Showing results by author "Vivian French" in All Categories

Trouble is brewing in the first book of the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series. The sorceress Lady Lamorna wants a skull-studded gown of deep black velvet but finds her treasure chest empty of gold. That doesn't stop her from kidnapping, blackmailing, and using more than a little magic to get what she needs. Will all her plans be foiled by the heroic Gracie Gillypot, two chatty bats, a gallant prince, the wickedest stepsister ever, a troll with a grudge, and some very Ancient Crones?

An exuberant, hilarious and wildly entertaining fairy tale with a cast of characters who are good, bad and very, very ugly. All is not well in the crumbling castle high above the mountain village of Fracture. The sorceress Lady Lamorna has her heart set on a new robe. A very expensive new robe. To get the cash she will stop at nothing, including kidnapping, blackmail and more than a little black magic.

When rumors spread that dragons have been spotted on the kingdom’s border and an unhatched dragon’s egg is at Niven’s Knowe, Prince Marcus jumps at the chance to bring his sweetheart, Gracie Gillypot, to the scene. But lurking across the border is the bloated, sluglike Granpappy Canker, who is scheming to infiltrate the Five Kingdoms. Fans of the series will be reunited with familiar royalty, generations of bats, and Gubble, the loyal troll, as they all gather to witness the standoff between True-heart and the forces of evil.

In the second Tale from the Five Kingdoms, the green-tongued witch, Truda Hangnail, sets her sights on Queen Bluebell’s throne, enlisting the kingdom’s rats and shrinking the good witches of Wadingburn to pave her way. Luckily, a sweet-natured orphan named Loobly is witness to Truda’s evil spells and sets off to fetch some familiar help. Will the combined strengths, smarts, and charms of Trueheart Gracie Gillypot, Prince Marcus, Marlon the bat, and Gubble the troll be enough to defeat the Deep Magic of Truda Hangnail?

Always looking for an adventure, Prince Marcus asks Gracie Gillypot to join him in some dwarf spotting, but their journey into the Unreliable Forest goes horribly wrong when Gracie disappears. Underground, the dwarves have struck a dangerous bargain with the King of the Trolls, and Dreghorn’s balance of power, held in a mysterious heart of glass, could change forever. Can the heroic Prince Marcus save both Princess Marigold and Gracie from the grips of a lonely troll and a scheming goblin?

Old Mother Goose may know the nursery rhymes, but it's Daddy Goose who knows the stories behind them. This is a funny, affectionate collection of stories, revealing who put Humpty together again, why the cow jumped over the moon, and more.

Bibi doesn't believe in fairies. But when she meets her fairy godmother, the tiniest of hopes flickers in her mind. Seven quests to seven lands that will open a magic box and grant her a wish.... could it, just possibly, be true? Whisked away with her trusy companion, Sylvestro the cat, Bibi quests with giants, dragons, princes and princesses, wizards, witches, water sprites and sea elves, unicorns, trolls and gnomes... Can Bibi earn the keys to open the box.... and unlock her belief in fairy magic?

Pippin Potts is a helpful boy, which is exactly what forgetful wizard Abacus Peridot is looking for in an assistant who can help him get to the Wizards' Centenary Banquet, so that he can be the hundredth wizard to arrive and win the golden cup. On their journey the pair soon bump into evil wizard Boldways Grime and mischievous elf Kitty Scarper who are secretly plotting against them. But Pippin is determined.

The adventures of a Victorian laundry maid sent to live in a boarding-home for wayward orphans...a high-octane, high-drama romp! The story starts with a young laundry maid by the name of Minnie O’Sullivan, who is whisked away to a nightmarish home for wayward girls. Her friends plot to help her, but first they’ll have to outwit Mrs Haddington, a wicked philanthropist, and Obadiah Marpike, a dastardly conman hiding in plain sight.

Prince Max is on a mission. The royal family are down to their very last penny, so the king and queen have sent him away to the valley of the giants - with only a grumpy old donkey for company. According to legend, the giants are rich beyond all imagining: they live in gold palaces, drink from gold goblets and brush their teeth with gold toothpaste. But are the legends true, and, even if they are, will the giants be willing to share their treasure? With the help of his donkey companion and Caromel, the talking cat, Max is about to find out.

After turning up late to each and every meeting, Tallulah Tickle has one last chance to keep her place in the witches’ circle. To prove herself she must prepare a mouthwatering midnight feast for the other witches in just three days - and there’s a catch. They’ve ordered Tallulah to make their favourite meals...but she has to guess what they are! Tallulah has always been a terrible cook, and, to make matters even worse, wicked witch Gertrude Higgins has it in for her.

It's not much fun being a princess: you have to be prim, proper and obedient. Princess Peony lives in a world full of magical creatures - hags, trolls, giants and fairy godmothers - but her father's strict rules leave her feeling bored and lonely. She wants to learn how to do things, and cooking's at the top of her list. But when Peony borrows a recipe book from the public library, the king has the old librarian who tried to help her arrested for speaking out of turn. Can Peony stand up to her father and make things right?

Alfie Onion has just set off on a great adventure - but only to carry his brother's luggage. It's his elder brother, Magnifico Onion, who's destined to win their family a Happily Ever After. But when it turns out Magnifico isn't half the hero he's cracked up to be, it falls to Alfie to save the day - with a little help from his loyal dog, a talking horse and a couple of meddling magpies.

Marcus, Prince of Gorebreath, has a plan – he wants to take Gracie Gillypot on an adventure for her birthday, preferably to see a dragon or two. But then he discovers that there may be a dragon's egg somewhere within the Five Kingdoms and, what's more, it could be due to hatch at any minute! A newly-hatched dragon would be highly dangerous in the wrong hands and the race begins to find the egg before the zombies, werewolves, deep witches and sorcerers get to hear about it.

It's nearly Cockenzie Rood Day and Prince Albion wants a grand celebration. But his plans are ruined when he is kidnapped by the terrifying zombie Fiddleduster Squint, who wants to get into the Five Kingdoms. When Squint is refused entry across the magical border he and his creepy shadow go in search of giants with the intention of tricking them into causing all sorts of mayhem. It's a race against time but Gracie Gillypot, Prince Marcus and Gubble the troll manage to get there first and avert disaster.

The Web of Power that keeps the Five Kingdoms safe from evil is under threat. Foyce is determined to destroy it so she can take a terrible revenge on her step-sister, Gracie Gillypot. Meanwhile the five Royal Families are in turmoil. Queen Bluebell is fed up with her tedious grandson, Vincent; Prince Tertius is suffering from the endless nagging of his new wife, Princess Fedora – and on top of everything else there's a big tournament coming up.

It is a fine day for dwarf watching - at least that is what Gracie Gillypott and Prince Marcus think when they set out, quite unaware that Princess Marigold of Dreghorn has set her sights on Marcus, and decided to "follow him to the ends of the earth" - fan, frilly petticoats, and all. All is not well. The dwarves are overworked and underpaid, having been expected to produce extra gold for wedding crowns for the wedding of Fedora and Prince Tertius.

The good witches of Wadingburn are worried - there's a new witch in town with a bag of magic bones, and she's so evil she makes their toes ache! Truda Hangnail is a very wicked witch, banned from the Five Kingdoms because of her use of deep magic. Then she comes up with a fiendish plan to restore evil to the Five Kingdoms, transforming the good witches of Waddingburn into shrivelled, wicked old witches who will help her take over King Frank's kingdom on his 50th birthday!

Princess Persephone Stephanie Tiffany Jane ('Pom' for short) hates being a princess. Her parents have no time for her - especially her dad, the King of Strüggen, who’s busy plotting against the neighbouring kingdom of Thrum. So when a friendly young orphan named Billy appears at the palace, Pom decides to run off with him. She’s after adventure, and knows exactly where she’ll find it: Bullion Island, a tiny patch of land that stands exactly between Strüggen and Thrum. Legend has it that there's pirate treasure hiding in Bullion's sea-caves, guarded by a fearsome dragon.

To avoid financial ruin, the Bottle family’s theatre troupe has left London behind, travelling to the north of England by train. With new audiences to play to and less competition, they hope to make enough money to pay off their debts back home. But will their plans be foiled by the odious Olio Sleevery? It’s time for young actors Rosie and Charlie to save the day and, with the help of their new friend Edie Boiler, ensure the thunderous success of the company's first performance.