William Horwood

Bracken was born on an April night in a warm dark burrow deep in the historic system of Duncton Wood, six moleyears after Rebecca. This is the story of their love, and their epic struggle to find it. The moles of Duncton Wood are a varied lot. There are the aggressive Westsiders, the secretive and sickly Marchenders and the independent Eastsiders. Despite their differences, all are members of the same once proud and famous mole system, and all are now the tyrannised by Mandrake a mole so powerful and senselessly destructive that his name seems a curse on those who utter it. But the source of the evil that spreads through Duncton lies not only in Mandrake but in the growing disinterest in the rites and traditions that surround the now deserted standing Stone that was once the heart of the system itself. It is in the shadow of this towering stone that the lonely Bracken by chance meets Rebecca, daughter of Mandrake. They exchange a few words and scurry off in the different directions, never to forget a moment which will change the course of their lives for ever. Only Hulver the Elder, guardian of the old ways, understands that the future happiness of the system depends on their love, and the courage with which they can pursue its suffering and joy. Accompanied by Boswell, the strange scribemole from Uffington, Bracken sets out to revive the ancient rituals and disperse the evil from Duncton. Together they seek the sacred seventh stillstone.

For now, in an act of homage and celebration, William Horwood has brought to life once more the four most-loved characters in English literature: the loyal Mole, the resourceful Water Rat, the stern but wise Badger, and, of course, the exasperating, irresistible Toad. The result is an enchanting, unforgettable new novel, enlivened by delightful illustrations, in which William Horwood has recaptured all the joy, magic, and good humor of Grahame's great work - and Toad is still as exasperatingly lovable as he ever was.

The adventure of a lifetime is just beginning… It has lain lost and forgotten for fifteen hundred years in the ancient heartland of England – a scrap of glass and metal melded by fierce fire. It is the lost core of a flawless Sphere made by the greatest of the Anglo-Saxon CraeftLords in memory of the one he loved. Her name was Spring and contained in the very heart of this work is a spark from the Fires of Creation. But while humans have lost their belief in such things, the Hydden – little people existing on the borders of our world – have not. Breaking the silence of centuries they send one of their own, a young boy, Jack, to live among humans in the hope that he may one day find what has been lost for so long. His journey leads him to Katherine, a girl he rescues from a tragic accident – it’s a meeting that will change everything. It is only through their voyage into the dangerous Hyddenworld that they will realize their destiny, find love and complete the great quest that will save both their worlds from destruction. Their journey begins with Spring…

This is the second book in The Book of Silence, the second of the Duncton Trilogies… As Privet, scholar and scribemole and her adopted son Whillan escape from Duncton Wood in search of the Book of Silence, the Newborn Inquisitors seek to take the system over. Only old Stour, Master Librarian, and the timid aide Pumpkin, can defend Duncton and the precious Books of Moledom against the Newborn moles. But time is running out as Privet journeys in search of the lost and last book. To find it she and her friends must go to Caer Caradoc, centre of the Newborns’ power and face Thripp himself. There, too, she must reveal the secrets of her past and give up all hope of reconciliation with the only mole she had ever truly loved: Rooster, Master of the Delve. But it may be too little, too late for Duncton Wood itself as its brave moles struggle against the Newborns’ oppression, with only their faith, the Stone and their hope in Privet to sustain them.