I think I read the Whitby Witches I don't really remember it, but I still have this strong impression of being in a holiday camp in the forest and thinking about the cover - this demonic black hound. Particularly when it came to the character Dimmy. It also felt like the darkest and most tragic of all the Jarvis books I'd read to that point. I loved that it explored more of the world began in Deptford (London), with locations such as Crete, India and Singapore visited. I think it's partly because it followed a desire that I've had my entire life - for exotic locales (reality and fiction). I'm still impressed just thinking about it now.

And when it came to the Deptford Histories, which I came to after, I was ambivalent about The Alchymist's Cat (I didn't want a story with humans in, and while I appreciated it being a prequel, it felt a bit boring for most of it), I only read a few chapters of The Oaken Throne - loaned from a library I think - before DNFing it (though now I see it was a highly rated one so maybe I should buy it again if I find I still like the others) probably because it being about a 'squirrel maiden' was too 'girly' for my boy brain at the time - no doubt it would have got a lot darker later on, in classic Jarvis style.Īnd the third book of the Histories, Thomas, was my FAVOURITE of all the Jarvis books. I do remember very much enjoying the Deptford Mice trilogy. Or should I leave them and just keep the memories, in case they aren't as good as I remember? I don't know how I'd rate them now as an adult, but maybe I should try a re-read. I would definitely argue they are considerably darker than Redwall. Even thinking of them now it's surprising considering them as children's books. This was before YA took off, and I suppose you could say they were middle-grade, but darker than most middle grade books of the time, or perhaps even now. Obviously most people here know about Redwall, but I rarely see the Deptford Mice books mentioned here (in fact, doing a search for them, I get 'no community results').

until you rediscover them, maybe just see the names online and are reminded, or, like me, visit your parents and find the faded books on a shelf in your old room or in the attic.

We all have them - books that you loved as a kid, that held a clear place in your imagination, but that you forget about through long stretches of adulthood.

The deptford mice trilogy