Since being wiped out in the 14th century by the Black Death, the village of Astercote has been overgrown by forest, but its past still haunts the local Cotswold folk. Soon, villagers fall ill, crosses are marked on the doors and the modern village is taken over by a medieval consciousness.
Astercote village is dead, its ruins lie hidden in the murky wood. Mair and her brother, Peter, come upon the deserted village by accident and there meet a youth who tells how the village was destroyed by the Black Death. They also learn of a long-guarded secret, and they are caught up in a superstitious fear as strange events unfold.
Penelope Lively is an author with a shelf full of awards. For her book, A Stitch in Time, she scooped the Whitbread award; The Ghost of Thomas Kempe earned her the Carnegie Medal in 1973 and she has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize several times for her adult novels. Penelope has written a number of Yellow Banana books for Egmont including Dragon Trouble and Debbie and the Little Devil.
Penelope regularly reviews books and writes articles for the national papers. She has also written radio and TV scripts; and acted as presenter for a Radio 4 programme on children's literature.
Penelope Lively was born in Cairo, Egypt and spent her childhood there. She came to England at the age of twelve, in 1945, and after boarding school she studied Modern History at Oxford University.
In 1957 Penelope married Jack Lively (who died in 1998) and they had two children, Josephine and Adam. Penelope now lives in London close to her four grandchildren. With her great sense of humour, Penelope describes herself as a working nanny!
