by A. M. Howell
I’ve always been fascinated by talking birds and the idea of Orbit quickly became an essential part of the plot, a precious memory of Helena’s mother that must not be lost. The ending of the story was in my head from the very beginning – a moment of both loss and hope – and I must admit that while writing it I did shed a tear (or two) as I said farewell to my characters, waving them off into their futures, which I hope will be filled with every type of possibility they could have wished for.
The inspiration for this book came from many different places, and I very much hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it and uncovering the mysteries of The House of One Hundred Clocks.
The first people to see an early idea for this book were Clare Wallace and Lydia Silver at Darley Anderson. Thank you both for your enthusiasm and endless support – and hooray to Lydia for coming up with the wonderful title!
A big thanks to the brilliant team at Usborne, in particular Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker for loving this story and helping to make it the best it could possibly be. Thank you also to the Usborne marketing and publicity team – especially Kat, Mariesa and Fritha for all of your genius ideas on how to promote and publicize this book. The incredible cover art and illustrations made me cry (in a very good way) – thank you Kath Millichope and Saara Katariina Söderlund for your outstanding work.
I’m very grateful to Alex McWhirter at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds for allowing me to watch the winding of the clocks in the Gershom Parkington collection – and for entrusting me to wind a longcase clock myself! Thank you also to my friend Chris for lending me a pocket watch for inspiration which ticked away as I wrote the first draft.
To all the other writers, authors, book bloggers and promoters, teachers, journalists and booksellers I’ve met both online and in person – there is not enough space to mention you all here, but I still want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for all of your unwavering support and encouragement.
Thank you to my lovely family and friends, especially my husband Jeremy for picking up my terrible typos and grammar and my mum for telling (literally) everyone she meets about my books (one time even persuading a waiter in a café to walk down the road to Waterstones to see my book in the window).
My final thanks are to YOU, lovely reader. By reading this book you’ve helped make my dream of becoming an author come true and for that I will be forever grateful.
For links to websites where you can find out more about Edwardian life and some of the exciting changes under way at the turn of the century, from women’s fight for the right to be educated to new inventions including flying machines and early cars, and see some of the clocks mentioned in the story, go to usborne.com/Quicklinks and type in the title of this book.
At Usborne Quicklinks you can:
• Find out about the fight for women’s rights and education
• Watch a video about the Wright brothers’ flying machines
• Look at some of the amazing clocks from the book
• Take a video tour of Cambridge and its famous university
• See film footage of Edwardians enjoying days out
Please follow the internet safety guidelines at Usborne Quicklinks. Children should be supervised online.
The websites recommended at Usborne Quicklinks are regularly reviewed but Usborne Publishing is not responsible and does not accept liability for the availability or content of any website other than its own, or for any exposure to harmful, offensive or inaccurate material which may appear on the Web. Usborne Publishing will have no liability for any damage or loss caused by viruses that may be downloaded as a result of browsing the sites it recommends.
October, 1916
Clara has been sent to stay with her aunt and uncle while England is at war. But when she reaches their cottage on an enormous country estate, Clara is plunged into a tangle of secrets...
A dark, locked room, a scheming thief, and a mysterious boy who only appears at night. Clara has a secret of her own too – a terrible one about her brother, fighting in the war. And as the secrets turn to danger, Clara must find the courage to save herself, and those around her...
Secrets, mystery and bravery meet in this gripping historical adventure.
This series is a unique collaboration between three award-winning authors, Adèle Geras, Linda Newbery and Ann Turnbull, all writing about one very special house and the extraordinary girls and women who have lived there throughout history.
First published in the UK in 2020 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England, usborne.com.
Copyright © Ann-Marie Howell, 2020.
The right of Ann-Marie Howell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Cover, inside illustrations and map by Saara Katariina Söderlund © Usborne Publishing, 2020.
Photo of Ann-Marie Howell © Nick Ilott Photography, 2019.
The name Usborne and the devices are Trade Marks of Usborne. All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EPUB: 9781474984287 KINDLE: 9781474984294
05232/02
