
The Nature of the Beast
Janni Howker(Author)
Walker Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 3. January 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-4063-2990-2 (ISBN)
Description
A powerful novel about a community devastated by unemployment and shaken by the fear of a terrifying beast roaming the moors - which young Bill Coward is determined to track down at any cost.
It started out as a game. A game that Billy and his friend Mick play to take their minds off the fact that the mill might be closing and everyone could lose their jobs. They'll hunt down the Haverston Beast, that's killing sheep and hens and maybe even men, and kill it. So what if the farmers say it's just a dog - they know that it's real and they're out to prove it. But then Billy's dad finds out that the mill might close for ever, and suddenly the game doesn't seem so much fun any more - and the terrifying Beast might be closer to home than Billy imagined... An astonishing novel about the monster that is unemployment, and its devastating effects on a local community, The Nature of the Beast is as painfully truthful and relevant today as it was when it was first published, to critical acclaim, in 1985.
It started out as a game. A game that Billy and his friend Mick play to take their minds off the fact that the mill might be closing and everyone could lose their jobs. They'll hunt down the Haverston Beast, that's killing sheep and hens and maybe even men, and kill it. So what if the farmers say it's just a dog - they know that it's real and they're out to prove it. But then Billy's dad finds out that the mill might close for ever, and suddenly the game doesn't seem so much fun any more - and the terrifying Beast might be closer to home than Billy imagined... An astonishing novel about the monster that is unemployment, and its devastating effects on a local community, The Nature of the Beast is as painfully truthful and relevant today as it was when it was first published, to critical acclaim, in 1985.
Reviews / Votes
"* "One of the most exciting and talented writers we have." Philip Pullman * "Full of feeling, anger and explosiveness." Guardian * "An amazingly gifted writer." Times Educational Supplement * "One of the leading writers for teenagers of the decade." Observer"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Young adult
Interest Age: From 9 years
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
170 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4063-2990-2 (9781406329902)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Howker Janni
Nature Of The Beast
Book
01/2003
Walker Books Ltd
€26.18
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Janni Howker's first book, Badger on the Barge, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Novel Award and the Carnegie Medal. She has since written three longer works of fiction, The Nature of the Beast, Isaac Campion and Martin Farrell - each of which have been highly acclaimed, winning her the Observer Teenage Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Award. She is also the author of the non-fiction picture book, Walk With a Wolf, shortlisted for the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award and the Times Educational Supplement Information Books Junior Award.