Larklight

Award-winning Reeve indulges his love of historical technology in a new novel for younger readers, which is as captivating as the Mortal Engines quartet was for an older audience.

Arthur Mumsby and his sister Myrtle live with their father in a huge and rambling house, Larklight, travelling through space on a remote extra-lunar orbit. When a Mr Webster comes to visit, their initial excitement swiftly disintegrates, as they face monstrously aggressive insects and encounter dire peril before discovering a surprising family history.

Arthur and Myrtle are engaging modern twists on the plucky young protagonists and irritating sisters of Victorian children's fiction, placed in a carefully constructed alternative Victorian era. Splendidly illustrated, both book design and detail cleverly recreate a genuinely Victorian atmosphere.