The Heart of Glass

By Vivian French

Illustrated by Ross Collins

Hilarious third book in the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series which began with the popular The Robe of Skulls and features many of the same much-loved characters.

It is a fine day for dwarf watching – at least that is what Gracie Gillypott and Prince Marcus think when they set out, quite unaware that Princess Marigold of Dreghorn has set her sights on Marcus, and decided to "follow him to the ends of the earth" – fan, frilly petticoats and all. All is not well; the dwarves are overworked and underpaid, having been expected to produce extra gold for wedding crowns for the wedding of Fedora and Prince Tertius; to deal with the problem, the Chief of Works sends for a couple of trolls who have an agenda of their own – to find a princess for their leader, who believes True Love will melt his heart of glass. Gracie is mistaken for a princess, Marigold gets in everyone's way, Gubble is forced to make a terrible choice ... but fortunately Marlon and Alf are there to save the day.

Categories: Fiction

For readers aged: 9+

  • Publication details:
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781406311143
  • Published: 03 Aug 2009
  • Price: £6.99
  •  
  • Size: 198 x 129 mm
  • Pages: 256

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Customer reviews

Magnus age 9 wrote:

Heart of Glass is the third book in the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series. The story covers two days of adventure with Prince Marcus, his friend Gracie, Marlon the bat and Gubble the troll. Marcus, Gracie, Marlon and his nephew, Alf, go on a troll hunt, when Gracie disappears through a tree (you'll know what I mean when you read this book). Gracie has to escape from the trolls before she becomes their dinner and has to return to the forest. The funniest part was when Princess Marigold screamed as she bumped along in a carriage and got cake on her face. I found this an exciting and funny story, and recommend it to everyone. Yet again Vivian French has written a wonderful and hilarious book.

Katie May age 10 wrote:

It was lovely to welcome back my friends Gracie, Marcus and Gubble in their most thrilling adventure yet. The Heart of Glass is the most spectacular book of all time and I couldn't put it down. I didn't think any book could beat the robe of Skulls but this one does it with Style.

Reviews

'French takes the fairy-tale format and twists it into a funny, frenetic adventure with lots of inventive plot and eccentric characters which will draw in girls and boys with a taste for the fantastical and off-beat humour' Daily Mail

'The most unlikely feel-good fairy tale' BBC Radio 4 - Open Book

'Delightfully witty and exciting' The Independent on Sunday

'A genuinely funny story with a range of highly original characters, lively dialogue and extraordinary events.' School Librarian Journal

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