Meet Eva Ibbotson

Anne here.  This interview with Eva Ibbotson is a little different from most of the guest interviews we do here on Word Wenches. Eva  is a Living Treasure and has just passed her 84th birthday. As you will see, however, Eva Ibbotson and her books, are ageless. The interview was conducted over the phone and transcribed by Eva's agent, Stephanie Thwaites. Thank you Stephanie and Eva for making this possible.

Eva Ibbotson has written some of my all-time favorite keeper books.  She and Georgette Heyer are my top two desert island authors and comfort reads. I watched with dismay as the copies of her adult books went out of print and became more and more hard to find, so it's been a huge delight for me to see them reissued.            

 These adult romances are superb — and not "teenage novels" at all (which is how the publishers are now marketing them— I presume because there are no sex scenes.) Her stories are wonderfully textured, heartwarming and, to quote another Word Wench, "they have a magical blend of wit, sweetness, and emotion."  I'm sure they'll delight a whole new generation of readers 

            

Eva, welcome to the Word Wenches. You've written children's stories and romances for adults. What made you decide to write romances?

 

Eva: I had so much pleasure from Georgette Heyer that I wanted to write books that would please others in the same way.  I think I was really writing the kind of book I wanted to read myself when I had the flu.

Anne:  You certainly succeeded. Many of your books are set in a space between contemporary (almost within living memory) and historical, mostly between the wars, and you said once that your favourite year was 1910, which was well before you were born. What is it about that time that appeals to you? 

 

Eva:  Many of my books originate in my mother’s memoirs and the stories she told me about her childhood in Vienna. She was born in 1902 and it is the years after that date until she left Austria in the early 30s that I became most familiar with and took as my own terrain.

 

Anne:  Your wonderful account of your personal connection with public libraries is still available to be read on-line, and it always draws a strong response when I've read it aloud at library talks. It begins: 

I was eight years old when I came to Britain as a refugee - and was not particularly grateful. Mostly this was because after years and years of being a sheep coming to the manger, or a grazing cow, I had at last landed the part of the Virgin Mary in the nativity play at my convent school in Vienna.

And then ... Hitler.

Tell us a little  about your life when you first came to live in England as a child. How did this life later come to feed your stories?

 

Eva: I came to England as an 8 year old girl; my parents had been separated for some years and I was a bit uncertain where I belonged. When we came to settle in London it was in the world of refugees and danger, and reading for me, as for so many children in those years, became a way of escape.  But the cosmopolitanism of my fellow refugees made a rich tapestry which I used again and again when I began to write. (In THE MORNING GIFT I have explored this further).

 

Anne:  There is a theory that people who are writers were often lonely children, or children who lived isolated lives or spent a lot of time on their own. Was that true for you

  

Eva: This was certainly true for me. I was an only child of parents very busy with their own separate careers and I remember very little family life as the words are understood. On the other hand the solitary journeys I made between my parents gave me lots of opportunities to get inside my own head.

 

Anne:  What stories in English did you first fall in love with? Did you always want to be a writer?

 

Eva: I loved all the well known children’s books in English, there seemed to be far more than in German and they were wonderful.  The Arthur Ransome books (SWALLOWS & AMAZONS) come to mind and everything by Frances Hodgson Burnett and L.M Montgomery. I loved school stories however silly!

Anne:  One of the things I enjoy discovering about other writers is how particular books came to demand to be written. I read in an interview here that it was seeing a house demolished that made  you think about ghosts being made homeless, and that led to the writing of your first children's book, "The Great Ghost Rescue."

Was there a particular spark of inspiration that germinated into Magic Flutes?

 

Eva: I visited Hochosterwitz on my last return visit to Austria well after the end of the war. It was completely over the top, and the basis of Pfafferstein. For the rest I have had a passion for Mozart’s music since I was six years old – my aunt was a teacher at the Vienna Conservatoire, and everybody brought up in Vienna gets dunked in Opera and the love story grew out of that. I thought the complete contrast with all that pomp would be Martha Hodge and Newcastle where I lived by then would be fun to do.

 

Anne: The reissued novels have different covers (and in some cases different titles) in the UK and US. I must say I prefer the US covers. Did you have any say in the covers and the retitling?

 

Eva: To be honest I don’t like any of the reissued covers whether English or American but I try not to make a fuss because marketing has become such and issue and evidently the covers work for teenagers. Change of title from MAGIC FLUTES to RELUCTANT HEIRESS was done without my knowledge and the Americans apologised very profusely – these things happen…. 

Anne:  The Magic Flutes (aka The Reluctant Heiress) won the prestigious Romantic Novel of the Year in 1983, when it was first published. For those who've never had the joy of reading Eva Ibbotson, here is a taste, as our hero , Guy Farne, comes face to face with two elderly members of the crumbling aristocracy of post-war middle Europe:

 

Augustine-Maria, Duchess of Breganzer, was in her eighties, her eagle’s beak of a nose and fierce grey eyes dominating the wrinkled, parchment face. The Duchess wore a black lace dress, to the hem of which there adhered a number of cobwebs and what appeared to be a piece of cheese. A cap of priceless and yellowing lace was set on her sparse hair and her rather dirty, arthritic hands rested on a magnificent ivory cane which had once belonged to Marie Antoinette.

                Her sister-in-law, Mathilde, Margravine of Attendorf and Untersweg, was a little younger and in spite of recent shortages, resolutely round-faced and plump. Unlike the Duchess, who had received them standing, the Margravine remained seated in order to embrace more efficiently the quivering, shivering form of a goggle-eyed and slightly malororous pug whose lower extremeties were wrapped in a gold-embroidered Medici cope.

 

Anne: Your "Mittel-European sensibility" and the world you portrayed in this book (and others) of the crumbling aristocracy,  the up-and-coming thrusting new money, the snobs, the opportunists and the heroes — it all has such an authentic feeling to it. How much (if any) of this is based on your own experience? (I would love it if you really knew a monkey gland prince.)

 

Eva: I have no direct personal experience of the crumbling aristocracy. My characters are drawn from reading and from my imagination. My father was a biologist and fashions like monkey gland injections were rife when he was young.

 

Anne:  As well as heroes to-die-for and and gutsy, heart-wrenching heroines, you've created some marvelous minor characters. Do you have readers writing to you begging for some of your minor characters to have their own stories? I confess, one I'd love to see is Ollie's story. And Sergei's. And I'd like a romance for Martha Hodge too.

 

Eva: The minor characters are incredibly important; indeed the word minor hardly fits. To be honest I don’t quite know where they come from but this is the case altogether with writing; it remains mysterious. I’ll think about a romance for Martha Hodge!

 

Anne:  You create wonderful antiheroes — I think my favorite is the fiancée of the hero in Countess Below Stairs, so smooth-skinned, beautiful and smugly ruthless. Yet you treat them with kindness in the end, often more than I think they deserve. 

 

Eva: Perhaps it’s because I thought of myself as plain and unattractive (in spite of a very happy marriage) that my anti-heroines are usually beautiful and voluptuous and smug. 

 

Anne : Guy Farne is a splendid hero. I loved the story of how he grew up, a small hero in need of dragons to slay and heroines to rescue. The relationship between him and his foster mother is beautiful. And when he sees our heroine.. .sigh. Kindness and honor and strength.

Your heroes are often trapped between honor and their hearts desire, and as they're the sort of men who would never compromise their honor, their future often seems doomed to polite misery. The resolutions to their dilemmas in both Countess Below Stairs  and Magic Flutes are particularly good fun, as those concerned are beautifully hoist with their own petard (she says trying not to give any of the story away.) Are you the sort of writer who plots stories out in advance or do they take you on a journey that unfolds as you write? Have you even painted yourself into a corner?

 

Eva: The kind of dichotomy between honour and passion is as old as the hills and I must say getting my heroes out of their dilemmas has sometimes not been easy. This is where the so called minor characters come in – like the Littlest Heidi in MAGIC FLUTES.  I only know the broad outline of a story when I begin; the way obstacles are produced and then cleared up comes as I go along. It can be an awful headache!

 

Anne:  Some of your children's stories, for instance "Journey to the River Sea" have been transformed into stage plays. I would love to see your adult novels turned into a BBC mini-series or three. Any chance of this?

 

Eva: I too would like to see my adult novels turned into plays or films – there’s an option out on THE MORNING GIFT so keep your fingers crossed.

 

Anne:  You said once in an interview that you thought of your books as a present for readers and, for me and countless others, they have indeed been the most wonderful gift. I hope they're in print for many more years. Thank you.

 

Eva: Thank you. I meant what I said about trying to think of my books as presents- which means that the reader wants to know what happens and not too much about my soul, or the sunset. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the books. All the best, Eva. 

Anne again: Eva Ibbotson is not able to join us for a discussion on Word Wenches, however I have promised to forward all the messages and comments to her, via her agent, so whether you're an old fan or new fan, this is your chance to send her a message. What's your favourite of her characters or books? Or if you haven't read her yet (lucky you, what a treat in store) -- what qualities do you love in a hero or heroine? (A commenter will be chosen at random to receive a copy of one of Eva's newly reissued books) 

 

Comments

[Jo Beverley]

Jo here. I just saw that Eva's on the
shortlist for the children's independent booksellers' book of the year:

The Crossing of Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

Tiddler by Julia Donaldson

Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

Then by Morris Gleitzman

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

By Royal Command by Charlie Higson

Kaspar by Michael Morpurgo

You can read more about it here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/18/independent-booksellers-book-prize-shortlist

Congratulations, Eva,

Jo

[Susan/DC]

Thank you so much for the interview with one of my favorite authors. I keep a reading journal with brief descriptions of books, but the notes for the Ibbotson books are full of quotes. Her use of language and her insight into her characters is astonishing. To give just one example, my notes for "Magic Flutes" end with: Ibbotson is so clear-sighted about her characters yet so kind. Even Guy's fiance, to some extent the villain of the piece, is described by his foster mother thus "Nerine's greed and self-absorption were akin to those of an artist or composer who will sacrifice everything and everyone in the service of his own gift, only Nerine's gift was her own beauty. She also realized that since there was nothing evil or vicious in this girl which would sicken Guy and thus release him, he was doomed."

[Janga]

The interview is a gift too, Anne, a lovely one. Thank you.

I read the juvenile books first and loved them, particularly The Secret of Platform 13, which still seems to me to be a wonderfully magical reading experience as I share it with the children of the children with whom I first discovered it.

I discovered the romances much later, and I loved them too. Magic Flutes is my favorite. I always talk about Guy Farnes when the subject of self-made heroes comes up on various romance boards.

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
Anne, thank you for "introducing" me to Eva Ibbotson. I'd heard her mentioned with near reverence several times over the years on the Georgette Heyer discussion list, and always told myself that someday I would read her. After reading this lovely interview, I am sold!

[Helen]

I haven't read any of Eva's books but thank you very much Anne for introducing them to me I will be looking for them they sound wonderful

Have Fun
Helen

[anne gracie]

Thanks for posting that, Jo. Eva's children's books are a delight. It's wonderful that there's an Ibbotson for every age, isn't there? ;)

Susan, I too have Ibbotson quotes I've copied out - I often use a one-line description of the Countess Von Metz to demonstrate the power of a well written thumbnail sketch -- I have a poor memory for quotes and i don't have time to dig out my notebook -- I'm running out the door to go to a workshop -- but it goes something like "The Countess Von Metz was short and squat with a purple face and a nose like an imperious muffin" -- and then almost in the same breath we learn that this short ugly woman has a absolute passion for beauty... It's wonderful.

[Karen W.]

I haven't read Ms. Ibbotson yet, but I've heard nothing but the highest praise for her books and definitely want to try them.

What qualities do I love in a hero and heroine? I would have to say character, strength, and humor.

[Janine]

Thanks so much for this interview! I have read all of Eva Ibbotson's novels for adults except A Song for Summer, which I am saving for a rainy day. I've also read her children's book, Journey to the River Sea, and recently I got my hands on A Glove Shop in Vienna, her short story collection. As you can tell I'm a huge Ibbotson fan. While I have my favorite (Madensky Square, which I reviewed here: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=3468 -- I also reviewed A Countess Below Stairs here: http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/03/17/review-a-countess-below-stairs-by-eva-ibbotson/), I don't think she has written a book I didn't enjoy. Her writing style is absolutely delightful, and her characters are just as charming.

It was such a treat to read this interview, so thank you so much for conducting it. I'd also like to let Ms. Ibbotson know how much I enjoyed her books and how thrilled I would be if she would write another romance. But I wish her the best in any endeavor. She has succeeded in writing the kind of book I want to read when I have the flu.

[Mary Jo Putney]

How wonderful to have Eva Ibbotson here as a guest! She is one of the best writers anywhere.

My first book of hers, and perhaps still my favorite, is A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS. I hadn't started writing yet so I didn't have an analytical vocabulary, but I knew it was incredibly warm and funny and emotional and deeply, profoundly romantic.

MAGIC FLUTES, A COMPANY OF SWANS, WHICH WITCH?--it's so hard to pick a favorite. Hmmm, I had one of those irritating days today. I think I start rereading the latest incarnation of Magic Flutes, which I bought (again) as The Reluctant Heiress. That will put me in a good mood. :)

I've also read Ms. Ibbotson's essay on reading at the end of several lectures I've given. It always leaves the audiences lying in the aisles, esp. if I'm speaking in a library.

Thank you, for inviting one of my all-time favorite authors, and thanks to Ms. Ibbotson and her assistant for letting this happen.

Mary Jo

[Jenny Haddon]

Thank you for this wonderful interview, Anne and Eva Ibbotson.

Ibbotson books are keepers for me - make that replacers, as delinquent guests seem to wander off with my copies 'because I haven't finished but I'll post it back, honest'. Huh! I've bought A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS four times so far.

She has so many qualities - compassion, wonderfully eccentric characters (including Our Heroine, which is nice), curiosity about the natural world and marvellous sensuous writing. I don't know anyone who writes about food or animals or houses or, above all, music as well as she does.

I think she is absolutely right that none of her characters are minor. I always remember the vile blonde eugenicist in COUNTESS thanking the lovely Polish couple for their lavish wedding present and saying that they need not feel they have to come to the ceremony, because they are Jewish. It breaks your heart as the blow hits first, the wife, then her husband, then all their friends.

I can't pick a favourite either, though I probably re-read MORNING GIFT and MADENSKY SQUARE most often. They have a wonderful emotional justice that can move me to tears. Oh, the plain aunt in MORNING GIFT! Wondrous.

Jenny

[Fran]

Thanks Anne for that interview. I have read all of Eva Ibbotson's books and am currently re-reading her books yet again. They are simply magic. Like you Anne - Eva Ibbotson and Georgette Heyer would have to be my absolute favorite desert island (or indeed anywhere) reads. I was introduced to her on the Georgette Heyer site and am forever grateful to have been introduced to another author which has provided me with many hours of pleasure. The Countess Below Stairs, The Magic Flute, The Morning Gift.... So hard to choose - all are my favorites - I guess that's why I am re-reading them all for the umpteenth time! Thanks Ms Ibbotson - I can't wait for your romance for Martha Hodge or anyone .... Please please ....

[Peggy Schuerholz]

Thank you for the great interview. I'm actually reading The Magic Flute (in the reissued The Reluctant Heiress edition) now. I've cherished a number of her adult books for years, but until the "teen" reissues I haven't been able to track down a few of them. Eva Ibbotson's language--and wit--has always impressed me immensely so it is lovely to read a current interview with her. I am especially thrilled that her children's books are giving her a measure of recognition to a new generation. Perhaps they will someday discover the magic of her adult books as well.

[MarthaE]

Anne and Eva - thank you for a lovely interview. I had not heard of Eva so I will now look for the books! The Magic Flute/ Reluctant Heiress and The Countess Below Stairs sound like books I would really enjoy! The Hochosterwitz sounds like a great place!
Thank you Eva for giving your written presents for readers to enjoy!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Indeed, as I threatened yesterday, I've started rereading The Reluctant Heiress/Magic Flutes, and I'm enjoying Eva Ibbotson's exquisite wittiness all over again.

There are so many irresistible phrases: the obnoxious daschund that was inexplicably not eaten during the hungry times of the war. The aged aristocrats guiding Guy Farne around the castle and talking about poor cousin Pippi (the Pope :) and the frog in the well and the horrible skull that they didn't have the heart to tell their niece probably wasn't a Turkish invader since all of -them- had been impaled on the EAST wall. Fabulous!

One of the things I love about Ms. Ibbotson's heroines is that they aren't great beauties--the beauties tend to rather horrible. But the heroines are so enchanting, so special, that it's blinding clear why the heroes fall in love with them, not the Beauties.

Mary Jo again, sighing rapturously...

[Barbara Hannay]

How fabulous to "meet" Eva Ibbotson here. Thank you, Anne and Eva. I have only read WHICH WITCH and A SONG FOR SUMMER, but now I know about the reissues I'll be grabbing more. Terrible confession -- I could never read past page 40 of Harry Potter, because I kept thinking that it wasn't nearly as clever as WHICH WITCH. I love the subtlety of Eva's humour.

[carol marinelli]

What a wonderful interview. I haven't read Eva Ibbotson yet - but I certainly will now. I love the new cover you displayed - yes, marketing is marketing, because it grabbed me!
Thank you again for a fascinating interview.

[Cory]

I've only discovered Eva Ibbotson this year when I heard The Countess Below Stairs via an audiobook. What an utterly charming and delightful book. There was just something very refreshing about that book. I don't particularly like audio books but hers was read by Davina Porter so no complaints whatsoever. But, I have switched to digital books and I was surprised that I can't get hold of any of them in that format. Could you please ask if she or her publisher have any intention of releasing her books in ebook format?

[Patricia Barraclough]

First of all, what a wonderful interview. I did not read romances until about 15 years ago. Unfortunately, I have not come across any of Eva Ibbotson's adult romances. I work as a children's librarian in a small county library. I have been putting her children's books on the shelves. I am happy to see the romances being reissued. It will be nice to have some good ones to put into the Young Adult section. Since I also do the purchasing of our adult romances, I'll make sure our patron know these books are available. I'm certainly not a prude, but it will be nice to have some romances where sex isn't one of the main focuses of the book.
I like my heroes considerate, honest, and strong enough to do what is right, no matter how difficult that may be.
Best wishes to you, Ms. Ibbotson. I look forward to reading your books and sharing them with others.
PS. Thank you so much for the link to her article on public libraries. I will share it with everyone at work on Monday.

[Trish Morey]

Anne has talked often and at length about Eva's fabulous books, and I have resisted and resisted and resisted - do I really need another reason to neglect the wip?
Well, clearly I do. And thank heavens we don't have to leave home to go shopping.
Thank you so much, Anne and Eva, for this interview. Resistance is clearly futile.

[Amanda]

I haven't read any of Eva's books yet, but I will be sure to keep my eyes open for them now!

I like my heroes and heroines to be somewhat ahead of the thinking of their time, not standing for prejudice or wrong doing. This would mean being terribly headstrong for most heroines in historical settings!

[Edie]

Wonderful interview! Magic Flutes is one of my comfort reads and I'm always excited when Eva has a new book out. She has such lovely romances and I'm so glad her books are being re-issued so more people can fall in love with them.

[chey]

Hi!
I haven't yet read any Eva Ibbotson books. I look forward to reading them.
I like books with characters who by the end of the book feel like they are my friends.

[Stephanie]

I first discovered Eva Ibbotson's work last year when I picked up a copy of A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS at a library sale. It gave me pleasure from the first page to the last, so naturally I went on to read as many more as I could get my hands on. There's still some titles I haven't read yet, but that's what summers are for. Thanks for the lovely interview!

[Keira Soleore]

Thank you, Anne, for introducing Eva Ibbotson to me. Before, she was just a name to be spoken in hushed tones whenever the topic of the greatest romance writers comes up. I enjoyed reading about Eva here, her writing, and her books. I look forward to picking one up in the near future. As always, I'll ask Janga's advice. Her knowledge is encyclopedic.

[anne gracie]

Janga, I remember an e-conversation we had where we shared our love of Eva's books. And Guy Farne is fabulous, isn't he?

Karen, you have a treat in store when you read your first Ibbotson.

Janine I recently bought a Glove Shop in Vienna, too, even though I normally don't read short stories. I read and fell in love with her adult books first, but I've gone on to read the children's books and they're gorgeous, too -- the same kindness and humour in them

Janine, a few days ago Virginia asked whether the HEA of Madensky square would be compromised by the advent of WW2. What do you think?

[anne gracie]

Jenny H, thanks for commenting. You were the person who first introduced me to the world of Eva Ibbotson, and for that I'm forever in your debt.

I expect to lose copies of Eva's books too now, as friends "borrow" them. The only reason it hasn't happened is that they're the *only* books in my library I don't lend. I gathered my collection slowly, from rare books on the web, and knowing how scarce they were -- they are keepers after all -- I wasn't about to risk losing them. Now I have the new editions, however, it's a different story. Morning Gift is one of my all time faves, too.

[anne gracie]

Mary Jo, the rich detail and texture of her worlds is superb, isn't it, and done with such a charming, light touch. Makes me want to be there.
And yes, I've read that library piece aloud at talks, too. It's a gift in itself.

Fran, Peggy and Stephanie, it's great to share your enthusiasm for these wonderful books. I hope they never go out of print. I don't think they'll ever date, the way so many books do.

Martha E, Patricia, Amanda, Chey, Keira and Carol, a lovely reading adventure awaits you. Trish, you're right -- resistance is utterly futile. Your girls will adore the books, too.

[anne gracie]

Corey, I don't know about the digital books, but I do know that Eva, as the author, probably doesn't make that decision and might not even be told. An author's main contact is with their editor and their agent, but sometimes other people in a publishing company make the decision about e-publishing or not and an author will only learn of it well after it's happened, when the sales appear in the royalty statement.
So my suggestion is, if you want to read books digitally--and I think it's a great idea for Eva's books to come out digitally -- you need to write to the publisher, rather than the author.

[Amy King]

Oh my. What a wonderful treat. I discovered Eva Ibbotson back in the hay-day of All About Romance and consider her one of my four greatest romance "finds" (along with Loretta Chase, Judith Ivory and Mary Balogh). When I'd finally read my first Ibbotson, I observed that she does with words what Mozart did with notes. Charming, lyrical and you wander through her books just as you might wander through the Louvre, stopping to enjoy a phrase and returning to a paragraph for the shear joy of the sound of the words.

And I'm thrilled that someone might make of movie or a play of my favorite Ibbotson, The Morning Gift. The first time I read it, I cried for hours.

So, thank you Ms. Gracie, for sharing this very special interview and if you enjoy beautiful prose, may I be so forward as to recommend Jan Cox Speas? Not the same of course, but the same caliber of writing and characterization as the mistress of poetic romance.

[Robyn L]

Being I've never heard of Eva, sorry, I too am glad that her books are being reissued. By all accounts here she is a wonderful person/author. I'm delighted to have met here via the blog.

[Mary Nudge]

It would be hard for me to pick a favorite romance by Ms. Ibbotson - I love them all. But if I must pick - I think it would be A Company of Swans - that was the first one I read and to this day still magical as all of Eva's are -these people come alive as one reads her work.
Thank you so much, Eva!

[Robin]

A Countess Below Stairs is without a doubt my favorite, though I love them all. It was one book I owned that I would never lend out,even though I would recommend it, because I was afraid I wouldn't get it back. And since it was out of print I wouldn't be able to get another copy. As soon as it came out again I immediately bought a copy for my niece. She read it three times that week, and a dozen times since. It is now one of her favorites and she understands why I never let her borrow my copy.
Thank you Eva for so many wonderful hours of reading.
Robin

[Helene Virlogeux]

I am so happy. Thank you, Anne! I am French, and one day, years ago (at least 20), I found the only book by Eva Ibbotson published in France at that time: A countess below stairs. I read the jacket... the first 2 pages... and directly bought 3 copies: for myself, for my mother and for my sister. We treasure them! Then I looked for more books and found two children books, but no more romance, even in English.
I love Heyer, I love Rowlings, and I love Ibbotson, who writes great romance with great humour, like Heyer, but can see beyond the "real" world and describe a wholly likely, living world she alone can see - like Rowlings.
I shall be very happy indeed, first to get as many of her books as I can, but also because I know that you, Anne, will tell her how much we thank her and love her work.
Helene

[Camryn]

I absolutely love every book I have read by Eva Ibbotson. All of them were amazing, but I would have to say tied for my favorite is The Countess Below Stairs, and A Company of Swans. I love all of them, though. I wish she would write another.

[Karen Pickford]

As an elementary school librarian, I have long been a fan of Eva's children's books. My favorites are JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA, THE DRAGONFLY POOL, and THE STAR OF KAZAN. In searching for more books for my library, I discovered her adult books and fell in love all over again. A SONG FOR SUMMER, was my first read and I have now read all except MADENSKY SQUARE, which I plan to order soon. I also shared these books with a friend, who like Eva, was born in Vienna and moved away during the early days of WWII. (Lisl, however, moved to California.) We have had great fun discussing the books - and after reading two books, she can't wait to get the others (which happen to be loaned to other friends). I sincerely hope that many books will follow - both for children and adults. They are delightful, intriguing, and extremely well-written.

[colourfulchatterbox]

i love all her adult books...even though i am only 16! i've been reading her books for about 2 years now...
i would love for there to be an epilogue to magic flutes or secret countess, they ended too soon!!
thank you very much for the interview!