Anna Dale | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 (age 49–50) Suffolk |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 2004–present |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Subject | Magic |
| Notable works | Whispering to Witches |
| Website | |
| Publisher website | |
Anna Dale (born 1971) is an English novelist for children's literature, who rose to prominence after her novel, Whispering to Witches , was published in 2004.
Dale was born in 1971, and lived in Suffolk and Hampshire before settling in Essex when she was seven. Dale spent most of her childhood in a village called Writtle, and attended the local grammar school.
She left Writtle to study History at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and she lived in Canterbury for three years. Later, when she came to write Whispering to Witches, she drew on her memories of student days in Canterbury. [1] She then got an MA in Writing for Children from King Alfred's College in Winchester.
She was working as a bookshop assistant in Southampton when Whispering to Witches was picked up by Bloomsbury Publishing, publisher of the Harry Potter books. [2] The book was reprinted several times and was distributed in 12 countries. [1]
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film and computer games. The series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.
Una Stubbs was an English actress, television personality and dancer who appeared on British television and in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film Summer Holiday (1963) and later played Rita Rawlins in the BBC sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part (1965–1975) and In Sickness and in Health (1985–1992). Her other television roles include Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge (1979–1981) and Miss Bat in The Worst Witch (1998–2001). She also appeared as Sherlock Holmes's landlady Mrs. Hudson in the BAFTA-winning television series Sherlock (2010–2017).
Joan Delano Aiken was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For The Whispering Mountain, published by Jonathan Cape in 1968, she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and she was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British writer. She won an Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972) for Night Fall.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries. Although it was originally the first of The Chronicles of Narnia, it is volume two in recent editions that are sequenced by the stories' chronology. Like the other Chronicles, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions.
Zoe Louise Ball is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both Radio 1 Breakfast and The Radio 2 Breakfast Show for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show Live & Kicking, alongside Jamie Theakston from 1996-1999.
Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Not in Front of the Children, ...And Mother Makes Three /...And Mother Makes Five and Butterflies. She played the role of Matron in the TV series The Royal (2003–2011).
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper. The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel". It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous being the "Abendsegen" from act 2.
Josephine Grace Brand is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actor. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on Saturday Live, she went on to appear on The Brain Drain, Channel 4's Jo Brand Through the Cakehole, Getting On and various television appearances including as a regular guest on QI, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You?. She also makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 4 in programmes such as The News Quiz and Just a Minute. Since 2014 she has been the presenter of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice. In 2003, Brand was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2019, Brand became a contestant on Taskmaster.
The Witches is a British children's dark fantasy novel by the British writer Roald Dahl. The story is set partly in Norway and partly in England, and features the experiences of a young English boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist in every country. The witches are ruled by the extremely vicious and powerful Grand High Witch, who arrives in England to organize her plan to turn all of the children in England into mice.
Amanda Barrie is an English actress. She appeared in two of the Carry On films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, which she played on and off for 20 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she played the role of Bev Tull in the ITV prison drama, Bad Girls. She has since enjoyed a varied stage and television career.
Alice Hoffman is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1995 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the genre of magic realism and contain elements of magic, irony, and non-standard romances and relationships.
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly is an English model, novelist and television presenter who has co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing since 2004.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 fantasy film co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson, based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley play Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, four British children evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside, who find a wardrobe that leads to the fantasy world of Narnia. There they ally with the lion Aslan against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder was an American author of books for children and young adults. Three of Snyder's works were named Newbery Honor books: The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid and The Witches of Worm. She was most famous for writing adventure stories and fantasies.
Drift House: The First Voyage is a 2005 children's novel written by Dale Peck. This was Peck's first children's book; he is best known as a polemicist reviewer, and adult novelist.
Karyn Monk is a Canadian author of historical romance novels. Her books have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller List, and have won numerous awards.
Eileen Mary Theresa Daly is an English actress, director, film producer, writer, singer, presenter, songwriter and former adult film performer. She is also a contemporary scream queen, having starred in numerous cult horror films and fronts her own band Eileen and Ben.
Whispering to Witches is British writer Anna Dale's first novel, published in 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It is a magical mystery adventure intended for youngsters age 8–12. It was publisher Bloomsbury's main title for Autumn 2004 and was scheduled for distribution in the UK, the United States, Germany, and other countries.
Halloweentown is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Duwayne Dunham. The first installment in Halloweentown series starring Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, Joey Zimmerman, and Judith Hoag. It is the fourth Disney Channel Original Movie.

Beryl Catherine Platt, Baroness Platt of WrittleHonFIMechE was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords. Her background was in engineering, and she worked in aeronautics and aviation safety. She retained a strong interest in science and technology, particularly the role and advancement of women in these fields.