Freaks on the Fells

Successful London merchant Mr John Sudberry has decided to take his family and three of his servants away on a holiday to the Scottish Highlands. Plenty of beautiful walks, rowing and fishing trips, and picnics in the stunning scenery follow. Their holiday bliss is interrupted however when the family come across an elderly lady called Moggy, who seems to take a special interest in Sudberry's five-year old son Jacky. When Moggy’s secretive background returns to haunt her, the Sudberry family find themselves caught up in the mystery. An exciting story from the popular children’s author R.M. Ballantyne.

R.M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish artist and prolific author of mostly children’s fiction. Born in Edinburgh, Ballantyne was the ninth of ten children. At the age of 16 Ballantyne moved to Canada, where he worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company, travelling all over the country to trade for fur. He returned to Scotland in 1847 following the death of his father, and it was then that he began his literary career in earnest, writing over 100 children’s adventure books over the course of his life. Stories such as ‘The Coral Island’ and ‘The Young Fur Traders’ were hugely popular, and many of them drew on his own experiences of travelling throughout Canada. A stickler for detail, Ballantyne continued to travel widely to research the backgrounds and settings for his exciting stories. His tales became an inspiration for authors of the future, including ‘Treasure Island’ novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. Ballantyne spent the latter period of his life living in London and Italy for the sake of his health. He died in Rome in 1894 at the age of 68.