Thornhill

Story

1982. Mary shuts herself away from her tormentors at the Institute for Children she calls home. 2017. Ella has moved house and is drawn to the derelict ruin she can see from her bedroom window. The unsettling stories of two lonely young girls run parallel to each other as Ella sets out to uncover the dark secrets of Thornhill and the mysterious puppets she finds in its overgrown garden.

Why we chose it

A chilling ghost story with a dual narrative told partly in diary entries and partly in atmospheric, wordless sepia illustrations.

Where it came from

Pam Smy is based in Cambridge. She teaches illustration at the Cambridge School of Art and has been illustrating children’s books for over 15 years. Thornhill is the first book that she has written as well as illustrated. Growing up, Smy loved classic stories with strong female characters at their centre - Jane Eyre (1847), The Secret Garden (1911), Wuthering Heights (1847)- and you can see their influence in the suspenseful, Gothic atmosphere she creates in Thornhill.

Where it went next

Thornhill was shortlisted for the 2018 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and longlisted for the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal.

Associated stories

Pam Smy’s second graphic novel for older readers, The Hideaway, is due to be published in October 2020. This book tells the story of Billy, who runs away from home and takes refuge in a graveyard. Merrylegs (2019), the story of one pony’s journey to self-acceptance, is Smy’s first picture book for younger readers.