Alan Garner and his illustrators

I've just finished Boneland by Alan Garner (2012, Fourth Estate ISBN 978-0-00-746524-4). I enjoyed reading it but, maybe, it is too adult and literate for me. Boneland is the third part of a series  and appears 40 years after the first two volumes (The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960), The Moon of Gomrath (1963). The previous books were for children and I recall really enjoying them. Garner also wrote The Owl Service which was made into a rather unsettling 8-part television series way back in 1969. I remember reading my favourite book of his, Elidor. as it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. It is one of the few books I've read several times.

Book cover 

Elidor was illustrated by Charles Keeping. Charles Keeping grew to be my favourite illustrator, though his position has been threatened as my collection of illustrated books has blossomed. I will get round to a more detailed look at Keeping in a future blog but if your interest is piqued try and find David Martin's book on him "Charles Keeping : An Illustrator's Life".

Being obsessive, I then had to go through all the books I have by Alan Garner.  He has not been the most prolific of writers over the past 50 years and I only have paperbacks of some and then and not a complete collection. The other illustrators of his books that leap out are Michael Foreman and P. J. Lynch.
Foreman, like Keeping, is prolific with a distinctive style and has also written tales to his own illustrations.

Series of four books re-telling traditional tales

P.J. Lynch has a very different style from the lines of Keeping and watercolours of Foreman. His detailed paintings, obviously, take a long time to produce and the originals cost thousands of pounds.. 

More re-tellings from the tradition.