AIKEN, JOAN

born Sept. 4, 1924, Rye, Sussex, Eng. in full Joan Delano Aiken prolific British author of fantasy, adventure, horror, and suspense tales for both juvenile and adult readers. Perhaps best known as inventor of a genre called the unhistorical romance, Aiken wrote tales that combine humour and action with traditional mythic and fairy tale elements. Many of these works are set in an invented historical era during the imagined reign of James III of England, who was known as the Old Pretender. Aiken was the daughter of the poet Conrad Aiken. While still a student, she had two poems published in The Abinger Chronicle, a prestigious little magazine. As an adult she wrote radio scripts and some short stories. In 1955 she became an editor for the literary magazine Argosy. Her first books, All You've Ever Wanted (1953) and More Than You Bargained For (1955), are short-story collections. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962) was Aiken's first novel to combine elements of history, horror, and adventure. It was the first of some 60 short-story collections and novels for children. Her many books of adult fiction, beginning with The Silence of Herondale (1964), are categorized as terror, suspense, and mystery stories. Aiken also wrote The Way to Write for Children (1982).