The official site for WILLIAM HORWOOD, AUTHOR OF DUNCTON WOOD AND THE BOY WITH NO SHOES

Full List of William's Books

The shelf life of books (ie how long they are kept in book stores) is much shorter than it used to be, so a lot of William’s books are out of print. The good news is that with the publication of Hyddenworld a lot of them will come back into print. News of these on the site as it comes. Meanwhile it’s easier to get second hand copies than ever before because of two fabulous sites for used books on the web: www.amazon.com and www.abebooks.com plus you’ll usually find some of William’s titles at auction on www.ebay.co.uk. News of the publication of Hyddenworld has greatly increased interest in all William’s titles, some of which are becoming collectors' items and increasingly expensive. So get buying now!

Meanwhile here’s a full list of all his titles, in reverse order of publication so that the most recently published come first…

Breaking a silence of fifteen years William Horwood returns to his hallmark fantasy. The beginning of an epic new series Hyddenworld:Spring is a quest-story on a vast canvas, with a cast of unforgettable characters whose loves, fears and courage lead us on a journey of deep feeling and epic ideas to the very edges of the universe. Set in the world we know and the one we have forgotten, the journey begins here…

‘…a wonderful book’ Fantasy Book Review

Macmillan hardcover February 2010 ISBN 9780230712607
Macmillan trade paperback February 2010 ISBN 978023073693

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An unforgettable story of an extraordinary journey from a past too painful to imagine to a future every child deserves… Based on William Horwood’s own heartbreaking boyhood in south-east England after the Second World War, this is a triumphant story of a boy’s struggle with early trauma and his remarkable journey into adulthood. Using all the skills that went into the creation of his modern classics Duncton Wood, Skallagrigg and The Willows in Winter Horwood has painted an unforgettable picture of childhood suffering, personal survival and the power of faith and courage to turn darkness into light.

‘A beautifully written and deeply moving memoir’ Sunday Times

Headline Review August 2004 ISBN 0755313178
Headline paperback August 2005 ISBN 0755313186

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The twelve days of Christmas are fast approaching and Mole is planning to enjoy every one of them with his River Bank friends. So when the normally cheerful Toad despairs at the imminent arrival for the holiday of a truly awful house guest he vows to try and do something about it. But when Toad’s involved everything that can go wrong, does – and more…

‘Faithful to Kenneth Grahame’s classic’ Daily Mail

HarperCollinsPublishers 1999 ISBN 0002256045
HarperCollinsPublishers 2000 ISBN 0006510264

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Under the austere yet inspiring leadership of Klimt, the Wolves of Time have taken back the Heartland. They have defeated the treacherous Magyar wolves, successfully avoided a confrontation with the Mennen and their first cubs have been raised. But now they begin to lose their spiritual direction and purpose and Klimt must delve deeper yet into his qualities of courage, resource and leadership…

‘’An epic saga of of gods, legends, destiny…’ Today

HarperCollinsPublishers 1997 ISBN 0002236788
HarperCollinsPublishers 1998 ISBN 000649935X

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It began long ago with Kenneth Grahame’s classic The Wind in the Willows, the day Mole abandoned his spring cleaning and went for a walk along the River Bank and met Ratty, and then Badger and finally the exasperating Toad. In this critically acclaimed sequel we find the loyal companions in the autumn of their lives reflecting on past triumphs and disasters and looking forward to a quiet future. Until the River Bank comes under direct threat and they are brought right back to the present and a situation they are going to have to do something about now. Trouble is, Mister Toad is being less than cooperative…

‘’Sheer escapism and full of character’ Daily Mail

HarperCollinsPublishers 1996 ISBN 0002253100
HarperCollinsPublishers 1997 ISBN 0006496393

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The comfortable bachelor world of the River Bank is thrown into turmoil by a formidable female character who seems set to win Toad’s heart. Recognising the familiar danger signals his long-suffering friends Mole, Ratty and Badger must do all they can to save the infatuated Toad from himself.

‘It captures the atmosphere of the original work’ Publishers Weekly

HarperCollinsPublishers 1995 ISBN 0002253097
HarperCollinsPublishers 1996 ISBN 0006496380

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The time has come for the wolves of Europe to take back their ancient Heartland. For centuries it has been corrupted and poisoned by the Mennen and by the evil Magyar wolfpack. Only by reclaiming it can the true gods be reborn and the natural order restored. Now all over Europe wolves are beginning the quest in answer to a mystical summons. Together they become the Wolves of Time. Together they will herald a New Age….,

‘’An epic saga of of gods, legends, destiny…’ Today

HarperCollinsPublishers 1994 ISBN 00223677X
HarperCollinsPublishers 1995 ISBN 0006496946

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Harsh winter has struck the River Bank but while all sensible creatures are fast deep in their burrows, dreaming of warmer weather, Mole foolishly sets out into the Wild Wood to seek Badger’s help and disappears in the storm. Toad’s offer of help turns disastrously wrong and what should have been a rescue mission for Mole turns into one for the vainest, most conceited Toad along the River Bank.

‘Lovers of Wind in the Willows will feel at home and laugh at lot with sheer pleasure’ The Times

HarperCollinsPublishers 1993 ISBN 0002243539
HarperCollinsPublishers 1994 ISBN 0006478735

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We now reach the finale of the The Book of Silence trilogy, bringing it to a triumphant and rousing completion. But before scribemole Privet and the Stone followers she inspires can discover the truth of the last and lost Book of Silence, they must dare to give up everything they have, and more… yet even then it may be that Privet will need your help as well if she is finally to reach Duncton’s fabled Stone…

‘A magnificent achievement’ Independent

HarperCollinsPublishers 1992 ISBN 0002241749
HarperCollinsPublishers 1993 ISBN 0006476015

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This is the second book in The Book of Silence, the second of the Duncton Trilogies… As Privet, scholar and scribemole and her adopted son Whillan escape from Duncton Wood in search of the Book of Silence, the Newborn Inquisitors seek to take the system over. Only old Stour, Master Librarian, and the timid aide Pumpkin, can defend Duncton and the precious Books of Moledom against the Newborn moles. But time is running out as Privet journeys in search of the lost and last book. To find it she and her friends must go to Caer Caradoc, centre of the Newborns’ power and face Thripp himself. There, too, she must reveal the secrets of her past and give up all hope of reconciliation with the only mole she had ever truly loved: Rooster, Master of the Delve. But it may be too little, too late for Duncton Wood itself as its brave moles struggle against the Newborns’ oppression, with only their faith, the Stone and their hope in Privet to sustain them.

‘More readable and rewarding than The Lord of the Rings’ The Times

HarperCollinsPublishers 1992 ISBN 0002239418
Fontana 1993 ISBN 0006473024

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The start of an epic story that picks up the story of Duncton Chronicles one hundred years later when Privet, a lonely female scribe from the North, makes a pilgrimage to fabled Duncton Wood. Only old Stour, Master of the great library, realizes the importance of her quest. For Privet seeks an answer to moledom’s final mystery: where and what is the Book of Silence, whose scribe nomole knows, whose content none can guess, whose existence many still doubt?

‘More readable and rewarding than The Lord of the Rings’ The Times

HarperCollinsPublishers 1991 ISBN 0002236761
HarperCollinsPublishers 1992 ISBN 0006472184

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The Duncton Chronicles now reach an inspiring and triumphant conclusion… Under the ruthless leadership of Henbane of Whern, the grikes have taken over moledom. Now her son by Tryfan, Lucerne, will consolidate their ascendancy and root and and kill the last followers of the Stone. But a mole called Beechen is born and his coming has been prophesied. His role is so important that only the aging Tryfan can be entrusted with the task showing him how he must lead moles back to path of liberty and justice, which is to the Silence of the Stone…

‘A great big mole-epic with a great big theme…’ Daily Mail

HarperCollinsPublishers 1989 ISBN 0712629793
HarperCollinsPublishers 1990 ISBN 0099683008

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As the glorious events of Duncton Wood ended, Tryfan, son of Bracken and Rebecca, was entrusted with a special task – to accompany the old scribemole Boswell back to the Holy Burrows of Uffington and take the seventh Stillstone to its rightful resting place. But a dark evil is spreading across moledom, whispering falseness to the weak and giving corrupt power to the cunning and faithless and their task will be easy…

‘A passionate, lyrical, appealing tale…’ Cosmopolitan

HarperCollinsPublishers 1988 ISBN 0712616950
HarperCollinsPublishers 1989 ISBN 0099606208

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Skallagrigg unites Arthur, a little boy abandoned many years ago in a grim hospital in northern England, with Esther, a radiantly intelligent young girl who is suffering from cerebral palsy; and with Daniel, an American computer games genius. Skallagrigg - whatever the name signifies, or whoever he is – will come to transform their lives. And William Horwood’s inspired, heart-rending story of rescue and redemptive love will undoubtedly touch his readers' lives, based as it is on a real-life story.

‘Some of the passages would wring tears from a stone but they are tears of recognition, not pity’ The Observer

Viking 1987 ISBN 0670801321
Penguin 1988 ISBN 0140231773

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One evening a frightened and bedraggled golden eagle is brought to London Zoo and confined forever to a bleak cage far from his native Scotland. Soon it becomes tempting for Creggan to forget his past and bury his memories of the mountains and sea and, above all, the glorious skies of his homeland. But there is an old eagle who has spent a lifetime in the Cages who won’t let him forget or ever stop him believing that one day he might find a way of breaking free and returning home…

‘A fascinating book of rare insight and understanding’ Virginia McKenna

Allen Lane 1984 ISBN 0713916842
Penguin 1985 ISBN 0140072071

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When an extraordinary series of sculptures and paintings by the renowned 20th century artist James MacAskill Stonor are brought together for the first time at an exhibition in New York the event compels the reticent artist to reveal for the first time the true story of how they came to be created….A profound study of the creativity and myth-making that sometimes emerges from real lives…

‘A huge book and a grand conception’ The Guardian

Country Life Books 1991 ISBN 0600368289
Hamlyn 1992 ISBN 06002060441

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The story of a quest into the nature of love and greed, oppression and freedom, courage and corruption – and finally into the nature of grace and the power of the spirit… Despite their differences the moles of Duncton Wood are members of the same once-proud system but all are now tyrannised by Mandrake. Only in the shadow of the Stone, the inspiring half-forgotten symbol of a better past, can the strength to resist be found and led by Bracken. When he has the misfortune to fall in love with Rebecca, Mandrake’s daughter, life and death choices must be made and an extraordinary quest begins…

‘An epic in the tradition of Lord of the Rings’ Sunday Times

Country Life 1980 ISBN 0600367940
Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0600204340

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