Sleigh wrote two sequels, The Kingdom of Carbonel (Max Parrish, 1959; Bobbs-Merrill, 1960) and Carbonel and Calidor: Being the Further Adventures of a Royal Cat (Kestrel Books, 1978; Puffin Books, 1980), making the Carbonel series.
Plot summary
A girl named Rosemary buys a broom and a cat from Mrs Cantrip, an untidy woman in the market place. When to Rosemary's surprise the cat starts talking to her, she learns that the woman is a witch, selling her possessions to start a new career.
Moreover, the cat, Carbonel, just happens to be King of the Cats, presumed missing by his subjects since the witch abducted him. Unfortunately, he cannot return to his throne until the enslavement spell Mrs Cantrip cast on him is undone. Rosemary, together with a new friend John, have to learn a little witchcraft themselves before tracking down Mrs Cantrip to obtain her at best ambivalent help.
Main characters
Rosemary Brown – who buys Carbonel
Carbonel – the cat protagonist
Rosemary's mother – a poor widow and seamstress
Mrs Cantrip – kidnapper of Carbonel and a (semi-retired) witch
John – Rosemary's friend, and the nephew of Mrs Brown's employer
Publication history
1955, UK, Max Parrish, publication date 1955, hardback (first edition)
1957, US, Bobbs-Merrill, publication date 1957, hardback
1961, UK, Puffin Books, publication date 1961, paperback
1973, UK, Longman Young Books, hardback
2004, US, New York Review of Books ISBN1-59017-126-8, publication date Nov 2004, hardback
2005, UK, Puffin Books ISBN0-14-131973-9, publication date 25 August 2005
Adaptations
In 1955, Carbonel was adapted by Sleigh as a serial in six parts on BBC Home Service's Children's Hour, produced by Eve Burgess.[2] It was adapted again in 1959, produced by her husband David Davis,[3] followed by an adaptation of The Kingdom of Carbonel in 1960.[4]
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