novel Award
Mysterious, sinister and haunting, the world of toys who can be made
‘real’ is perfectly captured in this stunning debut novel. Embracing
magic and malevolence, it tells the story of how Mathias, a young
circus boy, finds himself sucked into a world controlled by the
Toymaker. The question is, can he survive?
What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could put a heart in one? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that? From the moment Mathias becomes the owner of a mysterious piece of paper, he is in terrible danger. Entangled in devious plots and pursued by the sinister Doctor Leiter and his devilish toys, Mathias finds himself on a quest to uncover a deadly secret.
Jeremy de Quidt’s first book, The Toymaker (2008), was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. His second, The Feathered Man (2012), was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. When not writing dark stories best read late at night, Jeremy enjoys being a Ceremony Officer, presiding over the marriage ceremonies of many a happy couple. He lives in Somerset with his wife and their three children.
