William Corlett
(1938-2005)
William Corlett grew up in Yorkshire. After training at RADA, he worked as an actor in the theatre and on television before devoting himself full-time to writing. His teen-novel
The Gate of Eden was successfully dramatised in the 1970s, and he won an Emmy for his dramatisation of
The Magician’s House for the BBC.
The Steps up the Chimney by William Corlett
The Steps up the Chimney is the first in four books that accumulate into The Magician's House Quartet, revolving around three children who come to stay at their uncle's strange house, and Stephen Tyler, a time-traveling wizard who befriends the children on their stay at Golden Valley.
In The Steps Up The Chimney, the children arrive at the house after already experiencing some strange events — Will has meet a stranger at Druce Coven station who mysteriously disappeared and a fox seems to popping up everywhere they look. Within the house and grounds however, things become even more strange — Alice finds footprints in the snow that end abruptly in the middle of a clearing and Mary notices an extra window in the house that shouldn't be there. By researching the house's ne... Read More
The Door in the Tree by William Corlett
This is the second book in The Magician's House Quartet and sees the three children of the previous novel (The Steps Up The Chimney) return to their uncle Jack's Golden House, where the year before they had meet a time-traveling wizard called Stephen Tyler, befriended a number of wild animals and mastered the magical art of sharing their bodies, and helped deliver their uncle's girlfriend's baby when the wizard's assistant Morden had attempted to sabotage the birth.
The children William, Mary and the youngest Alice are delighted to be back during the short spring break, eager to begin living more of the magic, but are slightly disconcerted to find that nothing out of the ordinary occurs. Just as William begins to doubt the reality of the magic of however, Alice once more joins minds with the dog Spot, ... Read More
More speculative fiction from William Corlett
The Summer of the Haunting — (1993) Publisher: Em is sure that Borthwick Hall, remote and challenging on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, is a house with a past – a past which threatens her present.
The Secret Line — (1995) Publisher: Jo’s friend Mit introduces her to the “Secret Line”, a tube line that stops at mysterious stations such as High View and Heath. Having at first enjoyed the escapism, Jo soon finds her two worlds converging as she nears a terrifying collision of lives.
Kitty — (2004) Publisher: A beautifully written tale set in Spain, of an enduring love between two dogs. Kitty, a stray puppy with a love of life and a thirst for adventure, meets Bailey, another stray, who becomes her beloved companion and trusted friend. Together they journey through Spain until they find the peace and sanctity of the magic garden.
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