The Haunting of Charity Delafield

Story

Charity lives in her father’s sprawling Victorian mansion with only the servants and her cat for company until a chance encounter at the gate leads her to investigate her own past.

Why we chose it

A mystery story with a traditional, fairy tale feel.

Where it came from

Ian Beck is an author and illustrator best known for his artwork. He has published over 60 picture books and has written novels for children of all ages.

Charity Delafield began with an the idea for a picture book about a girl in a red coat out in the snow with a black cat. The house was inspired by the rambling Victorian wing of a friend’s house.

Associated stories

During the seventies Beck designed and illustrated album covers including Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. He published his first picture book, Round and Round the Garden in 1982. Other picture books include The Teddy Robber, Lost in the Snow and Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs.

His novels for children include, for younger readers, the Tom Trueheart series, The Secret History of Tom Trueheart, Boy Adventurer, Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories and Tom Trueheart and the Land of Myths and Legends and, for teenagers, The Carmody Casebooks.

He has worked with a number of authors including The Little Mermaid with Berlie Doherty, Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp with Philip Pullman and Only Remembered, edited by Michael Morpurgo.