Dido faces fire, flood and execution as she unravels New Cumbria's dark secrets. But has she met her match in the shape of the country's tyrannical queen, whose secret of eternal youth seems suspiciously linked to the lack of children in the land.

 

There are 320 pages in this book. This book was published 1993 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Joan Aiken is one of the best loved authors of the twentieth century, and has written over a hundred books for young readers and adults, including "A Necklace of Raindrops," "The Winter Sleepwalker and Other Stories," and "The Youngest Miss Ward. "