Ed Newbery-King

The Collected Tales of Nathaniel Darcy Ed Newbery-King

Meet Mark Hopkins, he's 16 and feels like a fish out of water at school, and in his own family. Mark lives on an aging council estate in Gloucester and constantly dreams of escape. Luckily, he has a kindred spirit in the shape of his Uncle, Nathaniel Darcy, a writer who lives nearby, in Cheltenham. Mark stays over at Nathaniel's house most weekends where he gets to hear his uncle's tall tales. These serve to help to elevate him from what he refers to as his, mundane existence.

Soon, Mark discovers that Nathaniel has a particular gift, one that allows elements from his stories to appear in his house, and naturally, Mark is intrigued. He immediately sets about trying to discover Nathaniel's secret.

One day Mark meets a mysterious house guest, staying for a few days at his uncle's house - a psychic medium, named, Madame Clarice. Mark initially resents her stealing his time with Nathaniel but later, after the three of them visit to a haunted house, he starts to change his mind about her. That summer, his uncle invites Mark to accompany him on a holiday at Clarice's chateau in France. He is thrilled, until he finds out that his annoying twin sister, Minty will also be joining them. He suddenly thinks the whole trip is doomed to failure, but soon realizes, after Minty sees a floating blue orb in her bedroom, that they both share a psychic ability.

Pretty soon the twins are united in trying to reunite the spirit of a Jewish mother with both, her long-lost daughter and with the missing family fortune. This reawakens Nathaniel's mysterious past, working for the French Resistance, and bring the story to a close with a glittering bang!