Hodder & Stoughton is delighted to announce the acquisition of Jasper Fforde’s first work for a younger generation of readers. Hilarious, offbeat and bewitching, The Last Dragonslayer is the first in the Dragonslayer trilogy, and the beginning of a truly exciting new work.
In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in the magic release form B1-7g. But somewhere, somehow, the magic started draining away.
Jennifer Strange runs Kazam!, an employment agency for state-registered magicians, soothsayers and sorceresses. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper and quicker than a spell. Why trust a cold and drafty magic carpet when jetliners offer a comfy seat and an in-flight movie? And now potions are eligible for VAT…
But then the visions start. The Last Dragon is going to be killed by a Dragonslayer at 12.00 on Sunday. The death will unleash untold devastation on the UnUnited Kingdom, setting principality against dukedom and property developer against homesteader. And all the signs are pointing to Jennifer Strange, and saying “Big Magic is coming.”
The Last Dragonslayer is fizzing with all the creativity and genius Jasper Fforde’s fans delight in, and will appeal as much to the young at heart as to the younger readers for whom it is written.
I’m a great fan of Jasper Fforde’s adult work and so was absolutely delighted to see this announcement. Now I realize we often aren’t too happy when adult writers decide to do kid books, but Fforde’s sensibility, I feel, is on the mark for this. Witty, silly, quirky, and in the tradition of Lewis Carroll when it comes to language play. I’m very, very hopeful. (I also noticed that there is a new Thursday Next book due out soon — starring the “written Thursday Next” as opposed to the real one. Hmmm.)
educating alice 