Philippa Pearce – författare

Familiar

Here are stories of everyday life, as familiar as a piece of rope and

... as haunting as fear: Mike knows that he can''t swing over the river on the knotted rope, but with everyone watching him, he has to try. ... as haunting as a stranger: Who is the frightened-looking girl stealing plums from Nicky''s grandparents'' precious tree?

... as haunting as cruelty: How can Joe escape from his mean cousin Dicky during a family reunion?Haunting

And here are stories with a supernatural twist, as haunting as the eerie whistling from the hill above Burnt House in the middle of the night and

... as familiar as guilt: A boy forgets the mysterious bottle his cousin loaned him, but when he sneaks out at night to retrieve it, the shadowy whistlers close in on him.

... as familiar as loneliness: A ghost who''s unbearably lonesome makes his neighbors suffer until a girl with a sense of the absurd shows him how things could be different.

... as familiar as love: The ghost of a boy comes back to save his father from dying in a ferocious storm.

Peopled with vivid, unforgettable characters, this collection of thirty-seven stories is by turns mysterious, humorous, strange, and sad, but it is always familiar, always haunting, and always surprising.

Peter England, Una Stubbs and Crawford Logan star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Philippa Pearce’s enchanting time-slip tale. When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away to stay with his Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan, and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it’s going to be! But tedium turns to adventure when, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike thirteen. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds a beautiful garden, and glimpses a girl in old-fashioned clothing. As he revisits the garden over the next few nights, he watches the seasons change from spring to autumn, and children come and go. But no-one seems to see him – until he meets Hatty, and the two become firm friends. With his new playmate, Tom embarks on the adventure of a lifetime... This magical drama stars Peter England as Tom, with Una Stubbs as Aunt Gwen and Crawford Logan as Uncle Alan. The wonder and excitement of much-loved children’s classics lives on in BBC Radio’s acclaimed full-cast dramatisations, complete with evocative music and sound effects.