To my agent, John Richard Parker, for his patience, tenacity, and good humour.
My heartfelt thanks to Bill and Jill, for their encouragement, support, and grace. To my Mom and Dad, who just can’t seem to give up on me.
My love and gratitude to Nana, whose stories of life during the Blitz (like all her stories) crackled with a little mischief.
Most of all, to my wonderful wife Jackie, who inspired it all.
About These Dark Wings
After her mother is killed in the Blitz and her father in the Western Desert, 12-year-old Anna Cooper is sent to live with an uncle she has never met – the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London.
Amid the Tower’s old secrets and hidden ghosts, the ravens begin to disappear and Anna must brave the war-torn city to find them.
With Nazi forces massing on the other side of the channel, the fate of Britain might be at stake, for an ancient legend foretells that ‘the Kingdom will fall’ if the ravens ever leave the Tower.
About John Owen Theobald
Born and raised in Eastern Canada, John Owen Theobald moved to the UK to study the poetry of Keats, and in 2009 received a PhD from the University of St. Andrews. He lives in London, England.
An Invitation from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on [email protected]
@HoZ_Books
HeadofZeusBooks
The story starts here.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © John Owen Theobald, 2016
The moral right of John Owen Theobald to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781784974299
ISBN (HB) 9781784974312
Map and feather © Sarah Carter
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.headofzeus.com
These Dark Wings Page 20
