Joan Aiken (born September 4, 1924, Rye, Sussex, England—died January 4, 2004, Petworth, West Sussex) was a prolific British author of fantasy, adventure, horror, and suspense tales for both juvenile and adult readers. Perhaps best-known as the inventor of a genre called the “unhistorical romance,” Aiken wrote tales that combine humour and action with traditional mythic and fairy tale elements. Many of these works are set in an invented historical era during the imagined reign of James III of England, who was known as the Old Pretender.
Aiken was the daughter of the poet Conrad Aiken. While still a student, she had two poems published in The Abinger Chronicle, a prestigious little magazine, and at age 18 her first short story was published. As an adult, she wrote radio scripts and worked as a librarian for the United Nations. In 1955 she became an editor for the literary magazine Argosy and later was a copywriter for an advertising agency.
Aiken’s first books, All You’ve Ever Wanted (1953) and More Than You Bargained For (1955), are short-story collections. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962) was her first novel to combine elements of history, horror, and adventure. Set in 19th-century England, the children’s book was the first in a series that included Black Hearts in Battersea (1964), The Whispering Mountain (1968), Dido and Pa (1986), and Midwinter Nightingale (2003). In 1974 Arabel’s Raven was published and launched a popular series that followed the adventures of Arabel and Mortimer, her pet raven. A prolific writer, Aiken penned more than 60 short-story collections and novels for children. Her many books of adult fiction, beginning with The Silence of Herondale (1964), are categorized as terror, suspense, and mystery stories. She also wrote a number of novels based on Jane Austen’s works, including Mansfield Revisited (1984), Jane Fairfax: Jane Austen’s Emma Through Another’s Eyes (1990), and Eliza’s Daughter (1994). Among Aiken’s nonfiction works are The Way to Write for Children (1982).