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Author: Merchant, Tamzin, Escobar, Paola

General fiction (Children’s/YA)

Published on 18 February 2021 by Penguin Random House Children’s UK (Puffin) in the United Kingdom as part of ‘The Hatmakers’ series.

Hardback | 384 pages
222 x 162 | 562g

Enter a spellbinding world brimming with magic and wonder, perfect for fans of Nevermoor, A Pinch of Magic and Harry Potter.

‘Wildly inventive . . . full of laugh-out-loud humour, enchanting magic and rebellious hope. I loved it’ Catherine Doyle Cordelia comes from a long line of magical milliners, who weave alchemy and enchantment into every hat. In Cordelia’s world, Making – crafting items such as hats, cloaks, watches, boots and gloves from magical ingredients – is a rare and ancient skill, and only a few special Maker families remain.

But life as a magical milliner isn’t without its difficulties . . .

When Cordelia’s father Prospero and his ship, the Jolly Bonnet, are lost at sea during a mission to collect hat ingredients, Cordelia is determined to find him. But her Uncle Tiberius and Aunt Ariadne have no time to help the littlest Hatmaker, for an ancient rivalry between the Maker families is threatening to surface. Even worse, someone seems to be using Maker magic to start a war. It’s up to Cordelia to find out who, and why . . .

Beautifully illustrated throughout by Paola Escobar.

‘Imaginative . . . entertaining, comical and breezy, and the settings are conjured in transporting detail’ The Times ‘An utterly charming adventure full of wildness, wit, magic and heart’ Anna James ‘Absolutely wonderful’ Emma Carroll ‘A cosy magical adventure peppered with charming detail’ The Bookseller