ISBN: 9780330441902    Publisher: Pan Macmillan Year of publishing: 2008     Format:  Paperback No of Pages: 327        Language: English

Verdigris n. a blue-green rust that tarnishes ageing and forgotten copper coins, altering them entirely ...One evening, Ryan and his friends steal some coins from a well. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar marks burn on Ryan's knuckles and light bulbs mysteriously explode. Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on the children must serve her -- and the wishes rotting at the bottom of her well. In the tradition of truly fantastic story-telling, VERDIGRIS DEEP is darkly witty, utterly creepy and clever.
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Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge old house that inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company. However, by this time a persistent friend had finally managed to bully Frances into sending a few chapters of FLY BY NIGHT, her first children's novel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win the Branford Boase First Novel Award. This is the paperback of Frances's second novel and she is already writing her third.
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