A study of Diana Wynne Jones' work. This book examines her critiques of the fantastic tradition's ideas about childhood and adolescence. It is useful to those studying fantasy and children's literature.

British author Diana Wynne Jones has been writing speculative fiction for children for more than thirty years. A clear influence on more recent writers such as J. K. Rowling, her humorous and exciting stories of wizard's academies, dragons, and griffins-many published for children but read by all ages-are also complexly structured and thought provoking critiques of the fantasy tradition. This is the first serious study of Jones's work, written by a renowned science fiction critic and historian. In addition to providing an overview of Jones's work, Farah Mendlesohn also examines Jones's important critiques of the fantastic tradition's ideas about childhood and adolescence. This book will be of interest to Jones's many admirers and to those who study fantasy and children's literature.

"A very perceptive study." -- London Evening Standard "Mendlesohn's thought-provoking and critically informed work...is a valuable source not only for those interested in fantasy or in Jones's output, but also for educators concerned with fostering children's intllectual capacities." Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak, Marvels & Tales "This much needed book will be an invaluable companion to those who are already enthusiastic about the work of Diana Wynne Jones, as well as being a more than useful guide to those as yet relatively unfamiliar with her novels. Mendelsohn's emphasis is on Jones as a writer of critical fantasy, and the distinctions she draws between different varieties of fantasy (such as portal-quest and immersive) are particularly helpful in the light they throw on her claim that Jones's novels are in effect teaching young readers how to read the fantastic intelligently and critically." -- Pat Pinsent, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research in Children's Literature, University of Roehampton"Farah Mendlesohn has provided an excellent and long overdue study on the fantasy literature of Diana Wynne Jones; her carefully considered insights will shape critical discussions of Jones and her fiction for years to come." -- C.W. Sullivan III, Welsh Celtic Myth and Modern Fantasy "extremely convincing....Mendlesohn has done a great service"--Maureen Kincaid Speller, University of Kent at Canterbury