The Magpie's Nest: A Summer School

The Larssons are a model, modern family: successful parents, gifted children, a stylish, comfortable home. Everything in their lives seems perfect until Grandfather Larsson comes to stay. Then uneasy cracks appear. The old man brings draughts of a subversive other-world from his forest home in Sweden and within days of his arrival, the household's careful, summer plans are in disarray. While her parents fume at the disruption, ten-year-old Trudi is intrigued by Per. Why is he so secretive about his past? And where does he go when he should be asleep in his bed? And how does he contrive to know things no one has ever told him? Is he really the man he says he is? In defiance of everyone, she sets her heart on uncovering the truth. Gradually, her safe, suburban world reveals darker, hidden depths. In the local woods, she and her brother stumble on a tangle of treachery and corruption which will lead them into mortal danger. But in Trudi's mind there can be no turning back. She has already been bewitched - for Grandfather Larsson is no ordinary grandfather and his secrets are the secrets of enchantment... Did you think magic was child's-play? Think again. A journey to the interior of things is an adventure for all who have a curious mind and the discoveries in this book speak to readers of all ages. 'The Magpie's Nest' is the first of the Trudi Larsson stories. A second novel, 'The Beehive Cluster' is also available.