Frances Hardinge

Frances Hardinge writes imaginative fiction for young readers, often building strange worlds around questions of power, belief, memory, and belonging. Her first novel, Fly by Night, received the Branford Boase Award, while The Lie Tree later won the Costa Book of the Year. Gullstruck Island, first published by Macmillan Children's Books in 2009, is a fantasy centered on the quiet Hathin and her sister Arilou. Their island is shaped by living volcanoes, ancestral customs, and the revered Lost, people believed able to send their senses far beyond their bodies. When Arilou's status becomes crucial to their community, Hathin must act despite being treated as nearly invisible. Hardinge uses the invented society to explore prejudice, colonial inheritance, loyalty, and the stories communities tell about authority. North American editions have also appeared under the title The Lost Conspiracy. The novel reflects Hardinge's characteristic preference for resourceful outsiders and intricately designed settings in which language, custom, and landscape all influence the plot.