Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black

A lyrical and dreamlike story of two brothers in conflict amidst the devastation of WWII London.

Harry Black wakes in hospital to learn that his brother Ellis has almost certainly been killed by a V2 rocket falling during a German air raid on London. In a state of wounded delirium, Harry’s mind begins to blur the distinctions between the reality of the war-torn city, the fiction of his unpublished sci-fi novel and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Driven by visions of Ellis still alive and a sense of poetic inevitability, Harry discharges himself from hospital and begins a search for his brother that will lead him deep into the city’s Underworld...

“This book is a stunning work of art both strange and haunting.” Scotman
Ambitious, clever and intriguing, it will appeal to students who are confident readers and pupils studying art, classical civilization, history and English literature. It will also resonate with those who have an enquiring mind. Reading Zone
This fascinating and engaging story, told through prose, poetry and stunning black and white illustrations, takes on a surreal, fantastical quality - you are never sure what is real and what is imaginary. A thought-provoking and striking experience! Carousel
It is a challenging and, at times, confusing read as the complex plot, layers of meaning, different genres and ever-changing pace asks a lot of its young adult readers. It is worth the effort as the storytelling is bold, ambitious and profound. Not a book the reader will easily forget. The School Librarian

Marcus Sedgwick is the author of many celebrated novels for young adults, including the Michael L Printz award winning Midwinterblood. He has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and has thrice been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Julian Sedgwick is the author of six books for children, including the critically-acclaimed Dark Satanic Mills, which he co-authored with his brother Marcus. The Black Dragon, the first book in Julian’s Mysterium trilogy, was the winner of the 2013 Rotherham Children’s Book Award.

Alexis Deacon is a writer and illustrator of children’s books. His first book Slow Loris, published in 2002, was in 2015 named by Time Magazine as one of the hundred best children’s books of all time. In 2008 he was chosen as one of Booktrust’s ten best new illustrators of the preceding decade.

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