Joan Aiken's Dido and Pa (1986)

In this episode, Mal will be looking at 'Dido and Pa' by Joan Aiken, the author of the long running children's series set in an alternative history where the Stuarts are still on the throne and the Hanoverians plot their removal. Most people may know Joan Aiken from her first novel 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' (1962) but she had a very successful writing career, and the 'Wolves Chronicles' is only one of the novel series she wrote.

With 'Dido and Pa' we'll be looking at how families in one form or another (real or cobbled together) might raise questions for an out of order reader. Plus, what are the challenges of reading an alternative history out of order? We'll also take a look at death in this novel, the Gothic nature of the deaths and the challenges it poses for someone like me wandering in so far into the series - 'Dido and Pa' is the 7th book.

Email: outoforderbookclub@outlook.com

Content Warning: A little swearing and For important reasons, I use the word 'slut' a lot.

Useful links and Helpful sources:

Welcome to the Wonderful World: This website is well worth a visit. This site is very well designed and full of fascinating information about Joan Aiken, her writing and her life.

Puffin Books - Joan Aiken (YouTube video): To be honest, I just love this. Hearing the voice of Joan Aiken talking about her inspiration, her creative choices and even showing us her home and how that inspired her.

The Writing World of Joan Aiken: This is a site that I didn't explore as much, but I wish I had. It contains a regularly updated blog with interviews with old interviews with Joan Aiken. It's a fabulous resource!

Joan Aiken's Armitage Family Stories: Place and Storytelling as a Way into the World: This 2012 paper from Hannah Kate Sackett focuses on a different series which Aiken wrote throughout her life.

Profile of Joan Aiken: This is a profile from 1989, so after the publication of 'Dido and Pa' and was really helpful in providing background information about Aiken and about the importance of Dido Twite in the Wolves Chronicles.

Joan Aiken: Literary Dramatist: Marilyn Apseloff wrote this 1984 analysis of Aiken's three plays for children. She doesn't mention the Wolves Chronicles but many of her conclusions seemed to match my feelings about Aiken's 'Dido and Pa'.

London and the Gothic in Leon Garfield's Smith and Joan Aiken's Black Hearts in Battersea: Alison Baker's paper comparing these books against the Gothic genre was really interesting, and reminded me how much I loved Leon Garfield.

BBC News - Why is the word 'slut' so powerful?: This comes from 2011, so is a little dated, however it contains useful definitions and historical usage which I quoted in the episode.

A Very Victorian Two-Penny Hangover: Several unpleasant places homeless people slept in the 19th Century.